Now I'm in a place which is definitely honeymoon material.We're spending the luxury of two rest days in Almaty the old capital of Kazakstan.The city is the success story of the Russians in Central Asia. Which unfortunately makes it the 30th most expensive city in the world. It is situated on the foot of the snow capped Zailiysky mountains.There are glitzy shopping malls, western-style coffee shops and lots of exciting restaurants. Georgian and Korean to name a few. Nice for vegetarians. The type with two legs and no wings.
The golden helmet that Erwin really wants to wear
Almaty is heaven compared to the hell of Usharal where the last rest day was. My former husband and his circle of friends who likes to travel to counties like North Korea, Transnistria will probably differ from me...
Unfortunately the delicacies of Almaty is not available for me today because I'm in a taxi on a border run to Kyrgyzstan. My visa for Kazakstan will expire in a few days so I must exit the country and enter again to get 15 more days. I have been spending the day with a 50 year old Kazakstanian who is taking me to the border. We can not speak to each other. When he realized that I want to sleep in the back of the car he drove to his house and got me a pillow.
The black car driving me to the border. Don't know the type.
Otherwise we had five days of cycling and bush camping. 141km, 148km, 112km, 95km and 102km which took us into Almaty. The roads went from nightmarish to silky smooth.
Erwin in his brand new T-Shirt with a map of Russia and the quote "I never give up". His other one saying "I take sweets from strangers" is now being used for cleaning his chain.
An impending thunderstorm breaking loose over my tent which I pitched up on a high point.
Nothing of note happened except the usual headwinds, rain, heat and mosquitos. The scenery changed to the more spectacular with mountain ranges in the distance and meadows of wild flowers. Luckily the mountains were only in the distance and we didn't have to cross them. Not yet in any case.
Pink wild flowers. No Edelweiss.
In the evenings Steve gives us lectures on geology. He is a retired professor in the United States. His speciality is ice. The only thing I know about ice is how it tastes in my Gin and Tonic. I weigh more than Steve.
The last bush camp was next to an all inclusive hotel on the shores of a lake. When I got five mosquito bites on arrival, before I even pouring the milk into my coffee I decided to fall for the temptation to rent a room. It was interesting to experience a all inclusive where nothing was included.
When the sun came out from behind a cloud for a few seconds I decided to order a drink next to the pool. It took three phone calls and one hour before a woman finally arrived with a beer in a bottle without a glass. The hotel was otherwise empty with some weird looking staff in uniforms strolling around the desolate buildings.
I was also strolling around.
Some riders enjoying a Kazhak bear in the prisitine empty pool.
A few overweight Kazakstanians enjoying the beach in front of the hotel. Note the snowy mountains.
I'm now on my way back to Almaty in the taxi. The excursion went surprisingly well and I don't have to spend 3 weeks in a Kazakstan jail for a visa crime anymore. Although sometimes it seems the better alternative to a bush camp.
Bush camp or prison? That is the question.
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