Leaving Bishkek we journeyed northeast
towards the border with Kazakhstan at Korday. The scene at the border was one
of great hustle and bustle as hordes of foot passengers passed between the two
countries. It was easy therefore to excuse missing a discretely placed stop
sign the size of a jammy dodger at the side of the road. The moment we crept
past said sign at little more than 10 mph, an angry policeman hurtled up behind
us and frogmarched us back to his office. For that minor offence we were
initially fined 2,000 Kyrgyz Com but was later reduced to 1,000 (about $20)
when he found out we were penniless students. In 36 days and 18 countries up to
this point we hadn’t been penalised once and here we were in Kyrgyzstan paying
our third fine in two days. Let’s hope the state police’s annual all expenses
paid skiing holiday is worth our jackpot spin on the wheel of misfortune.
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| Lagma |
Briefly stopping for lunch at a
trucker’s café, we again ordered the only dish we could decipher from the
Russian gobbledygook menu, “lagma”. Back on the road the Kazakh landscape was
rather nondescript. Straight roads, flat land and little sign of civilisation
for large stretches were the most noticeable features of our surroundings. Dare
I say it we were slightly bored.
No matter, slack jaw outbursts of “Hazz Pozz?!” soon filled the car and the consensus to begin Harry Potter: The Order of the Phoenix was quickly reached.
No matter, slack jaw outbursts of “Hazz Pozz?!” soon filled the car and the consensus to begin Harry Potter: The Order of the Phoenix was quickly reached.
A good amount of kilometres were eaten
up on the roads of Kazakhstan as we stopped only to quench Marigold’s thirst
and to water the roadside crops. By the time darkness had descended we found
ourselves fumbling around looking for a suitable camping spot. Our efforts
proved to be in vain so we changed tactics and asked at a local trucker’s café.
To our great surprise a cheerful lady escorted us through a neighbouring door
into cute little three-bed room. At only $3 each, it was ideal. With beers in hand
we hooked up the laptop, watched Pacific Rim and settled in for the night.
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| Our cute accommodation for the night |
Posted by: Rich