KAZAKHSTAN: STEPPE BY STEPPE by David

[This blog loaded in Melbourne, by Ros & Hamish - cannot access Blogger site in KAZ]

As soon as we had passed through the last checkpoint and the final bar gate of the Russian and Kazakh border confines had been raised, the steppes (high plains) of Kazakhstan stretched out before us. However it was the near border city of Semey which provided our first real exposure to the Kazakh landscape - urban that is. In a word it was horrible! In most towns/cities we use Lonely Planet (LP) to locate hotels, restaurants, internet cafés and other essentials (LP maps show the heart of most places covered). In Semey we could not find a beating heart or any heart at all. Instead, we found block after drab block, row after depressing row, and avenue after dismal avenue of wind blown and dilapidated Soviet era apartments, and at the end of these, ugly and lifeless industrial areas. What we found was dismaying and left us lost and confused with absolutely no idea as to where we were, let alone how to get to one of the hotels shown on our LP Semey map.

In the end we awkwardly approached, yet again, a random local for assistance. By sign language he indicated a willingness to go with us to direct us to a hotel. While feeling slightly wary, we nevertheless agreed as we had to do something - it was almost dark. We were taken to a relatively new, boutique style hotel which appeared disturbingly empty, apart from the owner who was obviously a friend of our passenger - no one was around outside, no cars were parked, no guest was inside. Creepy. Alarm bells started to quietly ring. The accommodation we were shown however was good, the rate acceptable and despite our initial concerns, it turned out to be a great find. The owner who spoke only a little English used Google Earth to direct us to a local shopping centre which had easy caf food (point and pay!) and ATMs (called Bankomats here in Central Asia). Feeling better, we returned to good night’s sleep after a big day.

With almost no trees to provide shelter from the ever present wind, the Kazakh steppes of exposed grasslands, and broken only by scrappy villages and small towns, were our lot for well over a thousand kilometres of rough driving between Semey in the north and Almaty in the south. Despite being bitumen we rocked, jolted and vibrated our way south, pothole by pothole, wheel rut by wheel rut, and rough repair after rough repair, until we ached for a bit of good road (but which was not to come). We passed through many police checkpoints which are in most towns in Kazakhstan. As we approached Almaty, significant mountain ranges soared above the foothills: probably the Kyrgyz Zailivsky and Kungev Altau Ranges (part of the Tian Shan).

Staying in Almaty in a university dormitory (Will‘s idea!), we welcomed a rest, time to do necessary trip ’business’ and have the chance to get a different view of Kazakh city life from what we had seen in Semey. Cosmopolitan, leafy and full of bustle and life is how we found Almaty. Trams, electric buses, neat parks, good cafés and restaurants, a dramatic mountain backdrop, and some friendly locals welcomed us. What a relief!

We struggled with visa registration at the Migration Police, queuing with grim, anxious looking people clutching sheaves of papers, drank huge cups of coffee at Coffeedelia, ate good Russian food at Traktir Zhili-Byli, used wi fi (after struggling with hopelessly slow internet café computers), got visas for Uzbekistan, and drove out of Almaty through gently falling snow.

At two locations on the road to Shymkent our road takes us into Kyrgyzstan (for a total of about 25km), just inside the razor wire fenced border. While directed this way by Kazakh police (despite our best intentions to stay well clear of the border - we were turned around by the police), and obviously is a locally accepted arrangement, I still feel uneasy as we do not have transit visas for Kyrgyzstan. Will, as usual, is nonchalant! As we drive back into Kazakhstan through the last vehicle sized hole in an otherwise impenetrable looking border fence, I am at once relieved, my imagination no longer running wild, and somewhat bemused at how an international border can simply be breached as it was, for convenience sake.

Winter is clearly just around the corner but the exotic Silk Road cities of Bukhara and Samarkand beckon. Next stop therefore is Uzbekistan, and its gritty capital city of Tashkent, just inside the border…

[Photos to come later: On the road from Almaty to Taraz and Shymkent: through snow covered hills; high mountain backdrop]