getting out of russia was not so difficult as getting in and we were back on the raod in kasakhstan by approximately midday however the roads got progrssively worse. just as you get up to a resonable cruising speed of about 70kmph, another huge pothole appears which will certainly give you a puncture in some peoples case break suspension srings split whhel rims and rip off shock absorbers. we fared pretty well therefore. out hotel in semey was na old soviet intourist hotel. this was quite an experience; no curtains, no loo seat, no plugs, short beds and hysterical decor - i will never complain about scottich b&B's again.
off early again to avoid the rush and this allows us to take our time. even so, we have no time to stop which is a shame. some times the countryside is very bleak but often there are little local delights which we try and photograph as we rush by. the final night of camping was improved because the weather has warmed up to a pleasant summers day but tempatures do drop dramatically at night. we were going to abandon our camping gear at the point but we have been advised we might need it in Uzbekistan as getting petrol is problem!
We reached Almatty at about5pm and for the 1st time in what seemed like a very long time were able to have a proper wash. the towels and the bath in our grand hotel were very grubby after the first proper shower for sometime. all our clothes went to the laundry and we went out c/o the son of the tourism and culture ministers son (who owns a collection of sviet era cars and planes) to a Kasak restaurant. 1st course bread and vruit, 2nd course horse and pasta, 3rd course a whole sheep including the head (inc eyes, tongue and brain) all washed down with vodka! none of us particualrly enjoyed that but it was an experience!
Yesterday and today have been spent repairing the car. Yesterday i worked steadily through all the electrics and i think we now have all working again. Today i did an oil change, rewelded the exhaust and had the fan pulley wheel welded - we had spent the last 2 days with no fan which meant town driving got to be quite an intersting situation.
Tomorrow, we start early at 5am as we have 750km do cover. this will be the greatest distance so far and takes us to the Us\zbek border
dom and I are getting on well and I think the car has been great so far. we have had only 1 puncture on the last day which is remarkable for such a big car. the physical challenge is certainly more than i had anticipated but apart from some moments where i have questioned my sanity, i have enjoyed theexperinece enormously. the trouble is i cannot begin to do it justice either in this blog or photographically.
more another day
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