After 12 days of continual travelling we were finally basing ourselves somewhere, and after a lovely lie in I awoke in the mid morning and got myself ready for a light day exploring the capital of Kyrgyzstan - Bishkek.

Shortly before starting my job back in 2014 I had planned a quick holiday, having looked at cheap last minute flights. Eventually opting for Gibraltar, at one stage Bishkek and Almaty were serious contenders.

Nevertheless I eventually made it here, and after leaving the hostel I quickly bumped into my travel family - first Daniel, and then Jim and Christine. After having a catch up and getting the tips for exploring the city, I then made my way to the main street, where the majority of the city's sights are located.

Underestimating the daytime temperatures due to the coldness of the previous night I quickly removed my winter anorak and waked around in a small jacket, starting at the Philharmonic and City Halls before heading east along Chuy Prospekti towards Ala Too Square.

Passing the Parliament, as well as revolutionary statues I arrived at a large flagpole overlooking the Stalinist buildings of Ala Too Square.

Walking behind the State History Museum, I then saw the statue of Lenin - another removed from it's original position, before walking through Oak Park, towards the Tsum Centre which I had already researched as the best place to by tatty souvenirs.

Obtaining Yurt Magnets and a naff T-Shirt I then headed back down to the entrance where I grabbed a burger before heading back towards the hotel for a chill.

After walking back past the sights and stopping off to grab some cash and snacks from the supermarket I arrived back at the hostel just as Ian was just leaving. As I told him about the souvenirs I had bought, he was devastated to find out that he missed out on buying the same tat, as he didn't go to the top floor of the Tsum. Impressed by the souvenir T-shirt emblazoned with the Kyrgyz flag and "Кыргы
079;стан", he went off back to the Tsum to buy his own "Kick The *****" T-Shirt for all his family.

After a nice afternoon rest I then joined the group for dinner at a local restaurant in the evening for what would be Daniel's last meal with us. With a large number of the group missing us by meeting downstairs an hour later, the seven of us who had heard correctly eventually made it to the restaurant, having originally headed the wrong way through the city. Despite us tourists being totally out of place with our dirty T-shirts and trainers, we were welcomed into the posh-yet-cheap restaurant.

After a second night of downing shots, we then headed back towards the hostel past the night-lit city sights, and left half of the group to go off for drinks in a local bar.

As the Turkmens had helpfully provided us with everyone's personal details, we told Daniel we'd stay in contact as we had his name and DOB, and with that we said our goodbyes - with me now heading for bed before tomorrow's hike in the mountains.