Trip Update: Khorgas to Korday (via Almaty)

Trip Summary

We entered Kazakhstan two weeks ago and carried on heading west towards Kyrgyzstan. We arrived at the Korday border crossing on July 19th after cycling a further 600 km.

Kazakhstan is a very big country, luckily we cycled one of the most beautiful part

We started in China at latitude 117°, now we've just passed 75° and Lisbon is at -7°

Let's sing the Campfire Song song

Back in China we had to hide every night to camp, no noise or attracting attention. We learned the hard way too many times when we attracted a crowd, one person will report to the police.

The second day in Kazakhstan we camped by the highway, we experienced something completely opposite. A police car was on our side of the road driving with their lights on, at a casual speed. We thought "oh no", we might have to pack up and go. As they got closer to us, we received a friendly honk and arms out the window waving. That really put us at ease about camping in Central Asia.

Water for freeeeee

Before reaching Almaty we went through some harsh hot desert with small villages and barely any resting shelters. However, every 100 kms we'd see these water holes pumping fresh drinking water from deep below.

One morning we stumbled upon what looked like an oasis out of a computer game. Water shoots out of the centre like a fountain, creating ripples gently moving outward. The water was fresh, drinkable and most importantly - cool!

We washed our clothes, bathed, and collected drinking water afterwards. Maybe it was best done the other way round

It's Getting Hot in here

It is summer now and it gets hot as soon as 9 am. The beverages and ice blocks here are fairly cheap so we always visit a "magazine" for a cooling treat.

The thermometer was left under the shade 5 minutes before the photo

In Russian, magazine (МАГАЗИН) are the same as convenient stores

Best Hotel... so far

We striked gold in Almaty because a friend's aunty owned a boutique hotel. They gave us breakfast on our first morning, helped us wash our clothes, and let us stay "as long as we liked". All they wanted in return was a small mention on our blog.
Visiting Almaty? Bayterek Hotel is the hotel for you!

Tell: +7 705 1111 305
Instagram: bayterek_almaty

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