• Vegetarian-Friendly Restaurants in Port Mathurin and Beyond

    Vegetarian-Friendly Restaurants in Port Mathurin and Beyond

  • Kayak Trip Day 3: Immendingen to Mühlheim via the Donauversickerung

    Kayak Trip Day 3: Immendingen to Mühlheim via the Donauversickerung

  • Belgrade Marathon 2015 in Serbia

    Belgrade Marathon 2015 in Serbia's Morning Rain

  • Hitchhiking from Montenegro to Albania: It

    Hitchhiking from Montenegro to Albania: It's Border Time!

  • Should You Flush the Toilet Paper? A Flowchart

    Should You Flush the Toilet Paper? A Flowchart

  • Kayak Trip Day 63: Svinița to Dubova – Entering Romania + Great Kazan Gorge

    Kayak Trip Day 63: Svinița to Dubova – Entering Romania + Great Kazan Gorge

  • Hitchhiker

    Hitchhiker's Picnic in Tiranë, Albania

  • Donaueschingen: Danube Kayak Trip Day Zero

    Donaueschingen: Danube Kayak Trip Day Zero

  • Munching at Quito Food Festival in La Gasca

    Munching at Quito Food Festival in La Gasca

  • Hitchhiking from Heniches

    Hitchhiking from Heniches'k to Kherson: Familiar Road, New Surface

  • Freecamping at the Termas de Polloquere, Chile

    Freecamping at the Termas de Polloquere, Chile

  • Getting the Guinea-Bissau Visa in Ziguinchor, Senegal

    Getting the Guinea-Bissau Visa in Ziguinchor, Senegal

  • How to Stay Online in Andorra: eSIM, Roaming, or Andorran SIM Card?

    How to Stay Online in Andorra: eSIM, Roaming, or Andorran SIM Card?

  • A Desperate Bus Ride

    A Desperate Bus Ride

  • Samaipata and Bolivia

    Samaipata and Bolivia's other "Death Roads"

  • Nikšić, Montenegro: Urban Freecamping

    Nikšić, Montenegro: Urban Freecamping

  • Five Years Ago—My Travels to Buenos Aires Then and Now (Argentina)

    Five Years Ago—My Travels to Buenos Aires Then and Now (Argentina)

  • Naypyitaw: A Surreal Planned City for Lovers of Motorcycles, Concrete, and Serenity

    Naypyitaw: A Surreal Planned City for Lovers of Motorcycles, Concrete, and Serenity

  • How the Pandemic Put Me in a Language Learning Crisis

    How the Pandemic Put Me in a Language Learning Crisis

  • Urban Exploring at Mandalay

    Urban Exploring at Mandalay's Abandoned Airport (Chanmyathazi)

‹›

Skip to content
  • About
    • FAQ
  • Trips
  • Regions
    • Central Asia + the ‘Stans’
    • Caucasus + Western Asia
    • Southeast Asia
    • East Asia
    • Europe
    • Africa
    • South America
    • Central America + Caribbean
  • Danube
  • Books
    • Thesis
    • Digital Nomads Guides
    • Under Way: Books in the Making
    • Books I Love
  • Gear
    • Hitchhiking Gear
    • Paddling Gear
    • Digital Nomad Gear
  • Game!
  • Contact
    • Guest Posts
    • Interview Me
    • Collaborations
    • Using My Content
  • Press
    • Interviews
    • Publications
  • Support
  • You
    • Strangers
    • Archive Your Blog

Press

Interviews Mind of a Hitchhiker Devin Bratislava Slovakia pressInterviews Mind of a Hitchhiker Devin Bratislava Slovakia watercolor pressPublications donkey Brava Cabo Verde pressPublications donkey Brava Cabo Verde - Watercolor press

 
    
Mind of a Hitchhiker
You may subscribe

Support

Found a useful article or an entertaining story? Consider helping me continue! Donating helps me to keep the adventures rolling and the website running. Details on where the money is going are on my support page.

PayPal

 

Bitcoin

bc1q9a6w08a4gkx4gdvnh7w2vlkfzx4tlwfpfe6jm6
bc1q9a6w08a4gkx4gdvnh7w2vlkfzx4tlwfpfe6jm6
Open in wallet

Support Progress Bar

As of January 2026, I haven’t received any website donations yet. If you find something useful or entertaining, please consider supporting my blog and I’ll thank you here. Details on where the money is going are on my support page.

2026 donation progress bar V1

irisveldwijk

Semyonov Pass, Kyrgyzstan 💕 My first semi-proper h Semyonov Pass, Kyrgyzstan 💕 My first semi-proper hitch in this country was with two Muscovites and their rental car. It had been his mom's birthday and they were making a week-long trip from Bishkek, surrounding Issyk-Kul Lake, and back to Bishkek for their flight back to Moscow

We met them the day before, when we were looking for a place that would feed us (everything was closed because the tourist season had yet to begin). We had just arrived in Cholpon-Ata. After a short chat, he invited us to come tour the Grigoryev and Semyonov canyons before they drove on to Karakol

This was an awesome little trip with our kind drivers and it filled me with joy. I obviously haven't hitchhiked much in the last year and I really missed this contact with strangers. Now we have an invitation to come say hi to them in Moscow, a city I'd love to visit in all seasons one day and a country I'd love to travel by thumb 

The canyons had really unpredictable weather. We were all constantly switching between it's so hot, take off the sweater and putting it back on for the cold and then a waterproof layer because it started raining. Sometimes you'd see the snowy mountain peaks, then you'd look away for a minute and then they were shrouded in clouds

I'm wishing for more remote trips during my next visit to Kyrgyzstan

#kyrgyzstan #kyrgyznature #kyrgyz #issykkulregion #issykkullake #issykkul #issykkul_travel #traveltokyrgyzstan #centralasiatravel #centralasia #stans #hitchhiking #hitchhiker #hitchhikers #hitchhike #hitchhikingstories #hitchhikingtrip #hitchhikingaroundtheworld #автостоп #автостопом #автостопщики #автостопщик #автостопомпороссии #григоревскоеущелье #семеновскоеущелье #иссыккуль #ыссыккуль #ысык_көл #кыргызстан
Burana, Kyrgyzstan 💕 Final resting place with a vi Burana, Kyrgyzstan 💕 Final resting place with a view. If you don't like (aesthetically pleasing) graves I think this post isn't for you

The cemetery at the Burana Tower (south of Tokmok) is also worth to wander about. Our driver told is that the graves show the likeness of the person who died. If they're depicted with a cup, that means they were a Khan (king) or Khatun/Khanum (queen)

He pointed at the smaller graves where the headstone also held cups and said those were princes or princesses. And the smaller graves with people without cups were non-royal beloved employees of the court, such as advisors

Some graves with Arabic (or Perso-Arabic?) script are supposedly from later times

The graves face the Burana Tower and the mountains. I think this is a pretty nice way to be buried. Your (approximate) face on your headstone, something about what you did in your hands (in my case that would be a hitchhiking sign or my thumb), and all in a beautiful location that receives the four seasons

#buranatowerkyrgyzstan #burana #buranatower #tokmok #graveandbeautiful #headstone #cemetery #cemeteriesofinstagram #буранамунара #башнябурана #башнябурана🏔️ #бишкек🇰🇬 #кыргызстан #могила #кладбище #Bishkek #kyrgyzstan #centralasiatravel #centralasia #gravestone #headstones #khan
Alamedin Gorge, Kyrgyzstan 💕 We were blessed with Alamedin Gorge, Kyrgyzstan 💕 We were blessed with this gorgeous - pun intended - weather on the day of the Subbotnik and I definitely got my dose of fresh air 🏞️

After a long hike, don't you just want to stick your sore feet in ice cold mountain water like this? No? Am I alone in this? 😅👣🧊

This gorge is just a day trip from Bishkek. Kyrgyzstan's capital city is really close to the Kyrgyz Ala-Too sub-range of the Tian Shan mountains. From the city, you can see mountains that reach in the 4500+ meters range 🏔️ (but below 5000, nothing too crazy)

If you haven't, would you consider going to Kyrgyzstan?

#kyrgyzstan #kyrgyzstan🇰🇬 #kyrgyzstantravel #kyrgyzstantrip #alamedingorge #bishkek #bishkekkyrgyzstan #bishkekcity #centralasiatravel #centralasia #asiatravel #кыргызстан #аламединскоеущелье #кыргыз #кыргызстан🇰🇬 #бишкек🇰🇬 #бишкек #фрунзе #frunze #kyrgyz #kyrgyznature #traveltokyrgyzstan #traveltoasia #ig_kyrgyzstan #hikingadventures #ig_hiking #hikersparadise #hikingtrip #dayhike
Follow on Instagram

Newsletter Signup

By signing up to my newsletter, you agree to receiving delightful updates from my blog. You can always unsubscribe from my newsletter. If you want to know how I handle your information, find out more in my Privacy Policy (it’s boring).

Popular Posts

    The Seven Emirates of the UAE and Their Borders—An Interactive Map

    Kayaking to Pulau Tikus: a Sacred Island near George Town, Penang

    Madha and Nahwa Exclaves in Oman + UAE—Traveling Through the Donut Hole

    Land Transportation in Cabo Verde: A How-To Guide

    How to Get an Ethiopian SIM Card

Tags

Africa albania argentina Asia austria Bavaria border Border Crossing bulgaria camping canoe Chile couchsurfing Danube digital nomad Donau europe france freecamping germany greece hiking hitchhiking hospitality hungary iran kayak kayak&work malta Mauritius Myanmar nature river romania serbia SIM card slovakia South America Southeast Asia spain The Netherlands travel turkey visa Zucchini

Featured in

the plaid zebra three positive hitchhiking stories mind of a hitchhiker

Huffington Post

Matador Network

tanie loty polish mind of a hitchhiker

daily star mind of a hitchhiker

Social

irisveldwijk

Semyonov Pass, Kyrgyzstan 💕 My first semi-proper h Semyonov Pass, Kyrgyzstan 💕 My first semi-proper hitch in this country was with two Muscovites and their rental car. It had been his mom's birthday and they were making a week-long trip from Bishkek, surrounding Issyk-Kul Lake, and back to Bishkek for their flight back to Moscow

We met them the day before, when we were looking for a place that would feed us (everything was closed because the tourist season had yet to begin). We had just arrived in Cholpon-Ata. After a short chat, he invited us to come tour the Grigoryev and Semyonov canyons before they drove on to Karakol

This was an awesome little trip with our kind drivers and it filled me with joy. I obviously haven't hitchhiked much in the last year and I really missed this contact with strangers. Now we have an invitation to come say hi to them in Moscow, a city I'd love to visit in all seasons one day and a country I'd love to travel by thumb 

The canyons had really unpredictable weather. We were all constantly switching between it's so hot, take off the sweater and putting it back on for the cold and then a waterproof layer because it started raining. Sometimes you'd see the snowy mountain peaks, then you'd look away for a minute and then they were shrouded in clouds

I'm wishing for more remote trips during my next visit to Kyrgyzstan

#kyrgyzstan #kyrgyznature #kyrgyz #issykkulregion #issykkullake #issykkul #issykkul_travel #traveltokyrgyzstan #centralasiatravel #centralasia #stans #hitchhiking #hitchhiker #hitchhikers #hitchhike #hitchhikingstories #hitchhikingtrip #hitchhikingaroundtheworld #автостоп #автостопом #автостопщики #автостопщик #автостопомпороссии #григоревскоеущелье #семеновскоеущелье #иссыккуль #ыссыккуль #ысык_көл #кыргызстан
Burana, Kyrgyzstan 💕 Final resting place with a vi Burana, Kyrgyzstan 💕 Final resting place with a view. If you don't like (aesthetically pleasing) graves I think this post isn't for you

The cemetery at the Burana Tower (south of Tokmok) is also worth to wander about. Our driver told is that the graves show the likeness of the person who died. If they're depicted with a cup, that means they were a Khan (king) or Khatun/Khanum (queen)

He pointed at the smaller graves where the headstone also held cups and said those were princes or princesses. And the smaller graves with people without cups were non-royal beloved employees of the court, such as advisors

Some graves with Arabic (or Perso-Arabic?) script are supposedly from later times

The graves face the Burana Tower and the mountains. I think this is a pretty nice way to be buried. Your (approximate) face on your headstone, something about what you did in your hands (in my case that would be a hitchhiking sign or my thumb), and all in a beautiful location that receives the four seasons

#buranatowerkyrgyzstan #burana #buranatower #tokmok #graveandbeautiful #headstone #cemetery #cemeteriesofinstagram #буранамунара #башнябурана #башнябурана🏔️ #бишкек🇰🇬 #кыргызстан #могила #кладбище #Bishkek #kyrgyzstan #centralasiatravel #centralasia #gravestone #headstones #khan
Alamedin Gorge, Kyrgyzstan 💕 We were blessed with Alamedin Gorge, Kyrgyzstan 💕 We were blessed with this gorgeous - pun intended - weather on the day of the Subbotnik and I definitely got my dose of fresh air 🏞️

After a long hike, don't you just want to stick your sore feet in ice cold mountain water like this? No? Am I alone in this? 😅👣🧊

This gorge is just a day trip from Bishkek. Kyrgyzstan's capital city is really close to the Kyrgyz Ala-Too sub-range of the Tian Shan mountains. From the city, you can see mountains that reach in the 4500+ meters range 🏔️ (but below 5000, nothing too crazy)

If you haven't, would you consider going to Kyrgyzstan?

#kyrgyzstan #kyrgyzstan🇰🇬 #kyrgyzstantravel #kyrgyzstantrip #alamedingorge #bishkek #bishkekkyrgyzstan #bishkekcity #centralasiatravel #centralasia #asiatravel #кыргызстан #аламединскоеущелье #кыргыз #кыргызстан🇰🇬 #бишкек🇰🇬 #бишкек #фрунзе #frunze #kyrgyz #kyrgyznature #traveltokyrgyzstan #traveltoasia #ig_kyrgyzstan #hikingadventures #ig_hiking #hikersparadise #hikingtrip #dayhike
Follow on Instagram

Cofounder Of

Digital Nomads Guides travel book cofounder

Copyright © 2026 mindofahitchhiker.com - Privacy Policy