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A sure sign of Europe coming ever nearer was the re appearance of overlanders driving their 4x4s and motorbikes,last seen by us in the desert of Western Africa.We spent the night camped with two young French brothers en route to China from Paris driving their mum's Renault that they'd customized in true bohemian style. Arthur was driving his younger sibling Victor to university in Shanghai and they had yet to pay for a nights accommodation in 45 days.Impressive stuff!We shared some stories over a couple of warm beers and in the morning wished them good luck with the tricky crossing into China.
For us,an all too familiar pattern was beginning to unfold.Within a couple of days the mountains along the Kyrgyz and Uzbek borders were gone.Turning north west at Shymkent we headed out into the vast steppe and endless days of sunshine.
After Shymkent we took to lesser roads in a failed attempt to rid ourselves of Kazakh drivers.It worked to some extent,that being there were less of these maniacs pushing us off the road front and back.It seems that growing up on straight roads has left the nation speed blind and they like nothing more than a good
race.Without an engine you are classed only slightly higher than a squashed locust on a Lada windscreen.
A joke.
Q How do you double the price of a Lada.
A Fill it with fuel
I thank you,more of that next week.
Still no pimped Lada though.
Took in a few back water towns along the way,all very sleepy,dusty places. Not a soul around as we cycled along the streets spaciously lined with wooden houses.
There was even a bit of sightseeing to be had in all this grassland void.Each side of Turkistan has old silk road towns the first being Otyrar,a place Ghengis Khan sent his son to destroy with 150 000 horsemen back in the 14th century after the governor of Otyrar killed the Khans envoys.Silly boy!He had more than egg on his face after the mongols got in and killed everyone,took them six months to do it though.
The other place north of Turkistan lie the walled remains of Sauran,an atmospheric place where Cleopatras milk bath and tomb was uncovered...not really.
Turkistan is Kazakhstans number one pilgrim and tourist destination. Everyone's here to visit Ahmed Yasawis mausoleum built in true Timrid fashion
with electric blue tiles that captivate the eye.Its an amazing building to wander around and there were even other tourists.Real tourists!Like us!Some even said hello!
The other attraction here in this overgrown village was the large screen at hotel Eden where we watched England labor to a 1-0 win over mighty Slovenia.
We stayed in Turkistan for two days. That's a long time out here.Days are getting very hot.I thought they'd be used to foreigners here,maybe I need to cut my hair to conform to state regulations.Lots of scowls and disproving looks from old ladies and rough looking young men.
We headed out into the desert that ran and ran like a big empty bag of nothing.With England finishing 2nd in their group they now play a day later so our original plan of stopping at Kyzylorda for the big game with Germany will need a bit of tinkering.As it is in the desert though,when there's a tailwind(there was) distance will be covered.This is our 3rd desert of the trip and the Kyzylkum is no show stopper.Its very flat and pretty samey.The wind blew the whole time from the north east giving us(just about) a tailwind.It was
hot,maybe 35-40 degrees.We took a long rest during the afternoon finding shade under trees or by an old building before heading on in the relative cool of the evening.
We made the 280km to Kyzylorda by the afternoon ,the day after leaving Turkistan. We need to slow down a bit,with train tickets booked for July 1st we will be having an extended holiday in sunny Aralsk. Sounds great but I hear its a long walk to the sea from the hotel.
Saw the cyclists side of Kyzylorda by taking a wrong turn and ending up going across a rubbish tip on the outskirts to rejoin our 'oasis' road alongside the Syr Darya. This is one of the major rivers of Central Asia and here its fat with water but apart from some stout trees and some hardy bushes it remains a pretty barren area, still its a lot greener than what we've been seeing,I guess the soil here is crap,looks pretty sandy,not surprising since were in one of the world's biggest deserts.
Went through a couple of knackered looking towns,old factories and young drunks seemed to be the common theme in these blighted places.Men gather around us
when we stop to shop,most are helpful and harmless,some seem to have that bandit look about them,flicking the side of the neck, a gesture of drinking in these parts.The usual flow of questions begin.It must be some sort of state run questionnaire.
Where are you from?Where are you coming from? and Where are you going?All well and good,were just a bit bored of it.Have we been away too long?Or are we just not liking Kazakhstan very much.Lets see,the last five countries we've been to I personally haven't liked three of them.On the other hand the remaining two are in my top three of the entire trip,including China being numero uno. We've put it down to Kazakhstan being a bit tough to cross and were beginning to appreciate not getting the two month visa.
Apart from the Atkooda question theres also the driver with a camera.So many cars slow down by us,usually with blacked out windows,then speed off again up the road where we see them stop,pile out with camera calling 'photo,photo'.Well it would be wrong not to stop but we can live with that. Wouldn't mind the photo so much its the three atkooda's that go with the
picture.They all think were American anyway,even after you've told them where your from.
The one photo we did stop for was very pleasant.A gang of Turks with golden teeth were good fun and all smiles.Turned out we were all heading the same way too.Small world!
Off roaded it somewhat crossing broken bridges and swampland in a sudden burst of green into the town of Josali. England's big game with the old football enemy lay ahead.430 km of desert was finished but our problems with the police were just about to begin.Ooh I love a cliffhanger!
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Tatjana
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Goatherd
I am the redneck goatherd?!? Ta