Kyrgyzstan: The secret of soviet spas

Karakol is the principal town in the region, and is the best base from which to explore the lakeshore, the surrounding mountains, and the central Tian Shan. It's a low-rise town, famous for its apple orchards, Sunday market, and its backstreets are full of Russian gingerbread cottages

Lake Issyk-Kul is a geological dent, filled with water, folded between the peaks of the Küngey Alatau and the Terskey Alatau ranges. It sits 1600 m above sea level and measures a 170 km long and 70 km across, making it the second-largest alpine lake in the world after Lake Titicaca in South America.

The main reason to come here is to soak up the lakeside ambience, enjoy the thermal springs and remaining spas, explore some of the best hiking trails in Central Asia and try your hand at catching the local trout - allegedly bulking up to a prized 35 kg.

The images are showing an old man arriving in a car, disappearing into the spa, and resurfacing as a young man. Mysteriously the car is gone by then.