KYRGYZSTAN – I find freedom in the coolness of a nomadic yurt, by a swelling river eating couscous and cucumber, in a thunderclap of an alpine snowstorm ripping through the sierra, in the inky scrawls of a tattered map.
I am in the mountains of Kyrgyzstan, the hiking capital of Central Asia, and I walk untethered. Nestled in the Tian Shan and Pamir mountain ranges, the country is geographically isolated from the region. When I walk, I feel alone, tucked behind a crag of a mountain, far from unbroken, planar horizons.
Already a subscriber? Log in
Read the full story and more at $9.90/month
Get exclusive reports and insights with more than 500 subscriber-only articles every month
ST One Digital
$9.90/month
No contract
ST app access on 1 mobile device
Unlock these benefits
All subscriber-only content on ST app and straitstimes.com
Easy access any time via ST app on 1 mobile device
E-paper with 2-week archive so you won't miss out on content that matters to you