Meet My Friends, Bema
An interview to a friend I met during my trip in Kyrgyzstan.
Welcome to Meet My Friends, a series of interviews with people I met during my trips, special people who became my friends. I enjoy meeting new people while travelling, which is why I often volunteer during my trips. I think it is important to meet local people to know more about the culture of the place you visit, and sometimes you meet people with fascinating stories. In these interviews, I want you to know a bit about my friends and their countries, their stories and why they are special to me.
This interview is with Bema. I met her in Bishkek, where she was one of the first people I encountered. She introduced me to the city and Kyrgyz culture and history, and she gave me the opportunity to do my first excursion to Song Kul Lake. She is a great person, friendly, cheerful, and adventurous, always ready to embrace new experiences with a smile.
Please meet my friend Bema, I hope you enjoy this interview.
Please introduce yourself, where you are from, where are you right now, what you do, and how your typical day is.
My name is Bermet, I am from Kyrgyzstan, and right now, I live in Zürich, Switzerland. I was born in Kyrgyzstan, Bishkek and grew up there. I finished school and graduated from university, so the biggest part of my life was in Kyrgyzstan. I love skiing, trekking and travelling.
What does travelling mean to you?
Travelling means a lot to me, first of all, it is my job; I am the founder of a Travel Company called Terra Montis, which is based in Kyrgyzstan, and we organise tours in all of Central Asia. I love travelling and am so happy that I managed to make it my job as well. I did a solo trip in Southeast Asia in 2019, and it was one of the best experiences of my life. When I travel I like to see the real life of local people, I don’t like crowds. Maybe because I work in tourism, I always compare services, I always notice the details, try to remember interesting concepts and sometimes repeat some of them.
What is your favourite destination? Why?
For now, I like Switzerland. At the beginning, I was a bit sceptical because of the prices, but when I saw how beautiful the country was I started to like it. It is difficult not to fall in love with it. Another country which I liked was Myanmar, which also took a place in my heart; it is so unique and so real. People just live their simple lives and do not pretend and do not even pay attention to you, which usually happens in the countries with many visitors. However, after visiting about 25 countries, I still think that my Kyrgyzstan is the best country in the world. Nature is so beautiful, people are the kindest, and food is fresh and delicious. It is a very international country, and most of the expats choose Kyrgyzstan for some special reason; they feel safe and enjoy living in an unknown country.
Is there a particular characteristic that Kyrgyz people have that is related to nomadism?
Collectivism: We do everything together. We keep in touch with all the relatives. If there is an event we invite all of them. We still love freedom and start to show that we are not happy when something is going wrong. We are very peaceful people. Nomads were worried about everyday life and enjoyed nature. We never harm the natural circle.
I know that you live in Switzerland now. How is living there compared to Kyrgyzstan?
Switzerland is a very nice place to live. It is very safe, everything works, and the service is very good. The only thing is that people are a bit cold and it is very difficult to make friends and the prices here are very high. After Switzerland, the prices in other countries look so low.
You are both a tourist and a tourist guide; how does one aspect influence the other?
I am not a tourist guide any more. Starting this year, I am just a managing part. Before, I tried to do both, and it was just energy-draining. The guide should always be happy and full of energy; when you do two things at the same time, it is difficult to be energetic. Both aspects influence me very much, as a tourist I always have some expectations from the guide or from the tour. I am always comparing myself, and it disturbs me a lot and does not let me relax and enjoy the moment. So I learn to be a tourist while I travel and do not evaluate anybody who makes a service for me.
A place and an experience/activity that someone should visit/do when travelling in Kyrgyzstan.
Trekking, horse riding, sleeping in the yurt, our food, seeing the life of the local family, trying one day to live with a local family and do what they do. Hitchhiking also works very well in Kyrgyzstan; you can try that and you will love it.
What do you usually say to tourists who are going to travel to Kyrgyzstan?
That they will fall in love with a country and they will come back again or will put Kyrgyzstan on the top 3 favourite countries. I can ensure you that the country is very safe, people are very helpful and infrastructure or politics of the country should not be judged and the main attention should be on the beauty of the nature and simplicity of life.
Your next trip is already paid for; where would you go?
Japan, I really want to see that country and explore it.
Something common to do somewhere else but weird to do in Kyrgyzstan
That the men do household stuff together with the women. Weird to be a vegetarian. :) It's weird that in public transport, young people don’t give up their seats to older people.
If you could be a character in a movie, who would you be?
Hobbit, my husband said I am a hobbit.
Thank you to Bema for participating in Meet My Friends. Please follow her on Instagram, and I suggest you book a trip to Central Asia with her! Check out the website! If you enjoyed it, please consider subscribing, upgrading to a paid subscription, or buying me a coffee. You can also share it with people you think might like this content.
