Like all the other border crossings so far, the locals just
push right on into our queue. At this
place they were pushing each other to which a pregnant woman nearly fell over,
a man was shoving women, women were shoving each other, border guards began
shouting & shoving. Luckily for us
our Kazakhstan guide crossed into Uzbekistan to join us & managed to get
the guards to open another door which we all politely queued at to the disgust
of the locals who were still shouting & shoving each other.
Anyway, we get through as foot passengers into Kazakhstan in
2hours 30minutes which seems to be the going rate of our border crossings. However, we end up having to wait for the
truck to pass through. No other coaches,
trucks or cars seem to be moving. In
fact, the vehicle gates are not even open much of the time. There are lorries lined up at the side of the
little rural village waiting.
We find a bit of shade in the 2 cafes, 1 market stall &
a waiting coach-the driver let me sit on & sleep. I passed more time out the 40 degree heat in
the café (which was like a rural farmer’s house utility room). Border guards came in & out for
food. I ate more Plov & black tea=my
staple diet in the Stans so far.
The café toilet was at the end of the rubbish strew
paddock. One of the best squat bog holes
so far! Made of mud bricks, mortar made
of cattle/horse crap, hole in the ground nearly full, no door – but thank god
because you would not want to shut it due to all the fly’s & stench. Still, at least there was a bucket rigged up
above a sink with actual hand wash in the paddock on the way back to the café.
The above description is a classic of squat bogs I have
endured since arriving in Turkey/flew from Birmingham! Getting use to them now. Before I started this adventure, my plan was
to take a photo of all the bogs I use – but they are just so bad I could not
hang around to get the camera out. The
most memorable so far, along with that described above was a ceramic squat on
the military highway monument, Georgia.
We don’t think it had been cleaned since 2010! No one used it-we all squatted around the
back of the shed. The other was a tin
shed cooking in the 40 degree sun at the back of a petrol station somewhere. I can’t remember where, there have just been
so many. I constantly have loo roll in
my pocket, because that does not exist in public loos at all.
A brand new squat bog still being built. I think I christened it whilst the builder took a lunch break-he did turn his back so I had a bit of privacy.
Some essential advice for future Odyssey travellers: Loos very rarely have a sink that works. Most of the time it’s more pleasant to squat
behind a bush anyway. So, you can’t
always wash your hands. However, the
Odyssey truck has a water spray containing bleach which works well. EVERY time before you eat make sure you wash
your hands. The Odyssey truck has a hand
wash bowl for every lunch & dinner we make – set up just before you pick up
your plate to be fed. My advice is to
carry anti-bacterial hand wipes & even anti-bacterial liquid soap in your
day bag to use at restaurants. Wet wipes
& liquid soap have been on sale in most shops & bazaars we have seen.
Anyway, back to today’s border crossing. We had to hang around this village until
8.15pm for the truck! This is a record
so far to cross a border. A grand total
of 11 hours! (I have taken into account the fact that during the crossing we
lost an hour because the clocks went forward an hour from Uzbekistan into
Kazakhstan).
We then bush camped 1hours drive into Kazakhstan.
Our 2nd day in Kazakhstan was a 12 hour drive to
a bush camp just outside Aksu-Dzhabagly (aka Aksu-Jabuglija) nature reserve.
Our 3rd day was a drive into the reserve & then a 3 hour canyon hike with a ranger, whilst a lucky 8 of the group (only 8 horses available to the annoyance of some), horse trekked through the reserve to the bush camp we set up. Great views.
Lada. The most common car since Georgia. This 1 must have been owned by a boy racer
4 O'clock is beer O'clock on the truck
Our 3rd day was a drive into the reserve & then a 3 hour canyon hike with a ranger, whilst a lucky 8 of the group (only 8 horses available to the annoyance of some), horse trekked through the reserve to the bush camp we set up. Great views.
Our 4th day was a 9 hour drive to a bush camp near the Kyrgyzstan border just outside a town called Merke. It was so hot. Another 40 degree day in the non air-con truck. The bush camp had a welcome stream & lovely views.
I am sat writing this post on the Kyrgyzstan border waiting
for the truck to come through. I realize
waiting at these border crossings have their uses as it gives me the chance to
catch up with this blog typing. However,
as we are off to a hotel tonight, some of the group are fed up waiting &
seriously contemplating getting a taxi to the hotel about 100Km away so they
don’t waste another day sat on a border.
Instead, enjoy the hotel luxury of a shower.
Photos of Kyrgyzstan look lovely in the Lonely Planet Guide
stating 90% of the country is mountainous.
We are here for about 13 days. We
are all wishing that we spend more than 1 night in 1 place so we can properly
chill out & not rush around just seeing
the place but actually do adventurous
activities. In Uzbekistan we spent 2
nights in 4 of the hotels & 3 nights in 1 hotel which was a welcome change. Before that, for the past 2 months, all
places were 1 night except a few 2 night stints in Ashgabat, Yerevan, Tbilisi,
Telavi bush camp, Kazbegi bush camp, Mestia, Goreme campsite, Pamukkale,
Kusadasi, Eceabat & Istanbul.
