To travel from the north of Kyrgyzstan to the south is tricky. It is possible to get a series of buses, but the journey is lengthy and exhausting. Many areas are mountainous and there are also areas of steppe. In an ideal world, with unlimited money and time we would have found another couple of tourists to share a car and driver with us for the trip or signed up for a tour. But we are at the end of our trip and the time we have is limited. So are doing a whistle stop tour of some of the major cities of Central Asia with some side trips where this is possible. I would love to return some day, to see Lake Karakul, Arslanabob (a small town where almond trees are famously grown), the Lenin peak area of Kyrgyzstan and lake Song Kul. That’s the trouble with travelling, I just discover more places that I want to visit.

We booked a flight from Bishtek to Osh, the second city of Kyrgyzstan. Where an overland trip would have taken us 72 hours minimum of exhausting travel in various small buses (marshrutkas), the flight takes only 45 minutes and is relatively cheap.

Tim was thrilled to see that our plane, which seemed very small and flimsy to me, had a propellor. He noted that it had been built in Canada, was ideally suited to the terrain we were traversing and would only need a short runway. I was unable to share his joy, I was too worried about crashing into a mountain. We did experience a bit of turbulence during the journey, but overall it was a smooth flight, to my relief.

We ordered a taxi via Tim’s Yandex app outside the airport. An elderly man in a very battered car turned up. I had doubts about whether it was capable of getting us into the centre of town and there did appear to be some issues with the gearbox, but eventually we bumped along a dusty road where lots of construction work was going on and were told we had reached our destination. It turned out that the driver had taken us to the back gate of the hotel. Once we had time to get orientated and look around we realised that most of the houses in the road where we had been dropped off were missing their front or back walls. It appeared that in order to widen the road these had been knocked down! The locals were ordering building materials to repair them.

Throughout the city there was evidence of a massive transformation going on. One day we walked past an ice cream shop that we decided we would return to. The next day we walked past it again and it was no more! All around us buildings were been razed. Apparently Osh is being turned into the IT centre of Kyrgyzstan. New malls, houses and public buildings are under construction and Chinese money is being invested in the town. At the moment everything feels either half pulled down or half built.

Luckily our hotel was a quiet sanctuary and there was an extremely good restaurant next door, Navat, which has branches throughout Kyrgyzstan. It was recommended to me by somebody on the tour we went on from Almaty, who had visited Bishtek and eaten at the branch there. Navat’s decorations are quite psychedelic and large teddy bears adorn many of the seating areas. There is a great kids play area so parents can relax.

On our first full day in Osh, we decided to orient ourselves and wandered along the river through a park area. The shade from the trees was very welcome. The river was cold, clear and fierce, probably coming straight off the mountain glaciers that surround the city. Like in Leh and Bishtek channels lead from the river throughout the town, irrigating dry parks and gardens. Boys were taking a dip and residents were relaxing on benches.

The park was built in the Soviet era and contained a memorial to soldiers killed in the Afghan conflict. It was a little neglected, but still a pleasant place to wander. We found a great coffee shop on its outskirts, where we spent some time. Then we wandered in the other direction, finding the kids’ area that all Soviet parks seem to contain. This one was thronged with people out having a good time at the weekend. We continued to wander, finding the municipal swimming pool and passing a teacher taking a group of his pupils to the playground. The route along the river is said to lead to the market, but from what I had read this has now been razed to make way for a shopping centre. We didn’t make it that far in any case.

The main attraction of Osh is the large bare hill that dominates the town, known as Sulaiman-Too. It looked like a very tall and hot climb but by our second day we knew that we could avoid its call no longer. It was difficult to work out where to begin the upward climb with all the construction going on. A local man pointed out a post route to us. But we were lazy tourists. We had got up too late and it was already hot. After visiting the mausoleum, which was locked, we decided to avoid the climb for a bit longer and head for a nearby cafe in an area that appeared to be an official entrance point to the monument.

We lazed about drinking tea for a while before rousing ourselves. First we visited the three storey yurt, an attraction near the entrance of Suleiman-Too. Like in India and China there was an opportunity to dress up and have photos taken in traditional dress. The three storey yurt had loads of different outfits to choose from, but we resisted the temptation. There were lots of stuffed animals on display as well as a map of the Suleiman-Too complex, but not much else.

After finishing in the yurt, we headed to the nearby museum where we found more stuffed animals. There were also photos of the heroes of socialist labour, such as a milkmaid who had scored the highest production numbers in her area. We inspected displays of swords, carpets, riding tack, falconry, archeological discoveries and minerals from the surrounding area.

By now it was nearly 3pm and the climb could no longer be avoided if we were to complete it that day. The first set of steps led to some ancient petroglyphs. Modern inhabitants of the city had contributed their own graffiti to the rocks surrounding them, and it was a little challenging to work out what was a petroglyph and what was the work of Vlad the local graffiti artist. The ambience reminded me a little of the rocks underneath Hastings Castle.

We tackled the main set of steps, which once we started on them weren’t too bad. They led to an area which gave us views of the city and the area surrounding it. There is a small structure, the Dom Babura here. According to Lonely Planet the 14 year old Zahiruddin Babur of Fergana built a prayer retreat here. Babur was the progenitor of the Mogul dynasty so this place of worship became highly revered although it has been destroyed and rebuilt several times since. A man was deep in prayer inside the room so we didn’t disturb him.

Round the corner from this area was a slippery rock, which apparently makes you fertile and cures backache if you slide down it three times. I have no wish for my fertility to return, but Tim caused some young local girls extreme hilarity by having a go at this activity.

I thought that the main climb was over but I was wrong. The hillside is full of small and large caves that are said to have various spiritual or curative properties and the path that we were now on led to what appeared to be the biggest. Tim clambered up the hard and more dangerous route. I found an alternative gently sloping path. The cave was a little smelly. We finally headed down, passing the Cave Museum and thinking that we might return to it another day as by now we were very tired.

On the way back to our hotel we stopped off at some small hole in the wall cafes selling skewers of meat that we had noticed the day before. I am not sure exactly what we were eating, but it was delicious.

Our remaining time in Osh was spent relaxing in cafes and parks before we set off for Andijon in the Fergana valley of Uzbekistan.