Naryn Part 2 – or “I’ll trade Jen for a Lada”

The second day in Naryn we took a taxi out to Tash Rabat – about a 2 hour drive each way. Tash Rabat is an old Silk Road caravan outpost full of lots of history which I’m sure you can Wikipedia or Google to find out about. The scenery on the drive was gorgeous – lots of snowy mountains.

There was this section of long straight road - I heard that it was used as an emergency Russian airstrip in case of war with China (we were really close to China on our trip):

Tash Rabat:

Uber Cute puppy at Tash Rabat:

And of course, me:

After we got back we were walking along the streets and encountered a hilarious group of 3 slightly intoxicated Kyrgyz men. We talked for a few minutes before they asked if I’m married and then talked up their friend as a potential husband. As bride napping is a national sport here, I learned how to say “I’m married” around my 3rd day here (just to clarify: I’m not actually married). The men replied that I may have a husband in America, but I don’t have one in Kyrgyzstan yet, so it’s okay. My friend then asked the guys what kind of price I’d fetch – a yak, a few sheep, etc. The guy said he’d definitely pay a Lada for me – I was quite flattered. He had a good hold of my arm, and though he said he was joking, there was definitely love in his eyes. So we made a quick escape before they could bundle me into a sack and steal me, and I narrowly avoided having to boil meat for a drunken Kyrgyz man for the rest of my life.