Today's main task was to fix the problems creeping up in my back axle. I was pretty sure that a couple washers to fill the space between the two nuts would do the trick. Looking up 'washer' in my Russian-English dictionary provided little translation help, unless I was interested in carting large appliances into Kyrgyzstan...
Jumped into a taxi and went off to the smaller bazaar at the edge of town, where there were a number of little shops with lots of new(ish?) bike parts. I tried to explain what was wrong with the axle in English, broken Russian, and even a little Chimpanzee, but the owner and the taxi driver where sure THEY knew the nature of the problem and started rummaging around the shop pulling out pretty exotic bike/car/tank(?) spare parts to fix it. Meanwhile, I quickly had found my two washers, solved the problem, and was waiting patiently for their return from the shop's innards. We all had a great stage laugh at that one (exit stage left). Back at the hotel I spent an hour tuning up my bicycle.
I'm glad I brought a few spare disk brake pads, as the back two were running pretty low and new ones will definitely be needed for all the Kyrgyz mountain riding! The back axle is looking okay, but it will take a few days of riding to see if any mechanical vibrations shake the system loose.
Headed to the center square to exchange some money into Kazakh Tenge and Kyrgyz Som. Went to the local Turkish restaurant for a doner durum sandwich (a great break from the typical Central Asian fare). Over to the Internet cafe for an hour's worth of glimpsing at the outside world, followed by a needed (but unearned) two-hour nap.
Woke up for dinner and went down to the cafe for cocktails. Listed on the menu were a few bottles from local Kazakh wineries ranging from $6-8. I started (and go no further than) the low-end 'Kazakh Red'. To be fair, it was a sufficient sweet red - a poorer cousin to those that one can find in the Balkans and Caucasus regions. However, at the time I couldn't help thinking that it tasted like a mixture of five parts bad Merlot to one part Golden Syrup, slowly filtered through a cat with digestive issues. (As the bottle drained down to its sediments, your author actually took much glee in finding turns-of-phrase to properly express the wine's full bodied effects. Sadly, this missive was written the following day over a sobering cup of coffee.) Headed over to the local Georgian restaurant for dinner and was treated to some delicious nut-based salad and chicken in nut sauce. (The latter being a delicious chicken baked in a nice mixture of tomatoes, onion, and walnut paste with butter/cream and added spices! Back to the hotel for an hour of Russian MTV before grabbing some shut-eye.
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