We decided on Song-Kul lake once we were in the country. The lake itself is quite ordinary but the way there is why people are drawn to it. You won’t enjoy the lake as much if you drive there, you have to get there by horse. We stayed in yurts run by families that live there a few months out of the year. In every yurt families serve tea, bread and a variety of homemade jams. That’s what we had between meals, all day, every day. It’s lovely how hospitable Kyrgyz people are, but be wary of their fermented horse milk. They love that stuff. If you’re not into watered down milky vinegar, stick to the tea. You’ll save yourself a stomachache.

It took us about a day to get used to our horses and feel confident. Neither of us had much experience horseback riding but our 14-year-old guide gave us the confidence we needed to gallop the horses by the second day. He said all of his clients gallop by the end of the trip… so obviously we couldn’t be the only sore losers who didn’t. If you’ve done it before, you know how amazing it feels. I won’t try to explain it but it was one of the most magical moments of my life. And I don’t think I’m exaggerating. If I ever need an expensive hobby, horseback riding is first on the list. And I don’t mean walking or trotting, I mean galloping. It’s super cheap in Kyrgyzstan, but I’m sure it costs a fortune in Switzerland.