We had a lovely albeit brief stay in Kazakhstan, a week of travel and errands, complemented by a bit of sightseeing and hospitable locals. Our stay here began with the multiple border checkpoints between Russia and Kazakhstan. The train crosses the border at about 9pm, with the rigmarole of the Russian and Kazakh border guards prodding and poking every nook and cranny of our compartment, what they were looking, drugs?, guns?, their hat they'd forgotten last time?, who knows, but they didn't find it and after a while stamped our passports and let the train on its way. Next thing I know I wake up to another Russian checkpoint gaurd and bizarrely the Russian man in the bed next to me had grown a moustache, changed his clothes and now looked distinctly Kazakh! Of course what
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