2nd October 2006

Day 63 02/10/06 – Strange goings on in the Kazakh Steppe!

Day 46 started badly as I attempted to leave Astrakhan and head for the Kazakh Steppe. To start with I found I had a slow puncture in my front tyre (fortunately I noticed before loading the bike) so had to strip it down & replace the tube (can’t quite fathom how I got the puncture unless it was during transit on the train somehow). It was then a horrible cycle through the busy streets of Astrakhan to get out of the city & despite having a map my sense of direction again had to save me a few times! I was very glad to get out onto the (very) open road & leave the city behind. I was very fortunate to have a nice tail wind pushing me onwards and made good speed towards the border. I was surprised to have very little problem at the border with lots of interest from the border guards! Between the Russian and Kazakh border posts was a very long stretch of ‘no-mans-land’ and because of a new road bridge across to the border there was a horrible road to right up to the Kazakh river ferry. On the ferry one of the ramp lifters got a little aggressive when I wouldn’t give him any money for the free ferry and tried to push the bike over but fortunately his friends stopped him stopping me getting off! Again, the Kazakh border guards were very interested in the bike and guarded it for me while I completed the paperwork (it wasn’t exactly a very busy border though! The terrain was quite baron and sandy across the steppe, which was it not ideal for cycling, but with a tail-wind and pretty decent roads the miles clocked pretty quickly. I was contemplating the prospect of camping on the steppe when I saw a small shop in a mud house village so stopped for supplies. I asked about the possibility of local accommodation and was surprised to be told that there was a hotel about 20 km up the road, I realized I’d get there late but decided to go for it anyhow! In the town of Ganyushkino it took me a while to find the place and was eventually directed by a bunch of guys gambling on a car bonnet in a nearby car park. The hotel had no signage, certainly didn’t speak English & had an outside toilet but it was a bed for the night!

On day 46 it was more of the same really, the roads were quite good and a beautiful tail-wind helped me tremendously! There were many, many interested passers by who tooted, waved and sometimes hailed me over. My highlight was managing to catch up and slip-stream a tractor for a while but as it was churning out some pretty nasty fumes and it was hard work keeping up I soon gave that one up! The area near the Caspian sea was quite sandy and I began to get a bit of a side wind which instantly took 1 or 2 mph off my average. The flies also seemed to gather around the sea as they got worse and worse throughout the day becoming extremely annoying when I was slowed by the wind! To try and make the third day into Atyrau doable I decided to aim for 70 miles to leave about another 70 miles for day 47. I then found the next track and followed it for about half a mile off the main road & pitched camp! There were quite a few lumps and bumps in the terrain now so although I could see the vehicles on the road I was probably quite well hidden in my low profile tent. I managed to burn my supper which hadn’t been too appetising to begin with but I hear a bit of carbon is good for you anyhow! The sunset was lovely with nothing but steppe as far as I could see! It was a little scary out on the step but once tucked up into my tent and sleeping bag I actually felt pretty safe.

Day 47 brought with it nightmarish side winds which made me practically grind to a halt! I found first thing when I got mobile reception that the satellite phone sms messages I’d sent the previous evening to my parents hadn’t got through and they were understandably anxious! I sent an mobile sms to my parents and sister and at my breakfast stop phoned my sister at work on night duty to check they knew I was ok It was quite a chilly morning but I got going early after a beautiful sunrise. The roads again were surprisingly good but the side winds were horrible, I could only manage an average of 6.1 mph which is atrocious! It was very draining and I felt like I was going no-where all day wearing me as much mentally as physically! There were loads of oil exploration teams out despite it being Saturday. When I escaped the wind into a drainage ditch one of the on-looking trucks drove over to find out who I was and what I was doing we had a little chat in the usual broken no-language that I’m getting used to! I was so desperate to get out of the wind that at one point I tried cycling in the drainage ditch to escape it! This helped get out of the wind but the surface got pretty rough slowing me as much as the wind and it also managed to give me a stiff neck with the draft! By the time I got to Akkystau I was literally begging the wind to give me break and let up just for a little while. I pulled in looking for a hotel with no local money (hadn’t been able to find a bank but had Dollars and Rubles) it was like a ghost town and I just couldn’t find the town centre so I soon gave up the hunt and got back to the road to push on. I was now getting towards dire straights, I had food but a lot of it was dehydrated like pasta, rice and soup, the main problem was I had about 4 litres of water left and there were no shops open that I could see! I was busy pushing on trying to figure out in my mind how I was going to eat that evening and worse still how I was to keep hydrated in the baking steppe when a large flat-bed lorry used for carrying oil drilling equipment pulled up & asked if I was going to Atyrau, before I could decline Serge a Russian drive only a few years older than myself was working out how to attach the bike onto the flat bed! When I assessed the situation I didn’t really have many options! Serge was a really great and friendly guy and between his little English and my little Russian (+ phrase book!) we managed to chat quite a bit on the way over the last 40km or so. As it turned out there were loads of roadworks along the route which meant the road just had to detour through the deep sand of the steppe in this area, fine for trucks, worst nightmare for a bike! At Atyrau Serge kindly drew me a map how to get from where he would drop me off to the hotel I was aiming for as my sister had sent a new bike chain there after the fun in Astrakhan’! He also somehow figured I might need some money so told me where the ATM’s were. I easily found money & hotel with great relief, it was a little pricy because Atyrau is the oil capital of Kazkhstan & more used to business visitors than scruffy cyclists!

Day 48 was a crash out day! I hardly did a thing all day but had a good unwind!

Monday morning was a different matter, I had to get a few urgent jobs done. I started at the bank to change travelers cheques but soon gave up because of the long queue, so I headed down to a travel agent to try and get my visa registered. It was rather annoying to find that if I’d been given an immigration form at the border then I could have saved the 100 Dollar registration fee but as it had never been offered to me and I didn’t know about it there wasn’t much I could do! I went back via the bank to find the queue 4 times longer! It then took about 2 hours to get though the queue and finally change cheques! Tonight I was moving out of the hotel and into the flat of a friend of Crossroads so after a pretty hot & manic day I packed up and rode across town to Askar’s flat which was a welcome change to the impersonality of the hotels. We then went and met a few of his friends.

Day 50 didn’t really have a lot to do but ended up being a lot of walking! I started going back to the travel agent and getting my passport then basically spent the whole day walking around Atyrau trying (without success) to find internet access. I did manage to get instructions where to go by bus but after my Astrakhan’ experience I wasn’t getting on one of those minibuses again! Unfortunately walking was a long way and I either couldn’t see it or it was just too far. As I was walking back to Askar’s I actually saw someone run over which was shocking but thankfully she managed to hobble away from it but probably with a broken leg, it reiterated my dislike of cycling in the cities!

Day 51 was another train day, I was up and ready to go early. Askar’s friend Ruslan was picking me and another of his friends up to go to the station. I was getting a bit anxious as the time ticked by and Ruslan ended up very late, I’m not sure whether I should have been waiting outside or whether Ruslan was just late (Ruslan spoke little English). We somehow managed to get the bike in the back of a Lada (of which there are hundreds on the roads out here), the front rack stuck out of the window but it worked. We then went to pick up Ruslan’s friend and he managed to squeeze in behind my bike while I took some of the luggage (not a big boot!) We had an agonising and scary drive across town to the station. Amazingly despite being about 20 minutes late we still managed to get on the train and Ruslan helped me get the bike into the overhead locker before having to run to get off the train as it began to move!! The ladies in my cabin were very friendly and one of them spoke a little English which as always was a help! There was some confusion with the conductor as he tried to charge me 5000 Tenge (about 20 pounds and 1 and a half times the ticket cost!) for the bike, fortunately being a confused and ignorant tourist he soon gave up! The two sisters in my cabin kindly gave me lunch, tea and a small tipple of the traditional drink of these parts! We also all shared supper together in the cabin before turning in for an uncomfortable night!

It was only half a day on the train day 52 before I got to Kyzlorda. I spent most of the morning getting ready to get off and worrying about how I’d get the bike down on my own! Fortunately when the time came I was stronger than I thought and managed to get the bike out of the overhead without too much difficulty. The ladies from the cabin helped me with the bags too which was very kind. In Kyzlorda I didn’t have to go too far to find a hotel and I just went for the first one. It was a nice place and I enjoyed resting there for the afternoon packing ready for the days ahead. I actually ended up sleeping on the sofa because the bed was very hard and in a separate ‘room’ to the air con unit so I was too hot!

I packed and left Kyzlorda early but it took me a while to navigate round the city and find my way out on the right road, as ever asking many people was a real help to getting to the right road! There was still a pretty bad side wind but not as bad as before so I could make ok progress. I was flagged down by the traffic cop at a check point & had to give all my details but I didn’t have any problems. I was then also flagged down by some police who seemed to be attending the scene of an accident but that was purely out of interest as to who I was & what I was doing, nothing official! Again I was offered a lift by a friendly lorry driver but this thime I was fully prepared so gracefully declined. The sun seemed much hotter out here and at one point I had to shelter in a bus stop just to get out of the sun for a bit. I saw the amazing sight just before stopping of what I think was a Kestral flying over head, beautiful! Once I’d found Shieli to be an unrealistic target I was aiming to camp at about 60 miles leaving another 60 to get to a town I knew had a hotel. I turned onto a track at about 57 miles and had a horrible job fighting with the deep dry mud in these parts, again I went about half a mile then off the track to camp. I had to be pretty quick as the un way dropping but had a much nicer supper than last time camping and just about got packed up before sunset. I was a little worried by the talk of wolves that had been passed onto me on the train but the were lots of noisy cows around which was slightly reassuring if a little annoying!

As usual now I rose early to a lovely sunrise but feeling a little chilly! I stopped by what turned out to be a railway station (random building in the middle of the steppe!). I was told I should take the train to Turkistan, a town about 100 miles down the road but I declined! As the day progressed and sun got hotter I started feeling worse and worse. By the time I reach Shieli just 20 miles down the road I knew I couldn’t make the other 40 miles to the next hotel so pulled in hoping a rest would sort out what I thought was sunstroke. I eventually found the unmarked hotel and you got what you paid for, 4 pounds! There was not running water, just a tap dripping into buckets and an outside loo. I briefly went shopping before lying down to rest & it was downhill from there! I soon developed a fever and nausea I was very ill for a while but fortunately I had the wise council of my sister, a nurse via sms message! It turned out to be something I ate but it really sapped my energy. I decided that it would take at least another couple of days to recover sufficiently enough to cycle in the steppe and that would push my timetable so much that I wouldn’t have anytime with Crossroads Central Asia in Shymkent so I decided it would be best to take yet another train from here and rest at Crossroads CA. I slept badly and the outside toilet downstairs was a real pain but I felt a lot better in the morning!

I eventually found the station in the morning and managed to work out how to get and work a phone card to phone Alice at Crossroads. She helped me with the getting of a ticket and after I’d worked out that what I was standing by wasn’t the ticket office, hence lack of seller I was able to get a ticket, thankfully the ticket lady quite quickly gave up the whole talking through glass and beckoned me round to look at the computer! The next ticket available was 3pm tomorrow which worked quite well. I then went back, began packing yet again and sorting myself out ready for the train. I managed to eat some food at the ‘buffet’ in the evening which helped my strength a little.

Day 56 was pretty uneventful, I had a wander round the bazaar and finished packing before checking out just after lunch. I was feeling a lot stronger but probably would have struggled cycling today. I paid my bill and packed up my bike, the receptionists came out to help me and before leaving I asked them if the bike was ok to go as baggage on the train, they then made some frantic phone calls and in the end one of them went with me up to the station. She sorted out with the right people getting a baggage ticket for the bike which cost about half as much as the ticket for me! She then waited with me until the train arrived & kindly helped me get my stuff on. The cabin I was in had 3 guys who didn’t speak English and another guy who spent most of his time in there! I chatted with them a little bit and was serenaded by Dobirashas (2 stringed Dobira playing buskers) I spoke a little with an English speaking lady looking after her little girl in the corridor and she was very interested to see and translate my brochure. I was soon beckoned into the next door carriage where 2 of the 4 guys spoke some English I talked with them quite extensively and they even gave me some sheep’s head, a very special delicacy here, it was a little interesting seeing where it had come from but tasted basically like lamb! By the end of my journey was attracting quite a crowd! (so much for the journal writing!) I arrived in Shymkent late and Andrew kindly picked me up, my new friends form the second cabin helped with my stuff which was very kind. The bike easily fitted in the back of Andrew estate car & he took me back to his flat (unfortunately 4th floor, not great for carrying the bike!) I was very grateful for a shower and bed!

For my week here at Crossroads I have had a great time, I have help to deliver 3 wheel chairs to people around the city, helped to paint a mural in their new office building, carried lots of goods back and forth on a ‘container day’ (all the storage at Crossroads CA is in containers), enjoyed the hospitality of the whole team here (now 6 members), visited the beautiful local mountains & had a TV interview! It’s been a busy and exciting time and I wish I could stay and help the team here more as they are very stretched. It was great to see how Crossroads really makes a huge difference to the people that they give to and this is just the tip of the iceberg! I’ve really enjoyed my time here & have managed to rest a little bit!! Lol

I’m now looking forward to heading towards China and meeting my sister in a couple of days in Taraz as she accompanied me by car. It’ll be fantastic to be able to ride without so much weight onboard!
As always thanks again for all your support

Tim