No whistles and bells, just friendly faces and some mighty big mountains.
What Kyrgyzstan lacks in gracious buildings and fancy cakes it makes up for with nomadic traditions such as laid-back hospitality, a healthy distrust of authority and a fondness for drinking fermented mare's milk. It is perhaps the most accessible and welcoming of the Central Asian republics.
Kyrgyzstan is on the whole a safe place to visit. However, travellers should avoid demonstrations, as political tensions do exist and protests can become violent. Demarcation of the Kyrgyz-Uzbek border is in dispute and anyone crossing the frontier should only use official checkpoints, as some areas may be mined.