Larry Memmott's Blog

Though I’ll call this a day trip, you can actually visit this field of wildflowers on your lunch hour.  I’m not certain that it is actually in Bishkek proper, but if not, it is just outside.  Really, it is just an example of many beautiful places you can find by exploring the near foothills. This […]

Kok-Moinok Gorge is another of the fantastic day trips to the mountains from Bishkek.  It’s the next gorge east of Issyk Ata, and another beauty, with a rushing river flowing down through rough terrain with some forestation and scattered wildflowers.  It’s another one, though, that I did not have time to explore well, so I’ll […]

The wildflowers of Kyrgyzstan are rightfully considered among the most beautiful in the world.  While I got a chance to get around and see a lot of them while I was there, one of my regrets about departing so soon was that I missed the opportunity to get out again this spring, now that I’ve […]

The trip to Issyk Ata is a nice day trip, with possibilities for hiking or soaking in the hot springs. It’s also another curious relic of Soviet days with lots of old symbols of the Union still scattered about. I won’t go into the route details, since the route, including links to gps information, is […]

This is the classic day trip from Bishkek. If you haven’t been, why not? Anyway, I give you a little twist here, we can make the Burana Tower trip into a very nice loop, with hiking and picnic opportunities along the way, or a yummy trout lunch. The Burana Tower is about all that’s left […]

Ata Beit is the memorial and collective grave of victims of Stalin’s repression in the 1930s. More recently, it has also become the burying place of those who died in the April, 2010 revolution. It’s an impressive memorial, if not very well maintained, and a quick and easy half-day trip from Bishkek. It can also […]

Ala Archa is the first out-of-Bishkek experience for most Expats in Kyrgyzstan.  And it should be.  Ala Archa is incredible, and it has something for practically anyone.  The hiking ranges from a paved (but closed to vehicles) walkway up the canyon (close to a mile) to technical climbing of the high peaks.  The latter is […]

This is perhaps the closest and easiest way to see the high Ala Too Mountains up close from Bishkek. The full loop is about 55 miles long and makes a nice daytrip. The fields of wildflowers are gorgeous, in season. The loop trip can be easily combined with a stop off at Ata Beit, the […]

So, the subject matter of this blog is going to change!  Tatyana, Aliciya and I have left Bishkek to begin our next adventure.  Over the next few months we will be reacquainting ourselves with the U.S. and getting ready to move to La Paz, Bolivia, where I will serve as Deputy Chief of Mission. For […]

I got a kick out of the photo they used in this article on “Voucher Schemes for Enhanced Fertilizer Use.” That was a great day. The woman in the photo was a “Hero Mother of the Soviet Union.” I think she said she had eight children. I was handing her a bag of sugar beet […]