A Farmer, a Consultant, and the USA

Occasionally, when people find out I’m American, a political discussion ensues. I certainly don’t mind talking geopolitics, and going over the complexity of the whole thing. But usually I’m asked very pointed questions, questions I’m not entirely sure hoe to answer. I’m called on to answer on behalf of the United States, and sorry, I’m not secretary of state (yet…). To be specific, there are two conversations in particular that I thought highlighted some points we tend not to think about. Firstly, the financial aide given by America to developing nations, and secondly, how our involvement in development projects may be hindering more than helping. I apologize in advance for an overwhelming lack of knowledge on these topics, but I’ll highlight these conversations, and hear out what people said.

Valentine and the farmer.

You may remember Valentine from my adventure in Altyn Arashan. This hard-as-nails manly man had a few strong opinions regarding our involvement in global politics. We both agreed that the situation is complicated, and that our history with Russia could have gone over a little more smoothly (and still could be…). The example he cited was the following:

When we give aide to foreign projects, specifically food donations, we as Americans will give a lot of money to see that cause come to fruition (we agreed this is a good thing). When that food arrives in target country, we would expect that said food programs are put into place and people are fed. Ideally, this food would be donated, free of charge, to those in need. We were in agreement that many programs do this. However, from his experience on the distribution side of things in a past life, he stated that most programs will SELL that food at a highly discounted price. This gives slight profit margins (maybe not even profit, perhaps just covering some operating costs) to the program, and gives buyers a better deal. Now here’s where Valentine gets aggravated. Think of the farmer whose small crop yield took quite a lot of labor, who then brings it to market (often great distances at a cost to himself). He is selling at $10…while the US food program is selling at $5. You can see where an issue starts to arise. The farmer sells no product, and now has less to go into his crop yield later on. When this farmer gets bought out and cannot afford to sell anymore, a monopoly arises with the food aide program…who then start to sell at $10..$15. You can see where his frustration came from.

Shaktybek and a certain consulting company.

I met Shaktybek while in Karakol, and he was an absolute pleasure to get to know. His background is in telecommunications, and for years was involved in implementing the telecommunications infrastructure here in Kyrgyzstan, and eventually sat under the vice minister of the country. When politics became complicated (the most recent revolution, as it were), it was expected that Shaktybek would start taking bribes for himself and those above him (among other things), as the proletariat could become stronger. He couldn’t do it, and resigned his position. He then entered international consulting, living in London, Switzerland, and the US for some time. He did this in the telecommunications field at first, and then found himself working on a development project at home in Kyrgyzstan. It was through this project that he transitioned into becoming heavily involved in Kyrgyz development projects. Though we talked for hours about many issues, this one frustrated him the most:

He was incredibly excited when a project he was working on was approved for aide from the USA. He thought to himself “ah, the United States, now we will have the help we need”. We donated a sum of money, and instead of sending consultants directly (as he was used to doing in his prior experience), the US hired an outside consulting company, one with quite a famous international name. He was unused to the idea of a third party, but was still excited because of the name of this company. They sent somebody to Karakol to head up the project, and to meet with Shaktybek, the local point man. As he began talking with this consultant, he learned that they had almost zero experience whatsoever. Not only regarding the project they were accomplishing (something about tourism and a cheese factory), but almost no experience….at all. He continued to give two additional examples of almost the same thing happening; You can imagine how disheartened he was to learn that with the USA at the helm, hiring a well known consulting company, the nation of Kyrgyzstan took a back seat.

It was this last though that struck me. Sure, every international consultant may start somewhere with no experience, but you wouldn’t expect it from such a large company. However, it was this idea that Shaktybek felt that his country is not taken seriously as a nation to be invested in. He explained to me their vast natural resources (which, recently, a mining contract was turned down by the USA…), their desire for democracy and education, and to be considered globally minded. He passively mentioned that most global councils have yet to add the Kyrgyz language to their texts.

So what am I trying to get at here? I know far too little about the details of food programs, government aide, geopolitics or consulting, to state whether things are true, how complex they are (and I’m sure they are very complex), and what goes on in the background. But that’s not my point.

My point is that people see what we do in a very different light than what we think. We watch a moving film on Sunday, and pour our money into companies, programs, and websites. A few people even work abroad, and yet sometimes, it’s not being done in the right way. The perspective of what we do is undermined, and perhaps with due cause to think so.

So like…do I have a solution for the entire development project side of the US government? Haha…no. But I think it’s good to have these conversations and to think about things. Valentine and I applauded US companies that stimulate local economies by doing things such as digging wells, irrigation systems, giving farming tools, seeds, and business micro-loans. Shaktybek and I were happy to talk about the success of many projects done by various US companies who found the right people for the job to develop a clear strategy, set up the right people, and follow through with the plan. There were still positive sides to these conversations.

And I think this matters. I think it matters how people view us. I think it’s a matter of fact that our actions, as a nation, have weight (amongst every other nation!). We have a reputation of being able to help, and we should guard that reputation by appropriate actions to see that help go through.

I guess the take home is that if you want to give money to a program, give time in an office, or even go abroad and work, to do your research and ask a lot of questions as to implementation. More than that though, don’t forget that we’re living in a truly global time, and that each place has something to bring to the table. Nobody deserves a back seat, or to be forgotten or thought lesser of.

A final note- I’m sure many of those reading have positive examples, and I’m glad of that. A few of you will want to do a fact-check rant, I’m not looking for an argument. I’m just hoping to bring to light some interesting conversations I had with real people on the ground, highlighting some areas to work on. I hope this all stimulates and inspires you to follow through and be excellent in whatever you’re doing. Thanks for reading!

-BK

Central Asia: Karakol, The worst road, and a guy named “Bob”.

High up in the mountains outside of Karakol, Kyrgyzstan, via a nearly inaccessible road, I had reached Altyn Arashan. Here I sat, completely naked, and completely silent, in a natural hot spring with a man whose name had an impossible combination of “v”s and “ch”s, whom we agreed to call “Bob”. Occasionally we hit the pause button and realize we are in a unique moment in time, and this was no exception. But before I come back to this, this story starts back in Bishkek a couple days ago.

Having received 2 of 3 visas in Bishkek, and the third awaiting my call the following Monday morning, I had time to get out of Bishkek for a few days, and there was no better place than Karakol. This sleepy little town is renowned for its outdoor scene, and tends to have a “must not miss” reputation around the traveler’s hub. It’s 6.5 hours from Bishkek to Karakol, and along the way it was nice to see some mountain scenery, fresh air, and the stunning lake Issyk-Köl (I posted some pics already!). Once I got there I walked to my hostel, a very clean and spacious property with an owner who speaks near perfect English (so nice!).

The next day I headed to Jetti-Ogüz. A combination of mashrukta (a sort of public bus system- think a dodge sprinter packed wth people getting on and off, paying about 50 cents a ride), hitch hiking, and taxi got me to the small outpost in the mountains south of Jetti-Ogüz proper. About and hour worth of traveling outside Karakol. Though the hiking trails weren’t marked, and I was fairly confused where to go, I simply hiked up the nearby hill as far as I could and was rewarded with some pretty incredible views of mountain peaks, horses at pasture, and the famed “seven bulls” sandstone formations looming over the valley. I’d say it was worth the wiggling to get here.

I relaxed back at the hostel, and had some very in-depth discussions with our hostel owner about development projects in Kyrgyzstan, as well as the developing world at large. He has a long history working as an international consultant in his past life, and has transitioned into humanitarian work here at home, and is incredibly involved with excellent perspective and ideas. I hope to make a separate post talking about his thoughts, as well as some others conversations I’ve had along these same lines. But back to our story- he suggested some other things I should do: including the Sunday morning animal market (largest in central Asia, and Altyn Arashan, THE must not miss destination).

Up at 6:30 am, the animal market was a real hoot. It’s just what it sound like- a massive bazaar vibe, all centre around selling animals. Lots of yelling, laughing, animal noises, and stall-food (omgyessss). It was a lot of fun for me to roam around, and was requested to take pictures of people and their animals almost every 5 minutes. Every photographers dream! Then came some decisions about Altyn Arashan; you see, it’s about an 8 hour hike there, followed by sleeping in the valley, then about 4-5 hours hike back. Not for the faint of heart, or those with 4 very painful, irritating blisters on their feet (hey, that’s me). But, I figured, I probably shouldn’t miss this, and I’d have to deal with the pain anyway. So I took the mashrukta to the trailhead, and started walking.

About 30 minutes into the hike, I heard the sound of an engine…to be specific…the engine of an old, war-hardedend russian van-tank (at which point a van turns into an indestructible off-road vehicle, I’m not sure, but this piece of machinery was flirting the line). I waved them down, and as my luck would have it, it was the owner of Yak tours (one of the hostels in the valley) and his driver coming back from a supply run. This is incredibly rare, and I was pretty excited to hop on in. And we started our ascent.

Valentine and the van-tank

I can’t properly describe the condition of this “road”. I think hiking it by foot would be difficult, and never in my most daring assumptions would I call it a road meant to be traversed by vehicles. 50% mud, 80% boulder, and 100% fury (here’s to you Furiosa), this is by far the worst piece of socially acceptable vehicle routes I’ve ever encountered. My respect for the vehicle and it’s driver are as high as the risk of being crushed by falling rocks- very high.

After about an hour and a half of rock-climbing-with-a-van, we crested the valley of Altyn-arashan, a steep, alpine valley with some serious mountain peaks in the distance. It was, to say the least, absolutely beautiful. Having ascended with these guys, I essentially signed up to stay with them, which is fine. Their “hostel” was a very simple adirondak-esque cabin, with few accouterments, and which hadn’t been cleaned in perhaps…ever. Valentine (pronounced “teen”, not “tine”) whipped up some vegetable stew, and we shared a lunch together.

It was after this lunch that he suggested I check out the hot springs. So the van-tank driver and I walked over to the hot spring, which consisted of a shed with an actually really well developed little pool feel to it. I figured I’d introduce myself to the monster-truck driver, and we settled on “Bob”. Then Bob stripped naked and got in. I had a decision to make here. Would I go ahead and do the I’ll-stay-in-my-short-b/c-im-obvioulsy-uncomfortable….or…just cultural immersion. I chose the latter. And that brings us around to the the start of this story. Don’t you worry, Valentine joined about 10 minutes later.

Bob the van-tank driver and hot spring tour guide

Hot spring

The overnight was bone chilling, but luckily I had a rock hard bed to sleep on and a thin blanket to remind me that I love my down-jacket. Overnight, a hunter apparently dropped off some wild boar, which we ate as a stew in the morning, Valentine, Bob and I. The three amigos, knowing so much more about each other than a mere 12 hours ago. They had to run back to town for more supplies, so I was lucky again to hitch another spine-shattering ride down. All in all, very glad that I was luckily enough to catch the chance to see the valley, and now have a story I won’t be forgetting soon.

The road to Altyn Arashan

Altyn Arashan and the van-tank

Until next time, thanks for reading!

-BK

Bishkek and the Visa Trail

I’ve spent about 1 week in the capital city of Bishkek. A sleepy city with soviet-esque architecture, but an entirely independent attitude and vibe, this is generally a haven for travelers to pick up visas that are more difficult to obtain elsewhere. That being said, there is no shortage of visa-difficulty in this down. The following note will focus on my visa-obtaining adventures, and I’ll make another post talking about my impressions of Bishkek itself. But we left off in Almaty, so let’s wind it back a bit, and catch everybody up to what I’ve been doing.

Leaving Almaty was pretty easy; I took public bus to the regional bus station, where I was expecting to find transport to the border, with the need to do the same once in Kyrgyzstan. However, was able to find a mini-bus with service straight through to Bishkek. It was only 1300 tengi (about 4 dollars). The road was in pristine condition, and it was a beautiful day! We scooted along to the border, hopped off of our mini-bus and went through the appropriate Kazakh border procedures. No issues (make sure to have your departure card you received coming in- obviously-although one traveler got stuck in the queue next to me). Then we walked on foot into Kyrgyzstan (87 for me), whereI very anticlimactically received a stamp and I was in! The bus was waiting not he other side, and off we went to downtown Bishkek. Took about 4.5 hours all in all.

Once in Bishkek I took a taxi to my hostel (Interpose Hostel on Toktugal St.). It was pretty empty, but run by a fleet of college age girls, who are pretty helpful making any phone calls you need around town (cough embassies cough). I hit the hay (alone in a 6 bed dorm...), and began my visa adventure the next morning.

Understand: What is a visa you ask? Essentially a very-official permission slip to enter another country. Depending on your country’s relations with target country, you amy or may not need one, and if you do, the difficulty of obtaining one will vary. The standard procedure is send an application, passport, and supporting documents to that nation’s embassy in XX country, and get your visa. Bishkek has al of the embassies of the neighboring countries, with the additional advantage of visa issuance being fast and cheap. Hence, me being in Bishkek to get some visas.

Day 1: So I call the Uzbekistan Embassy in the morning. She gives me an appointment..for tomorrow. Alrighty then, I guess that’s that. So I decided to be all super-efficient and said, hey, lemme get my visa for Tajikistan today while I wait. So I headed over to the Tajik embassy (it’s in a very odd part of town, but a good taxi driver- like anybody from Jogul taxi company) will use their smartphone to find it). It was the easiest visa I’ve ever received. I paid $75 USD for a double entry visa, plus 100 som (about $1.46) for the GBAO permit (restricted area permit to visit the Pamir mountains). I waited two hours (they had a lunch break), and I had it. NICE! While I waited, I decided to get even mor efficient and called the embassy of Afghanistan in Bishkek. I discussed with he consular’s secretary the process for obtaining a visa for US citizen. He explained that it was relatively easy, given my meeting with them go well. I scheduled this meeting for the next day at 2pm. I went back to my hostel and spent the rest of the day talking with a long-term inhabitant “”Tony””, an expat teaching at the American University of Central Asia.

Day 2: I head to the Uzbek embassy for my 10am appt. Now, the lady at the embassy is infamous amongst travel blogs, books, and word of mouth as being, lets say, difficult. I was the first to be called upon my the wicked witch from the west, and I figured my actions were gonna affect everybody behind me. I played it smooth. Approaching the iron bars of her jail cell (or was I in the cell?), I first asked how her day was going. This proved to be what we call “a good move”. She shifted in her seat, smiled, and said she’s doing OK. Alright, going well. I handed in my paperwork, and had to request to keep my passport while they prices (fingers crossed), which surprisingly, wasn’t an issue at all. WHEW. I spent some time walking around the central part of the city and “hanging out”, then headed over to the Afghan embassy.

IT went like this: Knock, wait a long time. Then the Consular’s secretary comes down to interview you. There were general questions such as “why are you in Bishkek”, “what do you do”, etc. Depending on this interview (and apparently if he likes you?), they will decided to issue you the visa or not. After a quick compliment on his rings, I had a grand old time chatting with the secretary. He left to talk with the Consular, and returned saying “we will issue you the visa. Here is the application, fill it out and bring it back tomorrow at 9:30”. And that was that. I had to go to the Bank of Pakistan to pay the visa fee (?), and after that, meandered around town and back to the hostel.

Day 3 in Bishkek. I flutter my eyes awake, happy about my Tajik visa, and proud of the progress with Afghanistan. I headed over to the embassy, and handed the application to the secretary. The visa fee for US citizens is a whopping $160 for 9 day processing, or $200 for 24 hour processing. I chose the latter (and introduced myself to financial serfdom). I was instructed to pick it up tomorrow at noon.

Day 4: Since my visa is being processed sans passport with the Uzbek embassy, I was planning on heading to the hills after I picked it up from the Afghan embassy. SO I packed my things and headed to the embassy. Lo and behold, the visa was issued, no issues at all. Single entry, 30 days. Of note, the particular town I plan to head to is the town the secretary is from, and the hotel I chose is about 100m from his house. He was very excited about this, and it was encouraging to hear how excited he was that I was visiting such a nice place. He also gave me his personal cell phone and email, and the contact info of his brother, who lives there currently, should any issues arise.

I will call the Uzbek embassy Monday (as instructed), when I assume I will be told to “come tomorrow”. A lot of “tomorrow’s”...but that’s a lot better than “no”, or several weeks of processing elsewhere. No problem!

It should be stated that I never travel without doing an incredible amount of research. My travel strategy is to be flexible, without planning too far ahead, but knowing all of the options. When I arrive to a place, I know what is available, how longs it takes to get to different towns, etc, and I make my choices as I go along. Afghanistan is a well-researched destination, with careful phone calls made to the appropriate people.

And so I was able to head to the hills and beauty of Lake Issyk-Köl. I will post about my adventures/relaxation here soon, after my Bishkek piece. I hope some of the information above regarding visas comes as a great help to any travelers planning similar routes. Stay posted!

-BK

A Day in Almaty, Kazakhstan

I wasn’t quite sure what to expect when I arrived in Almaty. I suppose I had an initial expectation that it would be rather challenging and difficult to navigate. I had read it’s recent history as a modern city, essentially the jewel city of Russia’s far reach in central Asia, and was pleasantly surprised to find a beautiful, bustling city complete with underground metro, all the nightlife and parks and shops that would stand to many European towns.

If that sounds a bit ignorant, perhaps it is. I think it’s normal to imagine a place as something, and when finding it better than expected, to be taken a bit off guard. All the reading and travel blogs can tell you one thing, but many ties I’ve read a place to be modern and up-and-coming, only to be sourly disappointed. So, the comments regarding Almaty are in now way to sound condescending, as if it shouldn’t be so, it simply surprised me.

Being 6:20 am, the train station had the normal army of taxi drivers awaiting us. I put up my defenses against the first wave, and waded through to the guys outside and a little further out. I widened up when trying to explain my destination, and just gave the phone number of my hostel to the taxi driver. He rang them up, figured it out, and we agreed on a price.

I stayed at Almaty Backpackers, and had an awesome morning. The night manager let me in and the staff made me breakfast, even though that wasn’t until about an hour and a half from now. The sun was shining, the tea was perfect, and my bread and porridge tasted so good after the meager salami sandwiches I had been having. There is nothing like a little sunshine and warm food to put you in a nice mood. Not to mention the mountain peaks were in clear view.

I was able to shower (good for everybody), and decided to go into town). I walked to the Central State Museum. This is basically a blend of a natural history museum focusing on the evolution of man, and a cultural museum focusing on how Kazakhstan came to be about; the exhibits shifted between the two subjects at first, until modern man was officially established, and from there the Kazakh history solely took over. There was English translations from start to about half way through the main exhibit hall, when they decided english wasn’t needed anymore (?). There were also som either exhibit halls, namely the Kazakhstan independence exhibit, showcasing Nazarbayev’s rise to power and how much he has helped the nation. All that to say: it’s a massive, great museum.

Then I took this little cable car to the top of a nearby hill looking over the city. Named “Kok-Tobe”, it’s a great attraction, complete with a little carnival at the top, complete with ferris wheel, bumper cars, and a zoo of sorts.

I was feeling pretty beat after the and decided to rest up at the hostel. I had a long cha with the day-manager, who has traveled extensively, and lived in the US for a while. It was nice to have long conversation in English, something that gets taken for granted so easily when on the road.

She bought up some interesting points I’ll share: There is a particular guidebook that is highly used amongst many travelers (it will remain unnamed, as this would apply to many guidebooks anyway). As the manager of a very good hostel, in a less than popular city, she expressed her frustration that so many travelers miss out on what the city has to offer, due to these guidebook. We arrive, see the same 5 things (of which, sitting in front of her, was completely guilty of), and then leave. Meanwhile, there is a heart of the city that she feel see are missing.

We have a great capacity to not veer away from the decided-upon path. We look up what to do, where to eat, where to sleep, and use that as framework for our experience. I don’t think this is entirely wrong to do, wince opoular things are opoular for good reason, and well-reviewed places are suggestions from fellow travelers. But I admit that this does tend to give us tunnel vision in our destinations.

Another thought is that of perspective and opinion. When we prescribe to an itinerary in any given place, we are prescribing to somebody else’s opinion of what is worth doing. Again, 1400 reviews of TripAdvisor is still 1400 people who say its great, and maybe that shouldn’t be ignored. However, what about all the places that haven’t been discovered yet? How will I know if it will align with my own interests? When we travel, we are traveling within our way of viewing the world. Sure, travel tends to broaden that view, but I still have tastes and preferences in what I enjoy, and my experience in a place will be determined by how well it lines up with those values.

This is where I think it’s best to use the guidebooks primarily for logistics- how do I get from A to B. Those are facts that can’t change to much and are very, very useful to have on hand. And then I would say to pursue any top things they suggest you can’t miss. But then I would look at why. Do those things sound like things I would like? Most importantly though, I would ask around. I asked my new friend what she likes, what she thinks is important in this city, etc. Of course, this is incurring her own tastes and interests, but its beyond the guidebook, and may more easily align with what I’m looking for.

And here is an important point I want to make: this whole travel thing is an exploration into not just how you will enjoy a new place within your own interests (cause it is important to have a good time), but how that new place can discover, in you, something new, maybe a new taste or preference. Who knows!

My conclusion? When you travel, make your attitude, expectations, and perspective the most important part of your trip. And sure, having so little time in Almaty (I had to get to Bishkek for some visa arrangements I had made), I feel terribly hypocritical in writing all this, but it’s something I’m learning still.

Oh and one last thing I did: A bath house. And for the record, this was both in a guidebook AND suggested by my hostel manger friend. The Almaty bath house is a massive,sex-separated, multi-bath complex, complete with several traditional baths: Finnish (think sauna), Turkish (think marble and LOTS of steam), Moroccan (think warm tiled rooms with not a lot of steam), and Russian (think hotter-the-fire, man in the corner shoveling fuel into an oven..and beating yourself with branches of various bushes and trees). IN addition to the showers for varying termparture between baths (and giant wooden buckets you would pull for a instal-freeze effect), there was a massive circular pool, under a gorgeous tiled dome. Oh....and all this entirely naked the whole time.

Not too bad for a day. After my insightful discussion, I really wish I had more time. Alas, there never seems to be tough time in a place, but we learn and move on. Bishkek is next, where I will await visas. Until next time!

-BK

4011km of train tracks

Have you ever felt too uncomfortable to sleep, due to noise, humidity, temperature or hunger? Have you ever gone 4 nights without showering in those conditions? Have you ever questioned your decisions? Luckily, I’ve done all of that and more on the train from Moscow, Russia, to Almaty, Kazakhstan. Due to the singularity of the trip (I mean, it’s just 4 days on a train), there isn’t a ton to say, but I’ll share some of the stories about this epic, once in a lifetime (seriously, I’m not doing that again) journey!

So after my last note (April 6), I took the metro to Paeletskaya Station, which conveniently, is directly attached to the long-distance train station of the same name (love when that works out!). For a moment I was a bit nervous about the legitimacy of my ticket, since I booked it online a while back, and didn’t have anything to show for it. When the train arrived “Alma-Ata 007”, I walked out to the tracks, and was a little disheartened to find the quality of train to be slightly less than my recent long-distance sleeper train in China. It’ll be a story right? Correct. I found my car, and (YES) the conductor had my name on his list.

First impressions: the train was about average size, dark, a little humid, with a running carpet down the aisle. I found my little 4-bed kupye compartment, and a Kazakh family (mom dad and 8 year old daughter) looked up at me and greeted me in Russian. I greeted back..an after a string of consonants and vowels returned to me, I had to come clean. “[ya ne ponimayo pa-Ruski]” I admitted- ‘I don’t understand Russian’. The father, a short, stocky, bald man, immediately made clear his disapproval in my existence, while the mother continued to consul me in Russian. The daughter took her opportunity to practice some english. We smoothed things over, and it all worked out OK after I shared some cookies with the group. I rolled out the thin mattress and put the provided bed sheets over it. Packed away my bags and settled in. This was gonna be along haul.

We begin: And we’re off. There aren’t any surprised to how trains run. So for the rest of the essay, imagine large metallic clicking, slightly swaying, and movement at 40mph for then next....whole time.

Bathrooms: It gets it’s own shout out. Take a look at the pictures in the Central Asia album. Classy. It wasn’t too bad though. Before heading to bed, and each morning, we’d all take turns washing our faces (hand towels included in our package) in the little sink, and doing our business. The instability of the car made for interesting tactics, but things worked out ok, and it definitely was not the worst train bathroom I’ve been in. That goes to India...which was simply a hole in the ground sans toilet, and the walls well...decorated...

 

Food: The strategy here was to bring your own for the whole journey. Luckily, I thought of this before hand, adn stocked up on some bread, salami, cheese, an what I thought was ham slices in a tupperware which turns out to be a liquid cream-of-idk that I quickly ejected from my possession. It was meager, but it worked. I ate at the restaurant car my last evening as a little treat (posted a picture-the soup).

The route: So we headed southeast out of Moscow and eventually crossed into Kazakhstan at the Ozinky/Semiglavvy border. This was in the middle of the night and involved Russian guard dogs all over the place. Stamped out...went a mile or two...then Kazakh guars hopped on with their own less-intimidating dogs to stamp us in. We then continued on for a bit...and left Kazakhstan at the Chingirlau/Iletsk border...then it got slightly confusing since about an hour or more later we entered...Kazakhstan..again (at Zhaisan). Apparently Russia cares slightly less about this little piece of itself, and we didn’t need to get stamped in/out again (hey I’m not complaining). Then it was smooth sailing from there.

The people: So me and my little Kazakh family had to say goodbye son after our second entry into Kazakhstan. They packed their things, and the father (we were friends my now) wished me good luck in english. I thanked him in Kazakh, shook his hands and enjoyed the cabin all to myself. For about 10 minutes. Then on came a mother and her 6 year old daughter. This seems to be a pattern. She was a very cute little girl who spoke some english phrases (and was VERY excited to try them out). She sang, she danced, and I ended up babysitting her for about half of the trip while mom was off flirting with random guys.

They left early morning of my third day (like Jesus leaving the tomb), and I was kinda happy to see that mom go.Then came a full crew of people. One middle aged Kazakh man , a young Uzbek guy, and a grandmother and 4 year old Kazakh pair. We were all headed to Almaty, which was kind of a fun concept now, and they were excited to hear the Russian/Kazakh I had picked up on the route. Needless to say, this was a good crew and we got along great. A special shout out to the crew at the restaurant car, who I spent most of the 2nd day with, playing backgammon and gong back and forth with english/Kazakh words.

But alas, just one night with the power-cabin of Almaty-bound passengers, since that morning, after 4 nights on that train, I was finished. The non-showering was surprisingly not bad at all. I made some good acquaintances, and as I had originally intended, got to see the landscape unfold.

 

The history of the steppe covers thousands of years- from the oringial turkic peoples that settled the area (essentially the ancestors of the caucasian race), to the Kazakh peoples, to Chinggis Khan, Russia, and an independent Kazakhstan, the steppe has been there. I loved watching it unfold into a massive grassland int he north, to beautiful rolling hills towards the south, and even mountains in the southwest. The natural resources, beauty, and history of the steppe made the journey enjoyable, and like I had a front-row seat to a bit of history. I wouldn’t do that again, but I am officially glad I did it! Until next time!

-BK