I spent the morning indoors reinstating the bookings I had cancelled two days ago for my alternate scenario in case I cannot be hosted in Normandy later in the trip.  I had been expecting to pay megabucks for (re)-booking so late but surprisingly, I saved EUR8 in total across 7 nights in three cities.  Not […]

Today I fly from Shymkent to Astana at a very pleasant time of 1130, meaning that could have a leisurely breakfast before ordering a car.  I got to the airport at 1000 to find the counters already free of queues. The staff asked me to get a paper boarding pass even though I noticed people […]

I woke after 0500 with the early sunrise, despite having drawn the curtains.  I hadn’t been given a time for the pick-up for today’s hike.  After breakfast, I waited and waited.  Finally, after 0900, I messaged the driver Katya who told me it would around 0930. It was a 45 min drive to the Sayram […]

Getting to Turkistan I woke at 0515 having retired early and also due to the early sunrise.  The hotel breakfast at 0700 was surprisingly good!  They served a mix of Russian and Central Asian fare including blinis (pancakes), tomato, cucumber and cakes.  Not so appealing were the cold chicken pieces and cold cuts. Today, my […]

Above:  View soon after take-off from Almaty. Leaving Almaty The breakfast lady at the hostel was 20 mins late but fortunately it didn’t affect my plan to check-out at 0900 to head to the airport for my 1130 flight to Shymkent on SCAT Airlines.  I was surprised the ride only took 20 mins. I was […]

First things first I didn’t sleep deeply last night but had dozed from 2330 till 0700 this morning, which is fine for me.  After a greasy included breakfast of three fried eggs and sides, I left the hostel in search of ATMs (or bankomats as they’re called in this part of the world). The first […]