just smile

now hoping that this computer will be more forgiving, althought it has already been slightly temperamental........

I was expecting to travel Central Asia and find a gem, instead I have found two. I have seen the beautiful scenery as expected, what I didn't expect was to see the extent of the kindness of the human heart.

The scenery to start. The drive to Issyk-kul was a road along plains and valleys walled by rocky mountains. I saw my first typical Central Asian view when we arrived at the beginning of the lake. To my left was this enormous body of light blue water, devoid of tourist yachts and skidooimythings, to my right brown hills growing steadily into great rugged snow-capped mountains and in front of us was a small valley with a windy dried river bed at the bottom. The dusty valley was studded with small lavender like bushes and coming up from the valley was a old farmer on a horse. The scene wes perfect, magnificent and unblemished.

But, as I said, the people i've met in the last week have made this trip all the more worth it.

Ainura is the girl who I've been staying with. She has opened her home to us, been a travel agent and a tour guide, but most importantly a greatly needed friend. Looking around Bishkek, I found that Ainura is not an exception. Everybody here is ready to help a lost tourist by pointing the way or showing the cheapest shops. The nicest sight in Bishkek has to be the people on the packed minibuses, that are more like sardine tins with wheels. Anybody will get up as soon as a mother, old woman or expectant mother walk on to the bus. If someone walks on with a lot of bags there will always be someone offering to hold something. Even today when we where being a pain by gatting on with 3 large backpacks, an old woman let one bag rest on her leg. We offered to move it but she insisted that it was fine.

I'm also learning that connection between people who don't speak each others languages is much easier than i thought, and much more rewarding. I'm not just talking about pointing to a loaf of bread and picking up one finger to say one. On the bus there was a young boy who was very polite and quite interested in the western people with lots of bags. He picked things up when we dropped them, smiled a lot and tried to talk to us. After an hour or two he had got quite aggitated and was moving around the bus. Michael was listening to a cassette player and the boy asked to listen. We gave him the new toy and he looked so happy. Within half an hour most of the children on the bus had had a listen to Dave's Cousin's Band and had learning to play an air guitar and to headbash. His father and grandmother thanked us, and we had made new friends.

I have found that although there may not be an universal language, a smile is the same anywhere.

PS El - gobeithio gewch chi amser anhygoel yn Groeg, cofi ymlacio! Cariad mawr i'r teulu xxxxx