Stuff boys dream of

Men are simple beings. So simple, that reading our minds is no big thing, everybody can do it. I mean, look at these two guys, just have look at their face and you know what they are dreaming of.

The one on the right is admiring the simple yet beautiful lines of the bike. And a beauty she is, there is no doubt. Sleek, compact, oozing power, no matter where you look. He sees himself grab the handlebar, and almost feels the vibrtions ofthe bike shaking his body as he unleashes its raw power.

The other one? He’s probably imagining how he and his girlfriend ride the bike on alpine roads, how she hugs him from behind, how she clings to him, how he feels her soft …. hold on, there is no back seat!

So you see, it’s easy to get boys dreaming and read their minds.

I on the other side, I am a grown man, calm, relaxeds, one could even say I’m wise. There is no way I would get carried away by just a piece of rubber and metal. I am ….

Hold on, did you see that bike over there? God, let me sit on it, just for a moment, I’ll be right back!

I’ll get that guy in front of me, just wait! After the next bend you’ll eat my duuuuuust!

People of Kyrtyzstan

It’s not only the landscape or food that defines a country. It’s the culture, and for culture you need people. If they are friendly, the country is friendly, if they are busy and cold, you will have a hard time feeling at home.

The people we met in Kyrgyzstan are some of the most friendly, but also proud people I met in a long time. We spent most time on the countryside and it wasn’t uncommon that a farmer, seeing us stop from a distance, got on his horse and came over, just to ask who we are, where we are going, the conversation with our driver and the guide riddled with laughter. It’s not only curiosity that made them come to us, it was also to find out if we need help.

One day we stopped by a little farm only to be welcomed by a bowl with mare milk for each of us and later some fresh cream with bread. But it’s not all nostalgia and horse riding, the farmer showed our guide a video of him self riding a bike and then was given the keys and gave it a spin.

We only wanted to ask for the way… and got treated with mare milk and fresh cream
Photo by Toni Schnydrig

There are kids everywhere, and they are, like most kids curious. Unlike children at home, most of them were not shy at all to approach us, specially when they realized our guide was able to chat with them in their language. Although the questions usually were the same, it never got old to watch the scene 🙂

it isn’t easy to do street photography when you stick out like a sore thumb 🙂

Seen at Son Kul, a small lake in the heart of Kyrgyzstan.

It might not be a rich country and after the fall of the UDSSR, much went downhill. But talking with them, watching them, I never had the impression they felt like being looked down upon. They were proud we visited their country, open and by all means not shy at all.

I guess it takes years of practice to look up from your work while you continue to hammer the metal without hitting your tumb 🙂