in contrast to western Kazakhstan its not all flat - we are skirting round Altai Mts

a dash across eastern Kazakhstan - 22 July 2012 – 11,573 miles

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July 22nd 2012
From Almaty its a 900km dash north across the steppes to the Russian border. The landscape is identical to that 2500km to the west that we were riding through several weeks ago; long straight roads through the flat steppe, lined by stumpy trees with enormous eagles perching in them. The eagles aren't actually that big its just that the trees are so small and the eagles look really comical perc ... read more

Asia » Kazakhstan » East Kazakhstan » Semey

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Native Kazakhs, a mix of Turkic and Mongol nomadic tribes who migrated into the region in the 13th century, were rarely united as a single nation. The area was conquered by Russia in the 18th century and Kazakhstan became a Soviet Republic in 1936. D... ... read more