Blogs from Kazakhstan, Asia - page 21

We pulled into Aralsk under the cloak of darkness, disembarked the train, took a taxi to the only hotel in town and fell asleep immediately. We woke up about 14:00 and were slightly confused as to our whereabouts. I could remember falling asleep on the train but our disembarkation and getting to the hotel all seemed like a distant memory. I got up and went down to the reception to ask where the showers were. Having spent 2 days sweating on a train we were both ready for a good wash. "Douscha Niet" came the reply from the receptionist. Hmmm. Oh well. we dressed and headed down to Aral Tenizi, a non-governmental organisation (NGO) who we were told can organise trips to the Aral Sea. The Aral first caught my attention while I was studying A-Level ... read more

So after almost 2 years of volunteer work in Kazakhstan I am hitting the road. The road consists of no roads to begin with as a friend and I will ride horses across the mountians of Kyrgyzstan to the Chinese border at the Torugart Pass. Hopefully this venture will be successful since there is now turbulence in the region and it might just be too dangerous. In China I plan on going throughout the Western part checking out a Tajik city as well as some of the caves, possibly going to Tibet. Then up to Mongolia for two to three months of hardcore travelling. I plan on meeting my brother in Mongolia and we will go to the Western part to ride horses and stay in Kazakh and Mongolian yurts.... read more

Now we were officially in Kazakhstan and had about a three more hours’ travel to the capital, Almaty. The drive was boring, through lots of fields, rolling hills and small towns reminiscent of Australian country towns. Arrived in Almaty about 330pm (actually 430pm Kazak time) and were dropped off at the bus station where again we were pursued by cab drivers who demanded exorbitant fees to drive us to our hotel. Luckily Tony had managed to change his Somme into Tenge at the Bishkek bus station, so we had cash. Got a driver to take us for T500 ($5), he drove hunched over the wheel but was only a young guy. Dropped us off at our proposed hotel, which was in the campus of KIMEP (Kazakhstan Institute of Management, Economics & Strategic Research) which according to ... read more