Some fun facts on Kyrgyzstan

Having left the Kyrgyz Republic, this is a good time for a few general impressions and facts on the country.

1. In Osh, Jalal-Abad and Bishkek, the roads and pavements are littered with uncovered holes and sewer-entrances. Not a nice place for blind people, and frustrating for car drivers.
2. Kyrgyzstan must be one of the few countries in the world to have a a currency denomination of 3 som.
3. The flag of Kyrgyzstan displays a tunduk (seen from below), the crown of a yurt, the traditional nomadic house of the Kyrgyz people.
4. Most of the vans, minibusses and trucks in the country are second-hand models from European countries: it's very common to see a truck, marked with "Schmidt Obst und Gemuese, Hannover, Deutschland" crawling up a mountain pass.
5. Inter-city taxi drivers stop at seemingly random places along the way to buy large amounts of tomatoes, melons and other greenstuff, which they sell to merchants in the city of destination.
6. Alcohol is dirt cheap. A bottle of vodka costs about 180 som (ca. 3.5 EUR), a beer being relatively more expensive at a price of 60 som. The results of this are obvious: the streets and parks are littered with drunkards.
7. Any car on the road is a potential taxi, but negotating prices is a cumbersome experience. A rule of thumb to estimate the price to pay is as follows. Calculate the distance, multiply with ca. 10 l gas per 100 km and multiply with the price of gas per liter (about 35 som); then add about 200 som for the service. Divide this with 4 seats, and you have your price per seat.