Almaty
We’re now in Almaty, back in Kazakhstan.
After coming back from the internet café in Tashkent, we found the guys from the previous night had accosted Jim at the hotel and insisted he take vodka for his “broken head”. Consequently, he was already well on the way – grinning idiotically and saying “dude” every two minutes. The Sergeys (they all seemed to be called that) took us to a swimming pool with the hottest sauna in the world – just what we all needed. They persuaded us to stay another night, saying we could stay with them.We went for a meal in the evening then back to Uncle Sergey’s house for some more vodka. Then we all went back to the club for yet more vodka, as well as the rest of the mayhem we’ve come to associate with turning up as westerners in Asian cities… It was a great evening and by the end of it we seemed to be in with everyone in the club. We got back to the house very late and collapsed.The next day we left with stinking hangovers. We drove to the Kyrgyzstan border to find it closed (the whole country..?) until 6 the next morning. So with few other options we camped on the road, in front of the barrier , whilst being watched over by armed border guards! I woke up at 5:30 to find the car surrounded by kids who all wanted to sign it and find out all about us. That took a lot of energy, but made me feel like a filmstar again! We successfully negotiated the border with no trouble and ploughed into Kyrgyzstan. Our progress was hampered by police checkpoints every 10 minutes or so – they all pulled us over, which was quite demoralizing. Finally we made it into the countryside. Craggy mountains rose up as the road wound its way northwards. For some time we followed a river of copper sulphate blue through a deep valley – an amazing sight.As darkness fell we all began to feel tired. We stopped in a tiny village in the mountains, where a guy offered to take us in for the night (it’s difficult to get used to this sort of hospitality – can you imagine it happening back home?) We pressed on in the morning through the mountains, going over a pass at 3586m at one point. We then came to the capital Bishkek, before reaching the Kazakh border. Once back in Kazakhstan the road was straight and smooth to Almaty. We found a hotel full of other ralliers – it was good to be able to swap a few stories! Today we head north towards Russia. Here’s hoping the roads stay good… Dave.
After coming back from the internet café in Tashkent, we found the guys from the previous night had accosted Jim at the hotel and insisted he take vodka for his “broken head”. Consequently, he was already well on the way – grinning idiotically and saying “dude” every two minutes. The Sergeys (they all seemed to be called that) took us to a swimming pool with the hottest sauna in the world – just what we all needed. They persuaded us to stay another night, saying we could stay with them.We went for a meal in the evening then back to Uncle Sergey’s house for some more vodka. Then we all went back to the club for yet more vodka, as well as the rest of the mayhem we’ve come to associate with turning up as westerners in Asian cities… It was a great evening and by the end of it we seemed to be in with everyone in the club. We got back to the house very late and collapsed.The next day we left with stinking hangovers. We drove to the Kyrgyzstan border to find it closed (the whole country..?) until 6 the next morning. So with few other options we camped on the road, in front of the barrier , whilst being watched over by armed border guards! I woke up at 5:30 to find the car surrounded by kids who all wanted to sign it and find out all about us. That took a lot of energy, but made me feel like a filmstar again! We successfully negotiated the border with no trouble and ploughed into Kyrgyzstan. Our progress was hampered by police checkpoints every 10 minutes or so – they all pulled us over, which was quite demoralizing. Finally we made it into the countryside. Craggy mountains rose up as the road wound its way northwards. For some time we followed a river of copper sulphate blue through a deep valley – an amazing sight.As darkness fell we all began to feel tired. We stopped in a tiny village in the mountains, where a guy offered to take us in for the night (it’s difficult to get used to this sort of hospitality – can you imagine it happening back home?) We pressed on in the morning through the mountains, going over a pass at 3586m at one point. We then came to the capital Bishkek, before reaching the Kazakh border. Once back in Kazakhstan the road was straight and smooth to Almaty. We found a hotel full of other ralliers – it was good to be able to swap a few stories! Today we head north towards Russia. Here’s hoping the roads stay good… Dave.
Posted by in 08:59:31
