Larry Memmott's Blog

We drove up to Ala Archa to take a walk in the snow.  It was beautiful, as it always is.

Alexandra, Christina and William came to visit us for Christmas and New Years. We had a great time exploring Bishkek and some of the mountainous areas around the city. Although we were disappointed with the light snowfall (and they missed the Blizzard of 09 back at home), the mild weather did allow us to have […]

Over the past few days we’ve been getting seriously into the Christmas spirit! The Embassy’s local employees organized a major party at a local cafe for the adults of the embassy, with plenty to eat and drink, and lots of dancing and partying. It was a blast! And then we hosted, at our house, Breakfast […]

Lake Issyk Kul is the tenth largest lake in the world (by volume) and the second largest mountain lake (after Lake Titicaca, which I have also visited). It is also the second largest saline lake in the world, after the Caspian Sea (so, bigger than the Great Salt Lake). It’s not heavily salty, just enough […]

Ala Archa National Park is our closest escape from Bishkek. Only about 25 miles from Bishkek, we can be there in just over half an hour from the house. And it is an incredible place. The photos from below are from two hikes I have taken up there. If I could, I’d be there every […]

I really enjoyed the Kok-boru. So much that when I put up the entry on it, I got carried away, I guess, putting up so many photos. And I entirely forgot the photos of spectators I shot. They are just as interesting, I think. Here they are:

Kok-boru is the national sport of Kyrgyzstan. On September 1, Independence Day for Kyrgyzstan, top diplomats were invited to watch the finals of the President’s Cup, the national championship. Here are some photos I got and a bit of explanation. For starters, maybe a bit of an explanation of the game. Here is what Wikipedia […]