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Published: October 8th 2014
My plan was to re-join the Silk Road in Southern Kazakhstan / Northern Kyrgyzstan in the city called Taraz.
So from Aktobe I had to head Southeast on the M32 to the city of Taraz some 1050 miles away. Yes, Kazakhstan is a very very big country.
The car is running smoothly. The thermometer inside the cabin normally reads 45 degrees centigrade. There is no air-conditioning in the vehicle. Ventilation was provided by opening the 2 front windows. I would be sweating all day and my back is always wet from the sweat. If water was not in shortage, I would pour some water onto the footwell and it would evaporate in a few minutes - the footwell was hot.
Outside was very hot and dusty. I was breathing in so much dust that slowly but surely, I could feel a slight pain every time I inhale and exhale- dust in my lungs. My hair is like a brillo pad because my dry greasy hair trapped all the dust. With little to eat and drink I began to lose more weight. After weeks of just sitting and driving, all the muscles in my body were gradually wasting away
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A storm brewing in the Kazakh desert.because of lack of exercise. Due to the poor sanitation and lack of hygiene, I had developed diarrhoea which lasted almost 2 weeks. I had developed an interesting theory that relate the number of flies in a cafe to how tasty the food was. If a cafe served delicious food, it will attract lots of paying customers. More customers means the toilets will also get busier thus providing more food for the flies. I tested this theory and it proved to be correct. I tried a cafe that served great food and the place was crawling with flies. I then ate in a cafe where few lorry drivers turn up and the food was terrible, but the place had almost no flies. I forgot to say that cafe that served delicious food also had new toilets built because the old one was full and had to be sealed off.
The journey from Aktobe to Taraz would involve many stops. The first stop is a place called the Aralsk, home to the famous for being the fourth largest lake at one time. Sadly today much of it is a vast toxic desert straddling the borders of Kazakhstan and Uzbekistan, two
former Soviet states in central Asia.
Stayed overnight in the car park at the back of a cafe. This was a safe place, with access to food, water and toilet facilities.
Thur 22 aug 2013
Spent the day driving - uneventful.
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