11th to 16th of May 2011
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Not planned like this but I drove the whole way to Almaty, 730km. And because I pushed so hard I had to pay two times for speeding and I had to drive the last hour without headlight through Almaty which was horror.
Actually my plan was just to go to Taraz, 200km from Shimkent. Right hand side the mountain range with snow covered peaks making the border to Uzbekistan. When I arrived in Taraz it was still early and the sun was bright and no wind. What should I have done here, meanwhile miles away from the mountains…drinking Vodka? The most famous Kazakh Vodka comes from Taraz.
After I had a chat with the policemen at a checkpoint on the road I took off to Almaty. 15 min later I had another “checkpoint” with a laser gun pointing at me…there was a sign before showing 50??
Well, I didn’t see, honestly. Maybe others did not see as well? Every 5th car they stopped and that was only because they couldn’t handle them all. With protocol (which takes time…of course Mr. Officer) 15.120 Tenge, w/o 16.000 Tenge I found out while I paid behind the police car. 80Euro! They sent me off with showing me a wheely…unbelievable.
But I have to admit, since Moldova I had had not one single event with border controls or the police, not in the Ukraine, not in Russia and not in Kazakhstan. And since I left Moldova I saw maybe a hundred times the police stopping cars and trucks…and I had always luck. Not today. One hour later another control stopped me and I got away with 2.000 Tenge, put under the jacket on the front passenger’s seat where I saw bundle of notes when he lifted the jacket.
While making cash they are always friendly, shaking hands, in this case asking the price of a Mercedes S-Klasse and somehow mourning that they need some dough in order to make their dream come true…amazing:-)
At two other check points I was forced to have some small talk about where I come from, where I am heading for, brand of my motorbike, how many cylinders…I wanted to tell them that I am already late but of course I didn’t.
On the height’s it got colder and I found out that my headlight was dead; again. The night before I changed the light bulb and my reserve just made it 6hours?!
Somewhere I overtook two bikers on bicycles…THAT IS tough!
45km before Almaty I was running low of petrol and luckily I found one open gas stop. The other ones before were deserted and as a sign that there is nothing to be offered they wrap around the hose of each gas pump and put the hose and pump nozzle like a knot.
It got dark and when I reached Almaty it was. One hour I fought my way without headlight through the terrifying traffic of Almaty. When it was already before dangerous in other cities here it is a bit frightening.
You just have to pray that they don’t knock you off the road. They are all race drivers and they cannot wait. Everybody wants to be in the frontline of the next traffic stop. While the countdown at the ample runs they push already forward to be in the pool position. Then full accelaration trying to hit the 100km/h mark in order to brake then fiercely for the next traffic light. Also big buses going here with 80km/h downhill in downtown.
The next day I bought the most expensive H4 light bulbs I ever owned:-) With the help of a friendly guy doing the reception in the hotel we found out 3 stores in Almaty having something to do with motorbikes. I chose one, found a taxi on the street and it took endless time to reach that place due to traffic jams. After a couple of tries we found the right building and the shop was closed. We looked through the window: shop empty. Great.
Long way back and in a shop for spare parts for cars I found my H4 in a fancy “cool blue”. Wow that’s a facelift for my moto…maybe only for the next 6hours.
6000 Tenge for the taxi + 2x 1500 for the bulbs (1 reserve): 45 Euro…not bad.
Then, at least for 6 hours, I will be a “local” because there are many Kazakh cars with “cool blue” head lights and many of them also have only one headlight working.:-)
Why I had chosen “motorbike shops” had to do with the idea of changing as well the front tire. Another 2000km to Barnaul…I don’t know if there will be still rubber on it
.
Apropos Barnaul: My guide to the Vega Center in Krasnodar, Dmitry makes it possible! In the end HE picked up my tires (yes, the ones we sent from Germany) in the post office and he found a transport company which will transfer my tires from Krasnodar to Barnaul. Thank you so much for your help!!!
One correction about Kazakhstan: The one bad experience I made in Aral was up to now the only one. I met only unexceptional friendly people, kind and very helpful! It seems to me that this was an Aral specific event…maybe they had some bad experience with tourists before or some people there are pissed because of Aral Sea tourism which is for the locals in total just a catastrophe and only a few are able to make their earnings out of this but most might have lost their existence.
Now I enjoy Almaty, it is really nice here.
No, not "my" road
On the way to Taraz
On the way to Almaty
"Skyline" of Almaty
Almaty with it's many faces...
Raining cats and dogs...and the sign "City Döner" is for my friends in Cologne :-)
Just the colors
.JPG)
View from my hotel room
Not only Miss Sixty in such rotten buildings. Armani, Boss, Benetton...oben Pfui und unten Hui :-))
Signs of the "good old" Soviet times
Always heroic
Basilica from the 19th Century
Very seldom in Kazakhstan, the headscarf
Actually my plan was just to go to Taraz, 200km from Shimkent. Right hand side the mountain range with snow covered peaks making the border to Uzbekistan. When I arrived in Taraz it was still early and the sun was bright and no wind. What should I have done here, meanwhile miles away from the mountains…drinking Vodka? The most famous Kazakh Vodka comes from Taraz.
After I had a chat with the policemen at a checkpoint on the road I took off to Almaty. 15 min later I had another “checkpoint” with a laser gun pointing at me…there was a sign before showing 50??
Well, I didn’t see, honestly. Maybe others did not see as well? Every 5th car they stopped and that was only because they couldn’t handle them all. With protocol (which takes time…of course Mr. Officer) 15.120 Tenge, w/o 16.000 Tenge I found out while I paid behind the police car. 80Euro! They sent me off with showing me a wheely…unbelievable.
But I have to admit, since Moldova I had had not one single event with border controls or the police, not in the Ukraine, not in Russia and not in Kazakhstan. And since I left Moldova I saw maybe a hundred times the police stopping cars and trucks…and I had always luck. Not today. One hour later another control stopped me and I got away with 2.000 Tenge, put under the jacket on the front passenger’s seat where I saw bundle of notes when he lifted the jacket.
While making cash they are always friendly, shaking hands, in this case asking the price of a Mercedes S-Klasse and somehow mourning that they need some dough in order to make their dream come true…amazing:-)
At two other check points I was forced to have some small talk about where I come from, where I am heading for, brand of my motorbike, how many cylinders…I wanted to tell them that I am already late but of course I didn’t.
On the height’s it got colder and I found out that my headlight was dead; again. The night before I changed the light bulb and my reserve just made it 6hours?!
Somewhere I overtook two bikers on bicycles…THAT IS tough!
45km before Almaty I was running low of petrol and luckily I found one open gas stop. The other ones before were deserted and as a sign that there is nothing to be offered they wrap around the hose of each gas pump and put the hose and pump nozzle like a knot.
It got dark and when I reached Almaty it was. One hour I fought my way without headlight through the terrifying traffic of Almaty. When it was already before dangerous in other cities here it is a bit frightening.
You just have to pray that they don’t knock you off the road. They are all race drivers and they cannot wait. Everybody wants to be in the frontline of the next traffic stop. While the countdown at the ample runs they push already forward to be in the pool position. Then full accelaration trying to hit the 100km/h mark in order to brake then fiercely for the next traffic light. Also big buses going here with 80km/h downhill in downtown.
The next day I bought the most expensive H4 light bulbs I ever owned:-) With the help of a friendly guy doing the reception in the hotel we found out 3 stores in Almaty having something to do with motorbikes. I chose one, found a taxi on the street and it took endless time to reach that place due to traffic jams. After a couple of tries we found the right building and the shop was closed. We looked through the window: shop empty. Great.
Long way back and in a shop for spare parts for cars I found my H4 in a fancy “cool blue”. Wow that’s a facelift for my moto…maybe only for the next 6hours.
6000 Tenge for the taxi + 2x 1500 for the bulbs (1 reserve): 45 Euro…not bad.
Then, at least for 6 hours, I will be a “local” because there are many Kazakh cars with “cool blue” head lights and many of them also have only one headlight working.:-)
Why I had chosen “motorbike shops” had to do with the idea of changing as well the front tire. Another 2000km to Barnaul…I don’t know if there will be still rubber on it
.
Apropos Barnaul: My guide to the Vega Center in Krasnodar, Dmitry makes it possible! In the end HE picked up my tires (yes, the ones we sent from Germany) in the post office and he found a transport company which will transfer my tires from Krasnodar to Barnaul. Thank you so much for your help!!!
One correction about Kazakhstan: The one bad experience I made in Aral was up to now the only one. I met only unexceptional friendly people, kind and very helpful! It seems to me that this was an Aral specific event…maybe they had some bad experience with tourists before or some people there are pissed because of Aral Sea tourism which is for the locals in total just a catastrophe and only a few are able to make their earnings out of this but most might have lost their existence.
Now I enjoy Almaty, it is really nice here.
No, not "my" road
On the way to Taraz
On the way to Almaty
"Skyline" of Almaty
Almaty with it's many faces...
Raining cats and dogs...and the sign "City Döner" is for my friends in Cologne :-)
Just the colors
View from my hotel room
Not only Miss Sixty in such rotten buildings. Armani, Boss, Benetton...oben Pfui und unten Hui :-))
Signs of the "good old" Soviet times
Always heroic
Basilica from the 19th Century
Very seldom in Kazakhstan, the headscarf
