Into Kazakhstan

Drove to Tashkent on the 19th before going to the border on the 20th.   The guest house in Tashkent was not large enough to accommodate all of us, so 3 couples moved to a B&B belonging to the local agent.  Even for those left some had to sleep on mattresses on floors.  Explored the local Bazaar in the afternoon.    Tashkent was a disappointment after all the other cities and towns we have visited – perhaps it was the fact we were not in the centre or the poor guest house or just because I was feeling poorly from a tummy upset (I was not alone!

The border crossing took nearly 4 hrs to negotiate and we managed to change all our currency on the Kazakhstan side using a number of unofficial money changers.  We were stopped for speeding before we got to the border, but were let off with a warning.  After a few hours drive we made a bush camp in a straw field.  I should have been on cook duty tonight but was let off my duties due to my tummy upset.





The Chinese have changed to dates we can enter China and we are also having to change our route as the road we were going to use is “closed” for road works.  We now entering China on 6th September and existing on 30th September.  This means we will not take the truck to Everest base camp, but it is possible to hire 4 wheel vehicles as an alternative, but this will involve additional cost.    We will now have to head for North China before heading south to Tibet rather than follow the line of the Himalayas. 
Sunday 21st August

Moved further into Kazakhstan and we got stuck in Sunday market traffic chaos (mainly a farmers market with lots of livestock and hay).   Some of the animal welfare was dubious – we saw 2 live sheep being put into the boot of a saloon car and the boot slammed shut!

We stopped at Turkistan to visit the famous mausoleum and also have some Sunday lunch (kebabs in my case).  Even allowing for the 1 hr time change at the border the temperature seems to get hotter later in the day here. 








After lunch we returned along the same road until we made a bush camp at an isolated spot in the desert. 
Roadworks 

We seem to attract road works on this amazing journey – especially in the “Stans”.  These can easily go on for 100 km when all the traffic uses a original road (which in places are badly broken up) while the new carriageway is being built to the side of the new road.  There seems to be a never ending supply of road works.  
Monday 21st August (Frustrating day)

Drove from the bush camp back to Shymkent so that we could change some money and get some food for the next 2 days.  In addition it was hoped to register all our passports with the police.  We arrived at the outskirts (near a market) at 09:30 and hoped to leave at 12:00 – see the butchers display (complete with sheep heads), however when Lu, Will and Johnnie took the passports into the city centre it was not possible to complete the registration until after 16:00.   The day was complete when a very dirty, smelly tramp decided to sit on the same bench as some of us.  We then left as planned towards the Aksu-Jabagly Nature Reserve.  We briefly looked over the Reserve offices then made a bush camp outside the village.  The plan for the next day was to allow approx. 10 of the group to go an accompanied walk in the Reserve while the others planned a chill out day. 
Tuesday 23rd August
About 10 took the accompanied walk in the Nature Reserve while the rest of us stayed with the truck and did a good truck clean and then some hand laundry and showers in the solar shower (or the nearby stream).  A car arrived during the truck clean and came over and tried to make conversation and asked for either water or alcohol before they left after pinching a bottle of water.  In the afternoon we tried to keep in the shade as the sun was very hot while waiting for walkers to return. 
Wednesday 24th August

Long slow drive day as we made our way across Kazakhstan – we only covered about 300/350 km due to the bad roads and constant road repairs.  We did have a short stretch on the new road, but it was only 1 to 2 km.  We made 3 stops including one to take on water at a Petrol Station – we all made some small purchases in the shop under the gaze of a pump action gun wielding guard!     . 
We made bush camp near a line of trees on a plateau. 




Thursday 25th August

Made better time to Almaty today (approx 325 km) and the roads were a big improvement over recent days.  Originally we were going to get a hotel/hostel for a couple of nights, but Will decided to change this to 2 days of bush camping in a nature reserve in the hills on the edge of the city.  However 8 of the group decided to book into a city hotel for the 2 nights while the rest of us made our way to the bush camp.  On the way we were stopped for another road security check (we have been subject to these throughout the “Stans”, but this one took 10/15 mins. and he needed some persuasion before letting us continue.

    

The sunset at Bush camp was another special sight.