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Kazakhstan

I didn’t spend a huge amount of time in Kazakhstan, just 5 days on the bike, and a week or so in Almaty, sorting out Chinese visas, followed by another 3-4 days up to the border

Big changes in land use in Kazakhstan, as soon as you cross the border – vast open spaces now. Huge farms, no fences, very few houses, big distances.

Kazakh Road Kazakh Road Kazakh Road

1337km to go

Crossed a big milestone on my first day in Kazakhstan – 10,000km on the road. Long way to go though.

9,999.9km 10,000km

Riding along, I came across a large group of horsemen in traditional Kazakh dress – but it was just for a Polish documentary.

Kazakh horsemen

A few random shots of Almaty, a surprisingly modern (and expensive!) city.

Almaty St Almaty St Almaty Orthodox Church Almaty wedding

Hotel Kazakhstan

Almaty Palace of the Republic Almaty cable carMore shots from the road between Almaty and the Chinese border. Note the vehicle servicing ramp – nearly every rest area has these.

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Kazakh Road

Kazakh Gorge

I arrived at the borderpost on a Sunday – and of course it’s closed on Sunday. Major international border and all that. These are some of the truckies I killed time with, drinking chai. They drive from Shymkent to Urumqi, every few days.

Kazakh Truckies

This fullsize poster was hanging at the end of my bed, at the quite nice hotel I stayed in for my last night in Kazakhstan. Weird.

Graphic Art