Aktobe, Kazakhstan

Arrived by night train (nobody can snore louder than the kazakhs) and decided to check out the city of Schymkent before I crossed the border into Uzbekistan. I set out on a 5 part plan: 1) leave my bag at the train station 2) go for a coffee at the ...

... . yuk!! the first day on the train and i looked out the window, enjoying watching the frozen wasteland that is western kazakhstan go by. i ate. i slept. i read my books. i talked, or, rather, communicated, with my kazakh uzbeki friends. i walked up ...

... , but I know he too has health issues. In the meantime, I'm trying to take away what good I can. The people I've met from Kazakhstan have been very nice and generous to me. The driver in Kzyl Orda was very cute in that on the second day when I got in ...

Wednesday I visited the orphange in Kzyl Orda. There were only two children to see. Very sweet boys, both with severe developmental issues. Unfortunately, not children I'm able to care for. We left Kzyl Orda in a taxi around 5 p.m. for a wild five ...