-> The girls

Cholpon (left), 20, student of sociology at the American University Central Asia, guided me during my 2-months stay. Nadya, 19, was my tennis-partner. We all became really good friends.

-> Osh

When we were asked to board our plane - a rusty Russian Yak 40, a stark gust came up, cutting my boarding pass off the ticket. Seeing this important sheet of paper fly away, the stewardess made an unmistakable sign that I shall run. Right towards the American base. What followed was an interesting scene. Everytime I seemed to have caught the pass, wind came up again and blew the paper farther away. After some 250 meters, I finally got hold of it, jumping on it, not letting it fly away again. This whole show caused a good deal of laughter among my friends and the other passengers, luckily, the Americans, whose zone I entered, weren't too amazed at all. The flight was unexpectedly smooth, despite the wind. The old plane, probably 35 years old, took some time to take off and incline, though I was impressed on how safe everything appeared. We Europeans are security fanatics, that's what I know now.

-> The vista

The Tien Shan is the major obstacle when travelling overland to Osh. When flying though, these stunning mountains look rather tiny.

-> Osh market

Osh still hosts one of the biggest Central Asian markets. The stalls brim with fresh vegetable, fruit, - basically they brim with almost everything you could possibly imagine.

> Osh market

Dried fruits - I love them...