Border crossings and Kazakhstan

Kazakhstan is a huge country – the 9^th largest in the world –  we glimpse only a small section of this massive country on our way from Kyrgyzstan to Uzbekistan.  Leaving Kyrgyzstan and entering Kazakhstan didn’t prove too difficult or lengthy (in comparison with borders to come!)  3¾ hours and we had officially left Kyrgyzstan and were on our way. No longer Kyrgyz Som but Kazakh Tenge.

We had another welcome and welcoming home-stay experience in the small village of Jabagly. Warm beds and hearty meals – can’t go wrong. Next day we headed into the Aksu-Dzhabagly National Park – some on horseback and the rest in Calypso. Passing through farmland and an even smaller village which was great for a wander, we reached the ranger station and the canyon rim where we camped for the night. It was a lovely spot to base ourselves for walks along the rim or into the canyon.  And we enjoyed a surprisingly mild evening around the fire!

Fraser and Jill

Village roads

Village life

Stunning mountain scenery

Rolling steppes of Kazakhstan

Our drive to the border the next day unfortunately was less inspiring – corrupt police, bumpy roads, a stone in the windscreen, and an incident with a bee for Al as well as stepping in the wrong place on toilet break (will leave details to your imagination) – made us ready to leave, though not altogether prepared for the wait that was to come at the border. A queue of cargo trucks that couldn’t be bypassed resulted in a record (for this trip anyway) 5 hour border crossing (and unfortunately no fancy heated waiting areas!).  However, the wait was worth it to be in Uzbekistan which thus far has been great... hotels with buffet breakfasts that hit the spot, nice restaurants, friendly people, clean cities, and of course the incredible sights of the Silk Road cities.

Watch this space for more about our time in Uzbekistan...