Kyrgyzstan - Central Asia - page 242

for a few windows pre-selling tickets for night
buses and international routes. Then there are
three essentially separate minibus areas, each
tending to duplicate each other's routings.
Minibuses depart from the east and west areas
once they're full, while the north area has ap-
proximately timetabled services, though depar-
ture times rarely seem to it with those posted.
The result is considerable uncertainty making
the whole process much more stressful that it
needs to be. Out front the same destinations are
served by a mass of shared taxis.
The Eastern Bus Station (Vastotshny
Avtovoksal; % 48 20 04; Jibek Jolu 263;
h 6am-7.30pm) is much smaller and better
organised. Services are relatively local including
Kant, Tokmok (slow/express 40/60som, around
one hour, several per hour), Kemin (120som,
around two hours, hourly from 10am to 6pm),
Kegeti (50som, two hours, 9.30am and 3.30pm)
and Issyk-Ata Sanatorium (60som, 2½ hours,
8.30am, 10am, 11.30am, 1.30pm, 5pm, 6pm).
However, for the mountain valleys nearest to
Bishkek, most marshrutkas start from a variety
of points around Osh Bazaar.
There are no minibuses or buses for Osh,
Jalal-Abad and Southern Kyrgyzstan. But there
are a plethora of shared taxis plus commercial
vehicles ofering spaces in their cabs or even
amongst the cargo. As such, rides can take all
day (around 10 hours to Osh is common); it's
best to start early and better still to pre-book a
place with a driver.
Three places to look for a ride are:

International Routes
Buses drive right across Kazakhstan to various
Russian cities starting mostly from the Western
Bus Station, but sometimes from Dordoi Motors.
¨ ¨ Almaty (Kazakhstan) Use direct minivans

(from 400som) or shared taxis from the
Western Bus Station, or travel in stages tak-
ing marshrutka 285 or 333 (20som, marked
Tamozhna ) to the Kazakh Border via Leninskoe
and Lugovoe villages.
¨

¨ Astana (Kazakhstan) (1450som, around 20
hours) departs alternate days at 3pm from the
Western Bus Station.
¨ ¨ Shymkent (Kazakhstan) Overnight bus

(550som, around 10 hours) departs at 9pm
from the Western Bus Station. Handy if you're
heading towards Tashkent.
¨ ¨ Kashgar (China) There's a direct bus to

Kashgar at 4pm on Mondays (4020som) from
the Eastern Bus Station; however, as it drives
via the Torugart Pass, it can currently only be
used by Kyrgyz and Chinese citizens.
Sample Domestic Routes
Prices luctuate with petrol costs and seasonal
demand variations. The per seat fares for mini-
buses/shared taxis include:
¨ Karakol by north route: buses between 7pm
and 11pm, 330som (10 hours) via Cholpon-Ata
(six hours). Minibuses by day 300som, six
hours.
¨ Karakol by south route: bus 8.50pm, 330som
¨ Naryn or Chayek: both 300som, five to six
hours, via Kochkor (three hours).
CAR RENTAL
generally car rental in Central Asia assumes that
you engage a vehicle with driver. In Bishkek this
is quite easily organised through CBT (p246)
(14som to 18som per km) or tour agencies such
as NoviNomad (p245) and FantasticAsia (p246),
who can ind a decent 4WD for around US$0.35
per kilometre. Drivers' meals and overnight
expenses usually add US$20 per day, and if
you're doing a one-way journey you'll have to pay
the return.
Self-drive car rental is in its infancy. The two
Bishkek agencies operating to date have only
a small selection of vehicles, so although they
ofer a selection of prices and styles, if you don't
book well ahead you might ind that choice is
limited or non-existent. Plumping for a 4WD
vehicle is wise if you're going of the main high-
ways and doesn't necessarily cost more than
a city car. Be aware that there is no roadside
assistance so if you have a breakdown and are
not mechanically adept or luent in local lan-
guages, things can prove awkward. Dealing with
occasional police stops will also be a linguistic
challenge.

¨ Osh Bazaar (Map p234) Drivers typically lurk
towards the southern corner, near the canal;
there is no organised system, just whispered
suggestions of destinations.
¨

¨

¨ Dordoi Motors (Deng Xiao Ping 302/1;
g 148, 199, 220, trolley 14) Official shared
taxis to Fergana Valley towns often start in
front of the Dordoi Motors company, 3km from
Osh Bazaar on the western extension of Chuy.
Signs help you find the destinations for which
cars are bound. Consider arriving the afternoon
before departure to find a driver and phone
number rather than waiting around - poten-
tially for hours. And don't confuse Dordoi Mo-
tors with Dordoi Bazaar or Dordoi Plaza which
are each in entirely different parts of town.
¨

¨ Western Bus Station dispatchers (Map
p234) If you visit the main bus station, you're
unlikely to see any vehicles bound for Osh or
the south. Yet tucked away on the outer west
side of the main building is a small office from
which shared taxis are coordinated. Find a
Russian or Kyrgyz speaker and call Majunusov
Shermamat ( % 077-242 9426) or Tochton-
azarov Bilal ( % 077-362 3640) to arrange rides
to Osh; Aimaktayna Kebekbai ( % 077-290
2470) for Jalal-Abad or Kerben.