My tent is set up at the end of a sandy road, metres from the water lapping the shore of Issy Kul lake. The sun has just set, and I see the silhouette of the mountains behind the opposite shore of the lake slowly fading to grey. Today is the day of the lake.
Sun bathing on Issykul
Today has been a repeat of my trip to the lake with public transport. I saw the familiar town of Balychy, and even saw my train arrive.
The train to Issykul
I went for a swim behind the old soviet sign that we also saw earlier. I ran into a group of kids that cycled around the lake last year to raise money for the poor in Kyrgyzstan. This year they were playing football.
Soviet monument
The group of footballers/cyclists
It was hard to get away from the masses to camp. I investigated the whole little sandy peninsula, including the massive pile of cars and swimmers near the yurts, before deciding on (what I thought) was a remote, secluded place. Unfortunately some more campers arrived and have just started their loud music. Oh well..
arctic-cycler.com 