My favorite coffee place in Bishkek is Cafe Misto on the third floor of the Vefa Center, which is just catty-corner to our school here. Why do I like it? Decent beverages, good internet, and I don't have to fight to find a place to recharge my laptop. The tables are spaced reasonably so I don't feel like I'm being crowded by other customers. The prices are high for here, which means not all that many locals can afford it, so I've never seen it crowded. And mostly people aren't smoking here. One bit of minor amusement: I think the only hire weight-lifters. The baristas are sporting some serious biceps.

Hm. Three very well-dressed young Russian women just sat at the table next to me and started smoking. I'm tempted to walk up to them and say, "Don't you realize that smoking makes you look like you're thirty??!!" That would probably break them of the habit. Of course, at my age that would actually be a reason to start smoking... Thank God I grew up with asthma so it is not even a temptation.