Cosmonaut Karaganda

... journey all over again as I ride south across the steppe to Almaty. The countryside begins to undulate and there are small hills dotted around. The sun shines but there is a bitter northeast wind. I need to readjust to life on the road. Fuel stations are frequent though accommodation is not, so I make an early stop after 160 miles and catch up with writing, photographs and sleep.

... we spotted as we entered the town.<br>Mountainous copper tailings as we exited Balkhash.<br>The scenery is a bit bland today, there are only so many step(pe)s you can take..(A comment from he who must be obeyed).<br>We arrived at Karaganda mid afternoon, spent a couple of hours checking out three hotels, eventually returning to the first one! <br>We are not terribly adventurous in the food department and are ...

... passport control, finally got through there at 6am!!!!! Only to find out they wouldn't release the truck until 9am!!!! Come 12.30pm we finally got our truck! I had no sleep at all!!!! The longest day ever!!!! Checked into a ****** hotel &amp; just died!!!! So thats the worst border so far! Otherwise all good!!! Now heading for 4 or 5 nights bushcamping across Kazakhstan.

... di buran e seguire assolutamente i loro consigli (forse l'unico caso in cui la polizia kazaka e' affidabile e va ascoltata), altrimenti si puo' rimanere bloccati nel mezzo della tempesta, sepolti sotto metri di neve. Nella Photo Gallery alcuni scatti del buran che si e' abbattuto su Astana in questi giorni.