Best Eastern Hotel Everest Astana

... zum und vom Flughafen wieder mal sein bestes geben dürfen. Warum CDs in der Anlage eine so viel bessere Klangqualität haben als das Radio selbst ist für mich noch ein Rätsel.

Ein Besuch in der Deutsch-Kasachischen-Universität: Ein kleiner Gastvortrag um Bayer und ein paar Überlegungen zum Thema Finanzen vorzustellen. Ist echt nett mal vor einer Klasse zu stehen, leider hatte ich nicht ...

... make him an offer for the Dakar!!!

Back at the workshop and linked up to the battery I run through the electronic diagnostic programme. Hurrah, it works. The diagnostic programme that is. No, there are no faults are currently present. Now why am I not surprised! The EWS sign keeps coming up. We try the new ring antenna again. No luck there either. Needs must to wait for the electronic expert this afternoon.

I am picked up from ...

... Astana Motors. He tried to text me all yesterday and could not get through. C'est la vie. We try the programme. No joy! The application is out of date so it's back to the hotel to try and sort that out. In the meantime they are going to take the starter motor off and see if it can be repaired otherwise it is at least a two week delay before they can get another one. Assel is so positive. Yes it will be fixed tomorrow, of course. Anyway, if not, something ...

... the security guard." "Ah." He gets it from said guard. I explain to him the problem. As we are talking possibilities the delightful Assel, the MD's PA introduces herself and acts as translator for the afternoon while mechanics look at battery, generator and goodness knows what else. Assel is clearly enjoying herself and using the opportunity to practice her English. She is a breath of fresh air, lively and full of information ...

... temporary alternatives are tried without success. Where are women's tights when you need them?

Not that I can quite understand what is going on but I pick up the essentials. Mobile batteries are low, the signal isn't good but finally someone will come with a spare belt from Astana, about four hours away. Midgies are having a field day on the three of us as darkness falls. We spend an uneasy four hours in the cab killing mosquitoes and dozing ...

... we have been missing those, and then a 'Taci' to the new city. Wow!!!!
This is everything we have read about it. The photos' are no exaggeration either. Here must be some of the most spectacular buildings in the world. I paid KZT500 (NZD5) to go up a tower to see the view and considering this was only started in 1998, the progress is amazing. Still under construction is a huge tent-like structure courtesy of Sir Norman Foster which will ...

Um ein paar Dinge bezüglich der Neuorganisierung unserer Gesellschaft zu besprechen ging's noch mal einen Tag nach Astana. Die schwierigsten Entscheidungen werden offensichtlich auf den Gebieten fallen, von denen man es nicht unbedingt erwartet hätte. Umsatz, Kostenverteilung, Gewinn, über das alles wurde nicht so lange diskutiert wie über: - Die Jobbezeichnungen auf den Visitenkarten. - Die Business Class ...

... vom Flughafen abholt. Zwei Dinge üb**raschten mich dann heute ein wenig. Erstens, dass Air Astana vor dem Start und nach d** Landung in ein** Endlosschleife die russische (od** kasachische?) V**sion des Beatles-Klassik**s "Yest**day" spielt. Und zweitens d** Temp**aturunt**schied zwischen Almaty (+15°C, Regen) und Astana (-5°C, Sonnenschein). Ansonsten besteht Astana im Wesentlichen aus zwei Teilen, dem kleinen, ält**n und dem größ**e, neu**en, dem Regi**ungsbezirk ...

... A little man came by to check everyone's credentials and identification cards. The main problem with that was that John and I had no passports with us. They are back in Almaty, getting Kyrgyzstan visas put in them. We had grainy copies of our passports, which turned out to be as useful as handing him a potato. We couldn't quite explain to him why we had no passports, or even that we understood what he was asking. He kept demanding "PASSPOT" and flipping his hands like ...

... Location: part of the Himalaya mountain range; straddles border of Nepal and Tibet. Named for: Sir George Everest, a British surveyor-general of India. The Tibetan people do not actually refer to the mountain as Everest they call it Chomolungma which means "mother goddess of the universe" in Tibetan. Age: approximately 60 million years old. Countries visible from the summit: Tibet, India, and Nepal.