Bishkek, Day 3: A-Typical Day

(Exchange rate: US$ 1 = 37 Kyrgyz soms; KGS 1 = PHP 1.30)

After breakfast in the hotel, my day usually begins with a cab ride to either the ADB office or my colleague’s office. A cab ride to any point in Bishkek costs 75 to 80 soms, but the hotel taxi (nicer car) costs 100 soms. Traffic in Bishkek is light and orderly, and drivers and pedestrians mostly follow traffic signs; however, roads are terrible even by Manila standards.

After a short meeting in the office, my colleagues brought me to one of the largest stores in Bishkek called Zum (Цум), taking a ride in a German surplus minibus (the name of the original owner still on the side) with a fare of 5 soms. Like Virramall or St. Francis Square, Zum is made up of many small stalls offering almost anything under the sun. There are no Manila-type malls in Bishkek and no Western fast-food chains—glad to know McDonaldsisation and Starbucksisation haven’t reached this part of the world.

After having my fill of Kyrgyz souvenirs, we had lunch at a café in the basement of Zum called Labyrinth (in Bishkek, all restaurants are called café, or кафе). Labyrinth serves Russian and Kyrgyz dishes as well as alcoholic drinks and cigarettes, which are on the menu. I ordered a Kyrgyz dish called besh barmak (беш бapMaк) which is a bland noodle dish with chopped beef and a small amount of broth (75 soms). My Kyrgyz colleagues say “besh barmak” literally means “five fingers” because it was traditionally eaten by hand. Also, besh barmak is traditionally a midnight snack of sorts—nomads must need their energy. For dessert, I had an ice cream sundae with apples, pineapple jam, walnuts, and cognac (!), costing 80 soms. [I observe that Central Asians call all distilled grape-based spirits as “cognac” even if they are not from Cognac, France. And although the quality is good, the “cognac” is better compared with brandy rather than the real cognac.] After two days of being dined out, I treated my colleagues to lunch—the bill for the three of us was 550 soms, a fairly expensive lunch by Bishkek standards.

After going back to the hotel at 4 pm, I saw that I had at least 4 more hours of daylight so I decided to take a walking tour alone, covering a radius of around 1 km around the hotel. The temperature today was fairly cool by Manila standards, probably in the low 20’s (centigrade), but hot by Bishkek standards.

Bishkek is a walk-friendly city with wide sidewalks and fairly clean air, although there is the occasional smoke belcher. Buildings are mostly old Soviet-era apartments that are structurally stable but poorly maintained; new buildings really stand out. There are also a lot of grand government buildings and monuments in the particularly dynamic Soviet style. You will find a few cigarette and candy vendors along sidewalks, though never to the point of being an obstruction. You will also find magazine kiosks on almost every corner, none of them selling English periodicals. Salespeople are generally friendly and accommodating, but expect a “nyet” whenever you ask them, “Gavaritye pa anggliskiy?” Few people in Bishkek speak English, but I find that a few basic Russian phrases can get you by. If you’re lucky, an English-speaking customer will hear you and lend assistance, as what happened to me yesterday when I bought edinits (единиц, or credits) for my pre-paid mobile.

During my walk, I passed by a stall that sells rotisserie chicken (called grill, or гриль). One roast chicken, which is a jumbo chicken in Manila, costs 210 soms, while half a chicken costs 105 soms. I say it’s a deal given the size of the bird—I bought half a chicken for dinner. I also bought a 1.5 litre bottle of mineral water for 16 soms and some traditional round Kyrgyz bread called khleb (хлеб) for 7 soms—yes, food in Bishkek is cheaper than in Manila.
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Back in my hotel room, I tuned in as usual to BBC News and Star World—the only two English-language channels on the telly. To my chagrin, only official state TV and a few Russian entertainment channels were accessible. The hotel operator says it’s due to some technical difficulties, but I think it’s related to the political rallies for tomorrow. Oh well.