wow i am so jealous as a fellow 19 year old irish male, i must say issyk-kul is fucking beautiful.

It is not a traveler-friendly country.
HUGE language barrier, not very safe, you will have nightmares about public bathrooms for years...
Also, nothing very special about their culture.

Learn Russian. A lot of Russian.
Get ready to bribe police.
Be prepared for a destination that may not expect tourism or travelers at all.

That is your general guide to Eastern Europe/Central Asia.

I lived in bishkek for a year and miss it dearly - cheap, ugly yet beautiful soviet architecture, massive mountains, beautiful ladies (but conservative) you'll have much better luck with Russians. Best part was no tourists and being off the grid. Ooo and Asians speaking Russian is quite awesome as well.

But yes all stated above is true as well ^

>>1060543
>not very safe

Bishkek and Issyk Kul is fairly safe, there's just common levels of crime and other things to expect everywhere you go in poorer country's with less tourists.

However, dont go into the Fergana valley, there's lots of known anti-foreigner sentiment there and violence does occasionally occur, the area is also known to be the home of many radical islamists.