The Dordoy Bazaar in Bishkek is one of the largest markets in Asia. It consists mainly of stacked cargo containers: the lower one contains the shop, the upper one is the storage room. In the weekend, Dordoy is extremely busy. Therefore, we went there early, at seven o'clock in the morning [...]
Surveillance with the help of satellites and drones is known primarily from the military sector. However, conservationists also started to use these modern technologies to their advantage. How they do it, the following three examples show. GPS/Satellite Telemetry Scientist Koustubh Sharma switches on the computer in his office. Via alphanumeric password, he logs into the [...]
A man is walking on the side of the road. He carries shopping bags in both hands. As soon as he sees a stray dog lying in the shade of a tree, he puts the bags down, picks up a stone and throws it at the animal. The dog is hit; it whines and runs [...]
There is no leather padded eight-seater chairlift with heated seats and wind bubble. Here in Kashka Suu, there is a single two-seat wooden folding chair lift with a small chain for safety. Don't even start looking for foot-support. "Don't you want to buckle up?" Kathrin asks. She works for a German humanitarian aid organization in [...]
When asked the question: "How much hay does your family need for the winter?" Uyadagwa thinks for a moment. Then he points to the horizon. "We have to mow the grass till there. 20 trucks of hay we have to bring to the camp. Then we have enough." Uyadagwa (41 years old) and his two [...]
Who likes to sit in front of the PC all Sunday? Certainly not the European expats in Bishkek. The spontaneous decision: "Let's go hiking in Ala Archa!" The National Park is located about 40 kilometers outside of Bishkek, which is a nice day trip. It's four of us and we conveniently share a taxi. It [...]
Visiting a zoo in winter is a solitary experience. This Monday morning in January, there only few visitors. Most of the staff are busy with shoveling snow. In addition to the birds' croaking from the aviaries, you only hear the scraping of the shovel blades on the asphalt. Many of the snow-covered enclosures are empty. [...]
The driver and I look at each other. "4000 and we leave right now," he says in Russian. I take a deep breath. Now I have to make a decision. Just this morning I crossed the border from Uzbekistan. "Feels good to be back," I thought, when I got the Kyrgyz stamp in the passport. [...]
“Who needs pre-booking? Let’s do it on our own!” This is what we said, when we got the quote from the trekking company. Almost 280 USD per person would the three-day horse trek to Song Kul cost. It’s including transport and meals, but we are in Kyrgyzstan and there must be a cheaper way. Song [...]
"What was your first impression of Uzbekistan? " the students ask. "Many passport controls," I reply. We are at the Amir Timur museum in Tashkent. I'm standing in the middle and the students in a semicircle around me. I start to think, they are not here for the ruler of the 14th Century, but to [...]