It is always great to vVisit a local market. here you can see the real life, see the activities of the locals. And buy some stuff for your further journey. And if you do not speak any Kyrgyz language or even no Russian, it is really funny to try to explain something with hands and feet.
It is great to discover what the locals sell and buy. Like the different kinds of paste and loads of candy and biscuits.
As we stayed in full nature for a whole week, we did not need a lot of Kyrgys money, for the simple reason, there was no possibility of spending it. So in Talas we all changed 1 (one) US dollar, that was good for 50 Som. So that way we could do some shopping at the local market. I bought a bottle of Coca-Cola (oh yes, the real one) price for a 1 Liter bottle = 25 som. Not that I a need Coca-Cola to survive, but it is great if you have to drink the Kyrgys water (which has a lot of gaz and a strange taste) for a week, to have the possibility to drink something else.
From journal Kyrgystan