We spent five days trekking from the middle of nowhere to the middle of nowhere else. The isolation was amazing, and we hardly saw anyone for days. Three days were spent on a glacier, where we endured long days of non-stop hiking, mild starvation, and some pretty scary crevasse-jumping.

Even more isolated were our times on the mountain sides. Two nights were spent in a tent, pitched on a 30-degree snow at over 5,000 metres, on the slopes of Peak Gorky, and they were absolutely incredible. Between gusts of wind, there was absolute silence; we could see base camp a vertical mile beneath us and had the most spectacular view down the Inylchek Valley that we had spent the last week trekking up. And all this as we urinated in the snow.

My single most fond memory is of a local herdsman (affectionately named ‘The Kyrgyz Cowboy’) who not only ferried us across a river but gave us the biggest feast we could ever imagine at a time when our hunger was at an all-time high.${QuickSuggestions} ${BestWay} Taxis are by far the best way of getting around town. With the exchange rate in your favour, they really don't cost much at all.

The cracked wind screens may be good indicators of bad drivers (but we were quite happy in the back of them).