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Published: August 7th 2016
August 2 - Oh man, it was a long day. I started the long(er than expected) trek to Almaty, Kazakhstan. I woke up at 4:30am because I had to pee, but decided to ignore it and go back to sleep. No luck - I really had to go. I managed to wait until 5am but that only prolonged the torture. I could see dawn was starting, so I brought my camera, as it was another trek to the outhouse (the last one of the trip!). I got a couple of pictures of the morning light and headed back to bed, but there was no sleep to be had. My alarm was set for 6:30am and I knew it was close and I just couldn't sleep anymore. At 6:30 I got up to pack and get ready, and Gaétan got up as well. We had made plans to have breakfast at 7am and we showed up just on time. The breakfast was slightly late in coming to us, but it was pretty close. It was blinis (pancakes) and eggs. Filling, which was nice for my day to come. Last night I had asked a couple of times about the cost for breakfast.
Usually it is included in the yurt stay, but since I was staying in the house unexpectedly and had made an agreement with the woman who lived there, I wanted to know what it would cost. Eventually it was decided that it was included in the price for sleeping. But when I paid this morning, it was a separate charge. We figured out the confusion and the woman said we did not have to pay, but I was afraid the young girl who had translated would be responsible, so we paid. It was not expensive, just frustrating because I tried three times yesterday to make sure it was all clear.
From there, we left at 7:45am to start walking back to the main road to look for a marshrutka to Bishkek. On the way, a guy got in his car and offered us a ride. We clarified the price and he took us into Bokonbaevo, the nearest town, where the marshrutkas start from. We got there just after 8am, which was my plan, so that we could get started early. The bus doesn't leave until full, and I thought earlier was better. I was wrong. It did not leave
until 9:45. Such a waste of time. Maybe we should have waited on the main road for one passing, rather than one that was starting in Bokonbaevo. The ride was a series of sleeps, snacking and leaving the car when the driver stopped for food. I just had some peanuts that Gaétan had brought along.
The bus eventually landed at the bus station in Bishkek around 2pm. It took so long. I bought a ticket to Almaty, changed money to Kazakh tenge and said goodbye to Gaétan, who would be staying in Bishkek. Of course, this bus did not leave until full either, and that took about an hour. By 3pm we were on our way and I was asleep(ish) immediately. The border with Kazakhstan is quite close, and by 3:30pm we were getting out of the bus, grabbing our bags, and going through border control. My border guard asked me to step aside and kept my passport. Someone else collected it, told me to wait outside, and brought it to another room. But then he just brought it back and sent me on my way. No idea. I then walked to the Kazakhstan border guys, scanned my luggage,
filled out a registration form, and checked in with the border guard. Then I waited with everyone else for our bus. I left my luggage with the Kazakh guy who sat across the aisle from me on the bus and went to the bathroom. He smelled like cologne - a first for this trip. The cost for the bathroom was 50 tenge and I had 2000 tenge. It sounds like a lot but it is worth about $5. There was a sign saying they do not accept 1000 tenge bills and that was all I had. But I asked and she did allow it, so that was nice.
Got back on the bus when he pulled up and off we went again. And off to sleep I went again. Seriously, I was in a coma-like state all day. So boring. We made a pit stop on this bus too, and everyone got ice cream. Everyone except me. I wasn't sure how much I would need to get to the hostel, but I wasn't about to blow my less-than-$5 on ice cream. Once we got going again, I slept again. So tiring doing nothing. The scenery around was ok when
I looked around. It wasn't mountains on all sides, like Kyrgyzstan, but it was more grassy rolling hills. There were also more of the cemeteries I liked in Kyrgyzstan, but they are always outside the towns, so I never saw one up close. They look like proper cities of the dead.
We arrived in Almaty sometime after 7pm. Finally. Then I made some inquiries and decided to try bus #65 to get close to my hostel. It was the right bus, and a girl chatted with me a bit and told me to get off at the stop after hers. I should have listened. I checked with the driver and he said to wait. Eventually I asked again, he said to get off, and when I checked the cross-street name, it was Masana, not Manasa. What a douche. So much for wearing headphones and listening to music while you drive the bus. So I asked someone on the street and he spoke English. He said it was too far to walk - and it was 8:05pm and starting to get dark - and that I should get the bus back. So I did. This time it worked out.
When I got to the Amigo hostel, I felt like I would not like it. Not a good way to start. The girl who works there is nice, but the room I got was small and hot. I took it because it was cheap and a private single, but I did not check the other details. Like, there is no toilet paper or soap in the shared bathroom. And the shower has 5 showers and curtains, but nowhere to really put your things or change. I had to put the sheets on my bed and there is no towel. I immediately started to look for another place to move to tomorrow, but was too tired to look hard enough. I hadn't eaten since peanuts and chocolate at noonish, and was oddly not so hungry, but thought it would be a good idea to have dinner. The hostel had a small menu with two foods I've been eating all summer. I chose the lagman and ate there. A short chat with the girl who works there, Jenny, and a shower later, and it was bedtime. A long day indeed, and not the best start to my country #100. But hey, no
matter how you count countries - and there are discrepancies - this is AT LEAST #100 for me. Hurray! And so tired.
August 3 - Today started as a pretty lazy day. Felt good. I can tell I am at the end of the trip. I slept until 8:30am and then took my time doing anything. I played around on the internet and watched an episode of Full Frontal with Samantha Bee. Oh man, I have missed her. Today I decided to wear something new. Heart attack, right? Up until now, I'd spent about a month wearing two t-shirts, which I have thrown away now. They were not salvageable by my standards. After that I wore a red shirt for a couple days, as well as hiked in a black shirt of Gaétan's when it looked like rain. It's one of those shirts that keeps you dry. Today I went for one of two untouched clean shirts and the skirt (!) I brought. I felt a little uncomfortable wearing the skirt, not having pockets, but I decided to try it out.
By 11am, I was ready to find a money exchange. I asked at reception, and there was
one quite close. I walked over, exchanged $100 for 35400 tenge, and then walked to a small mall nearby to look around. I went into the grocery store there to look around as well. I love grocery stores in new countries. When I was done browsing, I stopped back at the hostel to drop off all my money and then headed out to a nearby cafeteria for lunch. I hadn't had breakfast and it was after noon, so I was hungry. It's the kind of place where all the food is already made, and you take what you like and pay for that, kind of like IKEA. Except here I had no idea how much anything cost or what it really was. Fun. I took a bread thing with meat inside, a meat and eggplant dish with pasta and a glass of some red fruity drink. Total cost - $3. Expensive for the summer, super cheap for so much food.
From the cafe, I decided to walk towards the green market. The guy at the hostel told me how to take the trolleybus or metro there, but I wanted to walk. It ended up taking a little over an
hour to get to the first stop, which was the war memorial park. Nearby, I went to the musical instrument museum, which showcases many old and traditional musical instruments, mainly from Kazakhstan, but also from around the world. Close by there is also an orthodox church, which reminded me of all the churches from last summer. I covered my hair inside, like the other women, though I'm not sure it was strictly required. It got me wondering why it is so important to cover one's hair in front of God. Weird. After visiting the church, I walked to the nearby mosque to have a look. I decided not to go in, as I wasn't sure of the rules, but it was very pretty from outside. From there I walked to the green market. It's a large two story covered market that sells everything from fruit and veg to shoes and electrical supplies. It was enormous. There are many stalls and hallways and it is easy to get turned around. I tried to keep track of the way back, so I knew where I was, but I gave it up and just wandered. I'd been hoping to buy honey to take
home, but didn't see any. I should have bought it in Kyrgyzstan when I had the chance.
Once I was done looking, I decided to start the walk home via a coffee place that the book recommended. I'd hoped for something like a frappaccino, but no luck. Tomorrow I may check Gloria Jean's to see if they have something like that. There is also a McDonald's somewhere, based on the ads I saw, but Burger King and KFC were plentiful on my walk. I had heard good things about Almaty, and though it is the most western of the Central Asian cities I've seen (while actually being the most east in location), I am not all that impressed. It's fine, but nothing special in terms of cities.
I got back around 5pm and washed my hiking pants. They were still filthy from the last muddy hike and I've been wearing them up until today. Such a mess. I also spent some time catching up with more Full Frontal episodes and generally playing around on the web. At 7:00pm I went back to the same cafeteria for another guess at what I'd eat. I ended up with a bread
that was sweet - disappointing - and a dumpling soup a little like I'd had in Ukraine last year. Nice. Then I hit the grocery store for some yogurt and granola for desserts and breakfasts. I spent ages trying to decipher which might be actual yogurt and couldn't find one flavor-free, so I chose strawberry-banana in more of a pourable type yogurt consistency. But it was yogurt, so that was good. While I ate it I chatted with a couple girls in the kitchen, including the Kiwi whose shorts I had taken when she got rid of them in Dushanbe. I wore them once - two days ago - and will leave them behind here. Funny to see her again here, of all places.
I have decided to stay here for the four nights. I am getting used to my small room, and slept ok last night, even though my bed is creaky. It's a large hostel, but I have not seen that many people and it does not seem that crowded, so I guess I will go with it. Easier than moving, anyway.
More internet and skype and then it was sleeping time at midnight. Trying to
stay up a bit late and sleep a bit late as a plan to get back to Basel time, which is four hours earlier.
August 4 - Today I got up a bit after 8:30am and had granola and yogurt while I looked around on the internet. Left a bit earlier today and started walking towards the Central State Museum, which is meant to be good. Quite warm today and the walk took ages. But after all my hard work, I was rewarded with the museum being closed today, for cleaning. Such a bummer. I had even just decided on the walk that I would pay for the extra ticket to get a tour of the thing. The only good news there was that I was hungry, and could at least move on to eating lunch soon.
From the museum, I walked to the cable car that would take me up a large hill called Koh Tobe. On the hill was the tv tower, but also amusement park stuff, mostly for kids. But the views were good. I'd also read that there was a lunch place that had good shashlyk, the meat on sticks. Haven't had one of
those since Dushanbe, I think. Anyway, I paid for the return trip on the cable car and then waited until I could have one to myself. A whole family cut in front of me, but there was no one else, so that was easy. It was a smooth ride up, with some good views. Hot inside though.
Once I got up the hill, it occurred to me I had probably messed up about the lunch place. And I had. It has the same name as the hill, but it was below the hill, not on it. I didn't see anything else to eat, so I looked around for a while instead. There is a "mini-zoo" that is basically some cages with chickens and goats and the like, and you can buy some veggies to feed them. I looked at the animals and then took a seat on a bench and started to catch up in my journal, since I'd let it go for a couple days. At this point it was slightly overcast with a breeze, so it felt nice to sit outside. Afterwards I slowly made my way back, planning to get the cable car down, when I
heard someone call out that a pizza was ready! I wasn't convinced pizza would be good here, but it looked ok, so I went for it. I got a pizza margherita, because that was the full extent of what I could read and understand in cyrillic (which was awesome anyway). And it was ok. Could have been cooked a little longer to make the crust crispier, but still decent. My first western food of the summer.
After the pizza I made my way down to the cable car, and this time I shared it with a woman and three kids. I started to walk home and then saw the metro. I had read that you need to have your passport to ride, and I didn't have mine, but thought I would try anyway. And it was fine. I paid my 80 tenge - like 20 cents - and went down, down, down to the bowels of the earth on the escalator. Old Soviet countries always have really deep subways. I only had to go a few stops, but it probably saved me at least 30 minutes of walking. I stopped at the grocery store on the way home and
bought some more yogurt and granola, and then watched a bunch of clips from the Daily Show that I have missed over the last month as well as an episode of Last Week Tonight. Brilliant every time. I also started to repack my things, despite being at least 24 hours early. I did what I could, anyway. Not sure yet how I will spend tomorrow - back to the museum and then get a sketchy haircut, or go to the mountains for a walk? I feel like that would be the nicest option, and yet I also feel like it would take the most work, and I am tired and ready to go home. This happens a lot in the last place of any trip for me. I start thinking of going home and don't really feel like being there anymore.
I sat around waiting until I got hungry to go out for some dinner. After all, I had been in my hotel room for hours. But the pizza was too late in the day, and I never got hungry. At 8pm I gave up and had some granola and yogurt for dessert, just because I could. I watched
the next episode of Last Week Tonight and by 9pm I was out of things to do, so decided to shower. So so bored... I ended the night with a half hour skype with my grandma and then a 45 minute skype with Jeroen. By then I was horizontal on my bed, trying to stay awake, and finally went to sleep at 11:00pm.
August 5 - Last day of my trip! I woke up at 7:45am and had...you guessed it...granola and yogurt for breakfast. I thought I'd overdosed on it last night, but my love is still going strong. At 10am I left, with the idea that I would start with the museum I'd missed yesterday, if it was open, and then go to the mall or get my hair cut. I asked the girl who works here, Jenny, to call the museum to see if it was open today. She did, and she said it was a special day. It's the 100th anniversary of Almaty, and they were having a special event at the museum this evening. It would be free from 5:30pm and open until midnight. I decided to wait until later to visit, to see what
kind of special events they had on, but that left me with the mall only. I didn't specify which mall I wanted, so she sent me to a different one than I had planned, but it was easy to get to on the bus #34. It was quite pleasantly mallish inside, with air con to keep me cool. I walked around, looked in one store, and then checked the movie times. Everything was in Russian, and there was no way to know which movie I'd buy a ticket for, but I thought I might just do it. But one movie had already started and nothing else was starting for over an hour. I wrote in my journal in the food court for a while and then headed back out. But not before taking a look at the menu for Uno Dos Tacos. Could have been good, but I couldn't deal with a bad burrito, so I kept walking. But the guy did wear a sombrero, so you never know.
I took the bus back and went directly to my standard cafeteria. I had some meat and veg dish with buckwheat and then went back to the hostel to relax
for a while. Finally I got up the courage around 2pm to try to find a hairdresser. Jenny wrote down in Russian that I wanted a wash, cut and blow dry, and gave me directions to a hairdresser she found nearby. I walked in, but there was only one lady and she was busy. I asked about another place and she gave me directions. It's amazing what you can work out when you're speaking two different languages. I tried there and the one hairdresser was just finishing up with someone. They gave me a tea while I waited and then it was my turn. I was nervous but felt good about this lady. And she did a nice job. Like, as she was washing my hair, I wanted to give up everything for her. So nice. And she was very precise about the blow drying. Actually, it felt like she was blow drying it in the wrong direction, leaving me with 1980s Big Hair Band hair, but it turned out fine. I felt clean and pretty for the first time in six weeks. I'm so glad I went.
I'll let you in on a little secret. As I get
older, I find my hair is changing color and getting lighter. A blondening, if you will. I dye it brown so that no one gets jealous. I mean, everyone wants to be blond, right? But this summer it has been nine weeks since I dyed my hair now, and it is really getting very blond. Especially noticeable now that my hair is clean and pretty. I'm trying to decide if I'm ready to go blond and let it grow out, but the majority opinion in me is that I'm brunette, and should continue to stay so for the time being. The upcoming school year will decide. Can I stand to show off and be so blond around so many potentially jealous teenage girls? I hardly think so. It would certainly detract from all the learning ahead.
After the haircut I came back and started to watch the last episode of Outlander. I didn't have access to it all summer and now it was the pinnacle of my tv highlights. I watched half of it and then had to leave to go to the museum. I chatted with some Aussies who were leaving on a train to Shymkent and then
got on bus #120. I got there all by myself. Myself and a map. But it worked. Until I got to the museum after a hot, sweaty walk from the bus. Turns out Jenny had misinterpreted something. There was an event tonight, but it started at 9pm, and the museum was closed until then. I got there just after 6pm. So after all day of nothing to do, I missed out on the museum. Again.
I took the bus back and stopped at the grocery store to get a few things for my long flights home tomorrow. I think there is a meal on one, but it is a six hour flight, then a layover, then another couple of hours. Eleven hours in total. This should help get me through. I also bought a magnum ice cream to eat on my way to dinner. Yes, you read that right. Then I tried to go to my cafeteria for the final time, but only wanted the dumplings, and they did not have any. So of course I came back to eat granola and yogurt, for the final time, but decided to change the last of my money first, at a
nearby exchange, before it got too late. I got back $42 out of the $100 I had originally exchanged. And I was here for four nights and paid my hostel form that money as well. So cheap. Fifteen minutes later I was eating my breakfast for dinner and finished watching Outlander while I repacked. So love this show, just as I loved the books fifteen or more years ago. I turned off the lights around 9:45pm and read for a bit before trying to get some sleep before my 5am flight.
August 6 - It did not work. I laid in bed for at least an hour and then felt like I was awake all night before I got up at 1:45am. I didn't even sleep until my 2am alarm, as I remembered I forgot to check in online last night. I tried to check in when I woke up, but no luck. I don't know why it didn't work, but it wouldn't let me in. I was finishing getting ready when Jenny came in and told me the shuttle bus was there to pick me up at 2:17am, a little bit early, but no big deal. I said
good bye to her, and she walked me most of the way to the bus. When I got to the shuttle bus, it was off and no one was around. I knocked on the door and soon the driver opened the door, from inside the back of the van, where he may well have been sleeping all night. We drove to the airport and I was his only passenger. Surely my $1.50 could not have made that ride worth while for him, especially considering it was about a 25 minute ride. But there you are.
He dropped me off and I had to run my bags through an X-ray machine before being allowed to go further. That done, I checked in and then realized I got a middle seat for my first flight. The flight was at 5am and it was six hours long. It's been a long time since I got stuck in the middle, and I'm kicking myself for not remembering to at least try to check in online last night. Next up was passport control and then the real security check. And by real, I mean the only thing they questioned was my water bottle, half
full of water, and they let me take it with me. Nice, but not very secure, I guess. The airport was full of people. It was crowded and hot and uncomfortable. It also had wifi, and I had a good signal. But like last time I was here, my computer refused to use the signal. I was connected but with no internet. I don't know enough of what that means, but it was frustrating. At least until I tried Firefox. For some reason Chrome did not work, but Firefox did. Thanks to Niki, for suggesting I download Firefox earlier this summer.
The first flight was ok for a long hour flight. They gave us a warm breakfast and then I tried to sleep. As soon as I got on the plane, I changed my watch from 5am to 2am, as I was going to Kiev and they are three hours behind. That made the flight, that landed at 8:30am, feel much longer. When I wasn't sleeping, I was reading. I've been reading the last book of the Wheel of Time, book 13, all summer, trying to stretch it out. I didn't want it to end, but now that the
summer is nearly over for me, I figured it was time to finish. I've been reading these characters for a long time and it will be sad to let them go. I ended the flight with about three percent of the book left. How can it even finish in that space and be complete, I have no idea.
The transfer in Kiev required a long wait in the security line to get through to the international gates. While waiting, I ate my bread and banana. I also ended up talking to two Canadians in line, one of which lives in Switzerland. Once I made it through the line, I walked to my gate and took a seat to use the internet for a bit. Soon after I was boarding the second and final flight of the day. This one was a three hour flight and did not include a meal. I got a little hungry and ate a couple of pecans and the two cookies I had left. I bought those cookies in Baku, in the first week of my trip and had been carrying them around with me ever since. Good riddance.
I spent most of the
flight dozing after I finished reading my book. It was a good story, and I'm sorry to see it end, though it did end rather abruptly. I wish there had been some more elaboration of how everything turned out. And I'm still really disappointed about one of the deaths. I mean, sure, there's an ultimate battle between good and evil and some people have to die, but surely not the ones that did.
Anyway, on descent into Zurich, I took some pictures from my window seat and then it was time to disembark. When I got to passport control, I saw that the European passport line was short and the "others" line was long, so I went in the European line. I've done it a couple times and even though I have an American passport, they seem to let it slide because I have a permit that says I live here. It worked again today, so that was nice.
I got my luggage in good time and met Jeroen just afterwards. It was good to see him. And easy, since he is a full head taller than everyone else. We drove straight to Germany for lunch and groceries,
and then we came home to the cats. They seemed happy I was home, and I shared the sentiment. So nice to be home - so sad that work starts already on Tuesday. Another good summer vacation coming to an end. But I am looking forward to so many things. Toilets that are indoors. The Olympics. Toilets with seats. Ben and Jerry's. Toilets that flush. Sleeping in my own bed. Toilets with toilet paper. Clean clothes. Toilets where you can flush the toilet paper. You get the idea.
Thanks for coming along for the ride. Let's do it again in October.
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D MJ Binkley
Dave and Merry Jo Binkley
Sad it is over
We've enjoyed reading about your trip. Thanks for sharing.