The Stans 2026

 Day 26. That feels like a lot of days, particularly living out of suitcases. We're a bit over all that, but down to the final week now. Today involved as bit of backtracking as we headed north and then east, but that's fine as the scenery is great everywhere. Late morning we got to Kochkor where we were instructed in the art of yurt assembly. Essentially they are made of curved trellis and covered in layers of felt for warmth and a degree of waterproofing. That's all that you, and to be honest I, need to know. We had lunch at the same place and this followed the prescription I have outlined before. The next stop was a demonstration of golden eagle training and hunting, which was pretty entertaining. It involves taigan hunting dogs as well as eagles, which can catch things up to the size of a wolf or goat. Late afternoon we got to our yurt camp on the southern shores of Issyk Kul which is an extremely big alpine lake. Everyone comes here in the summer to escape the heat so ...

 We're in this hotel for two nights - which works out well, because it's pretty comfortable, particularly for a place in the middle of nowhere. For the day we essentially drove up into the mountains for lunch and back, just with a few stops along the way. After driving up twisting gorges we came to a large, wide, At-Bashy Valley stretching away into the distance. Largely populated by large herds of horses, the north wall was a series of low sand-coloured hills while the south wall was capped by snow and clouds. Part way up this we stopped to look at the ruins of the Koshoy Korgon fort, which was really just the outline of the clay walls. South wall of At-Bashy Valley A bit further up we turned into a smaller valley and drove some way. Eventually we stopped for lunch at a yurt camp. The same meal I described yesterday, with prominent meat and potatoes as the main course. The meat was said to be yak, which seemed possible as there were herds of yaks in the valley, Looking up the ...

 The guest house we stayed in last night was basic, but not bad. The same goes for the food. But at 9.30 we were off again, winding through valleys and gorges all day. I think wer have gradually been going up, too, so that by the end of the day we're at around 2000m. There are lots of trucks, often going to or from China, which is close by. Also herds of sheep (very large, fat-tailed varieties), cows and horses. I think that because it's autumn they are coming down from the high mountains, where they spent the summer, to low pastures and then mangers when the snow arrives. Apart from that today was mostly scenery. Steep snow-capped mountains bare of any trees. At lunchtime we stopped in Kochkor and ate in another guest house. We're getting used to the local hospitality now - plates of salads, bread, balls of fried dough, fresh rasberry jam and fruit. They bring out a soup and then a main course which involves meat and potatoes. Endless cups of black and green tea. We were a...