Backdate: Kyrgyzstan Ak-Say Valley - Kol-Suu Lake - Naryn Aug 2019 Day 7

8/8/19 Thurs: Rise and shine at 7am! Had a simple breakfast consisting of pancake, biscuits, fruits and eggs. *Both sweetness and saltiness in a meal haha.* I remember waking up to dogs' barking outside our yurts and when we stood there, this small black dog came "biting" my pants, until the yellow dog "pounced" on it haha.

We were supposed to ride horses to and fro Kol-Suu lake today, and the whole journey plus taking photos at Kol-Suu took us probably 2+, 3 hours? *Did not opt for the boat ride at Kol-Suu lake which would cost us either USD50 a boat or 1000 som per person for an hour's ride.* I didn’t like the attitude of the lady (in black back-facing the camera, whom was also the one that topped up our charcoal the night before) as she was somewhat forgetful (when telling us to change our yurt and said that the bed was ready the day before, but we still had to wait at the new yurt entrance for quite some time...). This time, she told YJ this morning to go find her for our horse rides, but we didn’t even know where exactly, so we were a bit lost and then she came telling us rather irritably that she was waiting near the saddling area and wondering where we were? Tsk. *Could be due to some miscommunication too.* Turned out the shepherds were waiting for us to “board” our horses at one side not far from the dining area. *Oh the Dutch couple and a bunch of other tourists hiked up to Kol-Suu, while Janusz rode a horse there too.* 
The Kyrgyz horses might not be as tall as our Thoroughbreds, but they felt pretty strong too. Jess rode a horse before in Indonesia, but back then had people holding on to the horse. She was the first to get a leg-up onto the bay horse, so I helped her take a photo. YJ hopped onto her roan horse... somewhat naughty though. Her roan was strapped to the right side of the guide's grey horse, while my bay was on the left. Jess's bay was tied to YJ's on the right. Off we go at 8+am across the vast plains! 

The scenery was awesome! *I think I wore a bit too thick la ah~ perspiring neh!* YJ's cap flew away at one point, while the string from Jess's horse snapped once too. Jess almost lost her balance at one point as well... can tell she is rather nervous as she grabbed both her hands tightly onto the seat haha. I have ridden once in Melbourne with Potato, so I wasn't as nervous this time, partly also because I got onto a calm horse. I've heard that horses can feel your emotions, so I kept on telling Jess to not be so nervous so the horse can "trust" her and the other way round. *Then again, they are animals and they have their tempers, so riders aboard must always be on alert too.*

I got "bolder" this time and was taking photos and videos while my horse walked and trotted on. My photos and videos on FB probably don't do the views justice, but I really enjoyed my ride and the picturesque valley. Another shepherd and his horses joined us halfway, and I think they were going up to Kol-Suu to bring some other tourists down. *There was one fat chestnut horse amongst the three~ 很壮啊！*

They were allowed to eat just as we were about to reach Kol-Suu lake. I got the guide to help the three of us take a photo before we jumped off and walk down to see the stunning lake. I was glad that it's filled with water this year, as compared to a dry basin last year. *3520m ASL to be exact~* 

Chatted with a couple that camped there overnight... whoa. Thankful for the clear sky and breezy weather~ totally suited our "photoshoots" coming up haha! Well of course you'd have to walk on slopes to reach the huge rocks to take photos... and I'm again happy that it wasn't packed with tourists where you'd have to queue to take photos tsk.

We saw wild dogs roaming about everywhere too. We knew the one-hour boat ride was not enough to bring us to the other side of the valley, plus there won't be any guide with us on the boat, so just in case we lose our way or anything happens, we decided not to take the chance.

很是让人流连忘返的地方，但总得要离开这里的哈哈。Managed to capture a beautiful landscape shot imo with my phone camera while on the horse ride back down... and that's why I longed more and more to get close to Mother Nature whenever I go travelling!

I reckon the guide realised Jess's fear on horses, as well as YJ's naughty horse, so he strapped those two close to his, while mine was the only one left way behind... with the string tied onto YJ's roan's tail... aiyoh looks painful.

Jess's horse didn't feel like going on after a while, so they changed a horse for her. We went down the slopes and walked across river streams and some muddy plains...

Then came the naughty horse on the left side of the other guide. He suddenly gave a fly-kick with his hinds when he was close by and that startled Jess's bay. As her horse lost balance to the left, Jess "half fell and half jumped" out from her horse, and within seconds rolled to the left side of my horse. I didn't manage to as everything seemed to happen in a split second, but YJ saw the whole incident unfold before her eyes as she tried to keep her own horse steady as it was affected by the accident too.
I was shocked and by the time I saw, Jess was already on her sides on the grass. Luckily, she was unharmed. She was reluctant to ride a third horse, but was brave enough to still hop onto it and ride till the end. The guide held them close to his this time. Close shave. As amateurs, we try to be as careful as possible, but it's not easy to prevent the unforeseen either. The accident must have scared her much, but we thought it was her quick-witted response that must have prevented bigger mishaps. *We were worried she'd knock her head or something, but what's funny was that her first concern was actually if she'd landed on those "muddy areas" instead lol.* 

I must say the scenery around was mesmerising, if only one could enjoy with ease. *We saw this little boy about five or six I think... literally charging with his pony across the fields wow!* I mean I did, but probably not so much from my two friends in front. In saying that, my "Mr Calm" did at one point of time charged in front too. I just kept my phone then and luckily, I was holding onto my saddle with one hand. But that abrupt move startled me too. Don't know what made him galloped. Oh and that naughty horse that scared Jess's second horse? He tried to bite his guide's horse at one point afterwards, and the guide almost fell off his horse too. However, our guide only looked at him and laughed... hmm...

We had lunch and left North up for Naryn (2000m ASL) at 1.30pm. It was supposedly a rainy day on the day we left. One cow "stopped" our car in the middle of no where and we had to wait for it to walk away. It took us 4 hours to get to our homestay in Naryn.

There were no aircons nor fans in the apartment, so it got stuffy at times in our room. It was very hot in the day (about 27 degrees Celcius) and yet cold at night (15 degrees Celcius). Sergey stayed in another room next to us, which was just beside the kitchen. The shower was right across our room, and the toilet was next to it. Had the same potatoes and beef for dinner... I was already quite sick of it oops.

Two days since we got shower! Got those bruises on my legs but I don't know how the stirrups left them there as I thought I had controlled my legs well enough during the rides. Good thing they were gone after a day or so, but all three of our core and butt muscles were sore at the end of the day haha~ *lots of rosemary in the dishes for dinner!*