Following the conclusion of my work commitments, I left Lake Issyk-Kul yesterday for a 4-hour bus trip to the country's capital city, Bishkek. Lots of unexpected stops, thanks to vast numbers of cows, geese, horses, donkeys and sheep crossing the road at numerous intervals, as well as a back tyre blow-out. Tonight's my last night in Kyrgyzstan before I catch a 5am flight tomorrow to Moscow and then onto St Petersburg later in the morning. I'm still sorting the digital photos I've shot here, but have just uploaded another photo album to Typepad. Today the images are of Lake Issyk-Kul, a stunningly beautiful salty lake with beaches surrounded by snow-capped mountain ranges on all sides, under crisp clear blue skies and truly magical light.

I found a moment to submit a new entry to the Mirror Project, taken during an afternoon cruise on the lake. Much vodka was drunk, fish eaten, and general merriment was had by all.

During an afternoon of craft market scouring, I came across a stall selling old Soviet memorabilia and vintage cameras. How could I resist when I came across a very reasonably priced Lomo Lubitel 166B camera? It was an absolute steal, so this little beauty will be continuing its travels with me across Eastern Europe before being put to use in Tokyo.

For my regular readers who visit this site to check out my online photography discoveries and links, I'm taking a month-long break from webtrawling while I travel, and will be posting my own photography instead. Please check back again from the middle of next month for regular esthet blogging.