Having reddened a little bit more the previous day than I would have liked (plus having a good book to read), I decided to stay put for another night. Thirty minutes after deciding this, I was pleased to be dry on a covered outside patio during one of the day's frequent thunderstorms. Read during the morning, and then on to a cafe for a bit of lunch. 
Picked up another guide book back at the homestay and read a few pages about the Kyrgyz practice of ala achuu (or bridenapping for those not fluent in Kyrgyz). The happy traditional way is for a Kyrgyz man to 'kidnap' his girlfriend/fiance and bring him to his house while she coquettishly fights him off. (This being the start of the marriage rituals.) However, if a man and his posse kidnap a woman against her will and bring her across his family's threshold, then the woman has pretty limited choices: i) escape immediately and bring shame on her family; ii) escape later and bring shame on both families; or iii) get married. Horrifically, about 1/3rd of forced kidnapping involve abuse and even rape. Though illegal since the Soviet time, the practice has seen an upswing in the past two decades, and is moderately tolerated by some in the Kyrgyz establishment. Yikes.
Met up with the Dutch couple for afternoon tea and played rummy until dinner at yet another 'best restaurant in town'. Tried a bottle of Kyrgyz red wine, which turned to be much more palatable then the previous attempt in Kochkor. Headed back to the homestay and we set upon by a drunken Japanese man staying with his interpreter in the room next door. He invited us in for a glass of local wine (not bad) and for stories about the introduction of Buddhism into Japan by a monk who traversed the Barskoon valley that I climbed into yesterday. While interesting history, I wasn't too excited to join in a Saki-fest of drunkenness, so I excused myself early and headed off to read.
Just love your blog! Keep cycling and writing! Always waiting for the next part :)
ReplyDeleteDima, Kiev.