Airliners-India.com

PAL@YWG · Last edited by PAL@YWG on Tue Apr 10, 2012 12:31 am; edited 4 times in total

Introduction:
This trip happened in 2008.

Summer in Central Asia can be very hot and dry. In July and August, temperature can exceed 50 degrees during daytime and without much humidity, majority of the local folks prefer not to venture outdoors. For nouveau riche, this is the perfect time to go for a holiday where there is water. In Central Asia, water is a scarce commodity, big water bodies are few and far between.

Lake Issyk-kul (“hot lake” in Kyrgyz) in Tian Shan mountain range in Kyrgyzstan is one such heavenly place. It was a well known stop-over spot on the Silk Road, a route traders frequented to carry their products to Europe from far-East during medieval period.

During Soviet era, people flocked there from all parts of former USSR with family and friends. Though older citizens are nostalgic about its lost charm and by-gone era, a new wave of posh Resorts and Pension houses are mushrooming to cater the nouveau riche. Here some statistics of the lake:

- Second largest mountain lake in the world (182km long, 60 km wide)
- 10th largest lake (by volume) in the world
- Never freezes due to high salinity

Courtsey: Wikipedia

Courtsey: Wikipedia

My time (read employment contract) in Tashkent was coming to an end so I thought I need to spend a week by the shores of Issyk-kul (before it’s too late) during July-August when the scorching sun in Tashkent sky is just unbearable. I had just accumulated enough UzAir Plus (Hy’s FFP) points to get a rewards ticket for TAS-FRU-TAS. I better use them before I leave this part of the world or otherwise it will be part of a long list of my unsuccessful FFP enrolments where points just got expired because of non-activity. A few trips to Uzbek Airways office in Tashkent finally got me the coveted rewards ticket in old-style stationary.

I also needed a visa for Kyrgyzstan. Again a few trips to the Kyrgyz embassy in Tashkent and $50 later, I was issued a tourist visa (hand written on Visa sticker). Now I am all set to go.

Sector: TAS- FRU
Date: July 30, 2008
Airline: Uzbekistan Airways
Aircraft: Avro RJ-85 (AR8)
Departure: 05.10am
Arrival: 07.35am

Uzbekistan Airways is the dominant player in this region. Though Kazakhstan is a bigger and richer country, their national carrier Air Astana is no competition to HY. Carriers from Tajikistan, Kyrgyzstan or Turkmenistan are almost non-existent. So, it’s HY that pretty much provides the connectivity in this region. No wonder my flight is full with a lot of connecting passengers who just arrived from east and west via HY’s late night/early morning bank of flights. RJ85 is a nice 4-engined aircraft that is the backbone of HY’s domestic operation and not so far destinations like ALA, FRU or GYD.

Courtsey: Jetphotos.net

The flight path is very scenic, the aircraft flies in parallel to snow-capped Tian Shan mountain range and in about 55 minutes we were making our landing preparation for Bishkek. FRU is the IATA code of Bishkek airport. The airport was named after Mikhail Frunze, legendary Bolshevik leader born in Bishkek.

The aircraft was parked far from the gate. We had to take a short walk to reach the airport building. The first thing that stuck me was the presence of US military aircrafts on tarmac. There were so many of them that you for a moment forget that it is not a US army airport somewhere in the US or any of their numerous bases scattered all over the world. I knew that US was using Manas airport as their launching pad for operations in Afghanistan but I had no idea about how big the operation was.

These pictures were taken on the day of my departure from FRU

While walking towards the terminal, we walked past uniformed and battle ready US servicemen. I politely wanted to say “Thanks for not shooting at me”, borrowing a line from Michael Moore’s famous film “Bowling for Columbine” about a school shooting incident at Columbine high school (to show how Canadians apparently live a less violent lifestyle as compared to trigger-happy Americans, Michael Moore knocks on the door of a Canadian home just across Detroit, on Canadian side of the border where he was received by a smiling senior couple and was invited inside. Moore while leaving their home, sarcastically comments “Thanks for not shooting at me”).

The immigration and passport control at FRU is much simpler than in TAS. Kyrgyzstan was already part of WTO in 2008 so currency control was also non existent. Once out of the terminal building, I was surrounded by a group of taxi drivers. After an intense negotiation, I settled for a run down Mercedes that will travel about 300 kms to bring me to my hotel for $100. Not bad.

Unlike other Stans, Kyrgyzstan is not in a hurry to wipe out the Russian influence. Most of the conversations locals have are still in Russian, language on billboards is Russian and the gas stations are owned by mega Russian oil giants. My driver while touching upon many local issues, showed no nationalistic fervor in his opinions. Makes sense when your next door neighbour was once a superpower.

A little bit of detouring but finally I located my all inclusive resort. I liked it at the first glance.

Resort where I am going to spend next few days

The lake water is pristine and lukewarm even during the pick of the summer months. I idled around the beaches and ate a lot (being all inclusive!).

Kyrgyz scenic countryside

The hotel reception lady insisted that I visit a local landmark. It’s a lavish display of paintings and sculptures intended to promote harmony among various religions of the world. The place is in a small town nearby called Cholpan-ata, the ground where the exhibition is located happens to be the most scenic part of the lake. Some pictures:

Thomas Jefferson here

I had really enjoyed this short stay. Kyrgyzstan is very scenic with its lakes and mountains and its warm innocent people. After doing full justice to my last all inclusive lunch, I leave for the airport.

Sector: FRU- TAS
Date: August 4, 2008
Airline: Uzbekistan Airways
Aircraft: 757-200
Departure: 19.10
Arrival: 19.40

In addition to our flight, there was one more flight that evening of Kyrgyzstan Airline that was going to all important DXB. This weekly run was the critical connection for the local traders, expatriates, prostitutes and odd tourists. BA (BMed), TK and SU were the other major airlines that provided connectivity to FRU during that period.

The passengers from DXB flight was overflowing in the small waiting area before boarding. There was a small selection of duty Free shopping; I bought an Irish Cream 500ml bottle for USD14. Very good price!
We were expecting a RJ-85 again but I saw a 752 landing. There must be a change of aircraft based on more tickets being sold, I guess. I was not wrong, again a full flight with lots of transit passengers.

HY's 752 just ahead of an US military aircraft

Kyrgyz airline's TU154M DXB bound

I landed at TAS on time and after usual haggling at the Customs, I was out in the dry, sultry summer evening of Tashkent. My last breath of pristine air of Lake Issyk kul got immediately sucked into the polluted sky of Tashkent.
Back to work tomorrow, the sadness engulfed me instantly Very Happy

.

Thanks for reading.
_________________
Tally Sheet:
41 Countries ||55 Aircraft types ||60 Airlines ||75 Airports

jasepl · Member Joined: 26 Jul 2008 Posts: 4257 Location: bund-bay

Fantastic!

Central Asia and the eastern Med have long been on my must-see list, but I just haven't been able.

Thanks for taking us to these amazing places. So much more fascinating than the usual Goa-Paris-Hong Kong slop that I churn out.
_________________
four years free of jetya punti!

sabya99 · Posted: Mon Apr 09, 2012 6:36 pm Post subject:

Brilliant trip report with nice pictures. I enjoyed every line of it. Yes, you are right these central Asian republics are now staging areas of US forces operating in Afganistan, but that also a source of income for them. Please keep posting! Very Happy

_________________
Sabya99

Nimish · Posted: Tue Apr 10, 2012 12:25 pm Post subject:

Lovely TR - thanks for posting. The exotic -stans seem to offer so much to see, definitely worth planning a visit one day.
_________________
We miss you Nalini!

sumantra · Member Joined: 28 Oct 2007 Posts: 4685 Location: New Delhi

What a lovely trip report, Mr. Pal! No, not just exotic places, exotic airlines, exotic planes and the like - superb descriptions and nice pictures. What more could one want?
You are one person who has travelled to exotic lands, and have a gift of the gab in terms of penning down memories, I am sure it is much more! You built the preamble beautifully. You also seem to have some rather graphic memories of the trip - right from the booking, to the sights into FRU, and the experience right there. You really have an eye for detail: your pictures of the resort and the museum are superb. It was nice looking at the pictures of the re-engined 707s. The picture of the 752 right in front of the 707 is superb, giving the impression of engines at an odd place, too. Lovely angle.
Thanks a lot for sharing these memories with us. From your earlier posts, I understand that it is not too easy, given that they are bygone memories, you may not have enough pictures - but I am glad that you are taking time out to share these with us.
Admiringly Yours,
Sumantra.

sumantra · Member Joined: 28 Oct 2007 Posts: 4685 Location: New Delhi

PAL@YWG · Posted: Thu Apr 12, 2012 8:25 am Post subject:

PAL@YWG · Posted: Thu Apr 12, 2012 8:36 am Post subject:

Nimish & Sabya,

Thanks for kind words. Central Asia is worth visiting, Kyrgyzstan in particular. Food may be an issue, if you are a strict vegitarian.

Sabya, it's true that these poor countries love to have the $$ by hosting the airbase in their teritorries. Power of greenbuck rules...
_________________
Tally Sheet:
41 Countries ||55 Aircraft types ||60 Airlines ||75 Airports

jasepl · Member Joined: 26 Jul 2008 Posts: 4257 Location: bund-bay

PAL@YWG · Posted: Fri Apr 13, 2012 3:20 am Post subject:

Spiderguy252 · Posted: Fri Apr 13, 2012 3:31 am Post subject:

Fascinating pictures, good stuff overall. Thanks for posting!
_________________
Yeah.

PAL@YWG · Posted: Fri Apr 13, 2012 3:48 am Post subject:

PAL@YWG · Posted: Fri Apr 13, 2012 8:40 am Post subject:

Deleted
_________________
Tally Sheet:
41 Countries ||55 Aircraft types ||60 Airlines ||75 Airports

sumantra · Member Joined: 28 Oct 2007 Posts: 4685 Location: New Delhi

Your last post was both funny, and very informative!
Cheers, Sumantra.

PAL@YWG · Posted: Sun Apr 15, 2012 11:57 pm Post subject:

sabya99 · Posted: Mon Apr 16, 2012 1:55 am Post subject:

An interesting observation from Wikipedia:

Russian Navy test site:

During the Soviet period, the Soviet Navy operated an extensive facility at the lake's eastern end, where submarine and torpedo technology was evaluated.[11] In March 2008, Kyrgyz newspapers reported that 866 hectares (2,140 acres) around the Karabulan Peninsula on the lake would be leased for an indefinite period to the Russian Navy, which is planning to establish new naval testing facilities as part of the 2007 bilateral Agreement on Friendship, Cooperation, Mutual Help, and Protection of Secret Materials. The Russian military will pay $4.5 million annually to lease the area.[12] India also plans to invest in the facility to test all types of torpedoes such as heavy weight torpedoes and those that have thermal navigation system. Another advantage that works for the testing center is that the torpedoes fired can also be recovered allowing scientists to make physical verification of a torpedo structure for further study. India is also planning to use the torpedo test facility to test the Autonomous Underwater Vehicle being developed by NSTL. For this India has proposed to engage local companies with know-how in torpedo technology to further co-develop the facility.[13]
_________________
Sabya99

PAL@YWG · Posted: Thu Apr 19, 2012 1:08 am Post subject:

sabya99 · Posted: Thu Apr 19, 2012 4:41 am Post subject: