July 25, 2011

  • The Silk Road (Sort Of) Overland
    Sunday 24 July 2011

    This morning I decided it was time to see a bit of Kazakhstan's great outdoors. The Bolshaya Almatinka Valley west of Almaty looked like a good option. However, I didn't reach my starting point in the valley until 3.00 PM. Why? Because the bus I was told by the receptionist would go there didn't seem to exist and it took forever to find out from people around me how to get there. Also, I'm starting to realise how few people in this country actually know any English at all. Russian is the all pervasive lingua franca and since all TV channels are dubbed, the locals probably never hear a word of English spoken. Even numbers are unknown to people. If I want to know how much something costs, people write it down or show me the relevant bank note.

    Anyway, once there, the Bolshaya Almatinka Valley turned out to be the most stunning place, and all my frustrations were quickly forgotten. I walked along the road following the Bolshaya Almatinka River.There were lots of people about and I walked past several "hotels" consisting of individual yurts, a kind of hut made of woollen felt over a wooden frame, a bit like a semi-permanent tent (or a Sami kåta from northern Sweden). The mountains around me were stunning and after six kilometres or so, I sat down by the river to cool off my feet a bit. Well, that was a quick affair. After about three seconds, my feet were ice cold in the freeing water!

    I managed to walk around eight kilometres and be back in town before sundown. If I get another full day in Almaty (not interrupted by visa matters or booking train tickets etc.), I would like to go back to this valley and walk all the way up to the Bolshaya Almatinskoe Lake (2,500 metres above sea level).

    Tomorrow, I will (hopefully!) get some good news about my Uzbek visa (which has been severely delayed because I couldn't pick it up in Baku, Azerbaijan, as was originally planned).

    [Ever since I left Istanbul, it has been difficult to find Internet cafes. I need a proper Internet cafe to be able to upload pictures onto my blog - my iPad can't cope. In Aktau, I couldn't find a single Internet cafe for example, and here in Almaty, it's also difficult. From my iPad I can't even comment on other people's comments, but for some reason I can upload new blogs, no problem.]