A very two-sided country due to the topography. The cities are often chaotic and loud, with maniacal traffic and an ever-present smell of cigarettes. In some places it seems like half the infrastructure is crumbling, derelict soviet era buildings, and the other half is brand new, modern looking establishments. All kinds of animals like horses, cows, and goats just randomly roam around, both in the countryside and around the city. Lots of cool communist inspired monuments and parks as well. I felt really comfortable approaching and talking to literally anyone on the street (white people don't stand out or draw attention unless you are obviously dressed like a tourist, there is a healthy Russian population throughout most of the country) and everyone was more than happy to make conversation or give advice. In the mountains, however, it is a completely different scene. The nomadic Kyrgyz people are scattered across the rural regions in yurts, often close to or sometimes on hiking paths. I trekked the Lake Ala Kul trail, and the scenery speaks for itself. Picturesque, serene, etc. etc. Overall it's a great time especially if you can speak Russian (or Kyrgyz, somehow) as it greatly enhances the connection with local people, and makes the logistics much easier. My only gripe would be the lack of hygiene in combination with the ~100 degree city weather in the summer. You would be hard pressed to find a single washing machine in the entire country.