Yesterday we left Kazakhstan and entered Kyrgyzstan. Here’s the route we took during the second half of our stay.
[For all you stat fans: We travelled 1464km and smashed our previous height record by hitting 3297m]
Category: kazakhstan (Page 2 of 3)
Now that we have been travelling for nearly three months we thought we’d both have a think about each of our three highlights so far. We didn’t confer on these and left the brief open. Interesting, I think, that most of these aren’t ‘tourist attractions’ or actual places we have visited but more a general sense of living so close to nature.
By the way being with me was Captain’s #4 😉
Our camp spot at Altyn-Emel national park
Charyn Canyon by night
Driving through road works – the Chinese are currently building lots of roads through Kazakhstan to enable easy access by road to Europe.
Friday 15th September – 8.27pm – Charyn Canon, Kazakhstan
“I’ve never been so happy in my life.”
“You’re drunk on wine.”
“No I’m drunk on life.”
“Oh you big fat hippy.”
I’m writing this with our Uzbekistan visas proudly displayed in our passports; so I’m now free to write about the long procedure we had to go through to get it. No possibility of a jinx 😉
Firstly one has to fill in an online form with your details and print off two copies together with two printouts of the photo page in your passport and also provide two passport photos. You then take all of this to the embassy. Easy enough I hear you chorus……
Driving into the old capital of Almaty after dark was an amazing experience (for me at least) as I got to gaze outside the window at all the sights. The fringes of the city are lined with kebab stalls, fruit markets, small shops and restaurants. Both cars and people mill around in amongst the swirls of smoke coming from the barbecues. In the dark the neon and strip lights also dance in the clouds of smoke creating a scene not dissimilar to a 70’s disco.
The metropolis of Almaty
When I was younger I used to hitchhike. At the age of 17 my friend Havana and I spent 10 days hitching from London to Scotland and back again. I’ve hitched from England to the South of France, all over Malta, Holland, Central London and would frequently hitch from my parent’s house in Shaftesbury up to Bath. I loved the randomness of who would pick you up and the stories they would tell. Long distance lorry drivers were particularly good fun as they obviously enjoyed having people to talk with. In all those times I never felt in danger or threatened in anyway whatsoever. It always seemed to me a really great way to travel around….it’s such a shame that, at least in England, it’s a dying art.
Though not in Mongolia and Kazakhstan 🙂
It’s really common to hitch a ride both in the countryside and in the cities. People stand by the side of the road and, rather than a thumbs up, you raise your arm to hip height and (optional) wiggle your hand a tad. If a car wants to pick you up they stop, you tell them where you’re going and, if it’s in the the same direction, they pick you up. The slight difference is that usually a small price is paid for the ride. You might think only people in need of money would pick hitchers up but you regularly see really expensive looking cars drawing up who certainly don’t look like they need some extra cash.
On the way into Almaty on Sunday evening all walks of life were lining the busy road: old, young, families, friends, singletons, smartly dressed folk and not quite so – all catching a ride into town. Another thing to note is that you often see single girls hitching and getting into cars with a single man. So it seems to be a really safe, efficient and economical way to travel around – not least because there’s one less car choking up the roads.
So, in the words of Morrissey…….”unite and take over.”
[Update: As of September 21st, voting in now closed. The winner by a country mile is photo #5 taken by Captain!]
Who knew you could have so much fun with two bottles of red wine and a squirrel?
One of the best things about our trip is just taking one’s time. It’s such a luxury, that in this busy world of ours, we are able to be entertained by a wee squirrel for hours on end! Just sitting quietly watching a squirrel going about its daily business of eating, twitching and darting here, there and everywhere.
We took lots of photographs: each trying to capture the best photo and be crowned ‘Wildlife Photographer of the Year.’
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