Incursions in Central Asia

Very rarely on the road from an international airport to a capital city do you have to wait for an irate shepherd and his flock to pass. But then Bishkek is no ordinary capital. It's the Big Smoke of Kyrgyzstan — a country that makes up in character what it lacks in vowels.

If the five former Soviet republics in Central Asia were in a beauty contest, Kyrgyzstan would win. This becomes obvious as you rumble down 30 km of tarmac into Bishkek. The snow-capped Tien Shan Mountains rear up like a...