How I almost spent the night in the streets of Cholpon-Ata!

by Isabelle Sonier (Canada)

A leap into the unknown Kyrgyzstan

I am an adventurer and when I told my family and friends I was off to Central Asia, they feared for my life. I think it has something to do with the word Stan and just assuming they are bad countries. However, what I learnt was that people are afraid of the unknown. I wanted to be able to prove the close minded people around me that the world is a great place and it doesn't matter which part of the world you are in. I had a good amount of solo travel experience when I booked my flight to Kazakhstan and Kyrgyzstan however I was clueless on how I was going to travel around these countries with so little knowledge that I found on the internet. I was able to connect with two full time travelers that had been there and they gave me tons of advice which I recommend to anyone going there. I spent 6 days in Kazakhstan and then flew into the capital of Kyrgyzstan where I did not spend anytime. I went straight to Cholpon-Ata which is a city known for their Nomad Games in 2018. However what I did not expect was being the only tourist in the city. I had booked an accommodation through Expedia for the night before moving forward to Karakol around Issyk Kul. My phone died shortly after I arrived and the streets were deserted. I was unable to locate my hotel and went into a small family store to warm up. I tried explaining to them what I was looking for and the young boy and mother did not understand me. It was starting to get late and night was coming. The boy allowed me to use a phone charger to charge my phone and we spoke through google translate since I could not speak Kyrgyz. After some back and forth and calling the accommodations for me, the young boy told me they were closed for the winter. I started to panic since I am alone, in a foreign country, 4 hours away from my next location and it was getting dark. The young boy reassured me that he would help me find a place and we walked out to the only two hotels open in the town. He told me to stay and wait outside. I did and he came back and marked an X with his hands. I was starting to panic at this point. Luckily, the second hotel offered to let me stay and I know I was going to be safe. I never had an experience like that with so much remoteness. I went during off season however I had heard such great things from this resort town that I figured there would still be activities in the winter but I was so wrong. I only met one other tourist my entire 5 day trip in Kyrgyzstan and it has been the most remote place I have ever traveled to. Without the amazing Kyrgyz people and their amazing hospitality, I am convinced I would of slept on the streets in Cholpon-Ata that night. I hope with sharing my story on my experiences, I can inspire more young people to travel alone and to not be afraid. Of course, the world can be a scary place but I believe there are more good than bad in this world and we cannot be afraid of the what if, if it did not even happen yet.