Carpets and camels and yurts

Felt carpets, camels and yurts

Breakfast was 3 fried eggs, hard bread, yogurt and puréed apricot jam. Granny served. She's a doctor trained in Moscow in Soviet times and won the gold medal for being best in her year so got privileges. However she is now running a B and B as well to make ends meet. She has 4 adult children. Traditionally the youngest son stays st home to help the parents so he and his wife and 4 Kids live there.

I Walked up the dirt street to see the mountains -our guest house is on the outside of town - and an old man was holding baby. I asked if I could take their pic and he said yes, but she was shy and cuddled in to him.

Before heading to the high pass we had a very interesting felt carpet making demo. Golden Hands. 2 women in national dress and a boy to help. A women's coop sponsored by a Swiss woman. Saw3 types. First on a frame (chiy mar) with stones holding 2 lengths of wool which got wrapped round alternately adding dried reeds. Next type was boiled wool rug - Ala-kiyiz - beating the wool then pulling apart and laying out with contrasting orange colour to make pattern, then boiling water through a sieve, rolled up and the pull it along stamping on it which. Normally takes 6 hours.- last one was very complex - pink and brown felt one on top of another, pattern drawn on it, cut out, sewn with the cut out fitted into the other, sewn together then nice coloured threads to cover it. (Quilting - Shyrdak)
Then went to shop for picnic food and water for 2 days, and set off. Headed south through high hills, crumbly stones and land slips then for a bit on good road leading to China about 200 miles away, built by the Chinese for trading - the lorries arrive packed with everything from bananas to Morrisons plastic bags - but they return empty. Then turned off onto unmetalled road heading for a pass where we got pix taken, then down a bit till we reached the zigzags to reach the high pass at 3435m. On the zigzags first bus got a puncture so we had lunch with a view, just by a few camels. Cold at top of pass, long way down to north side of lake and headed east, crossed a bridge at end of lake then headed west. Scenery like Tibet. Camp is 4 in a crowded yurt. Walk to lSon Kul lake then in mess tent for vodka and tonic and dinner - aubergine spicey salad, potato soup and rice and doughnut with Icing. Stove on in yurt at 8pm. We were not just cosy - we were boiling!