Day 114 / 115 Aug 1/2 Wed/Thu - Confirmed Train Ticket and Bike transportation to Atyrau

Kazakhstan currency in 10000/5000/2000/1000/500/200T. The 2000 & 500 notes not in picture,but they are different only in color.
A really " nice " place to prepare our meals
This is my dinner , not bad ehhh?

Good services provided by this information centre in Aral'sk
Train station in Aral'sk
English lesson class at the centre, the blue dress on the right is the teacher
Town centre ,the blue building is the bank
Mini market in one of the street

The prime minister of Kazakhstan,everyway you can see his poster
Woman stone statue
Bank
Another stone statue of woman carrying her baby People's square in Aral'sk

Two days spending: 6400T
Total Distance to date: 7695km
Total spending to date: 28464T

Our plan is to leave on Wed Aug 01 ,but the train to Atyrau only available on Friday Aug 03 at 0055 hour, so we have to stay for another day.But glad that everything is confirmed,the ticket and the bike. The cost of ticket is 3475T and the bike transportation fee 1200T without the panniers,so we have to handcarry to the cabin. The train will arrive in Atyrau on the same day 2010hour , hopefully can find lodging at the station,or else we had to sleep on the floor.In Aral'sk ,there is nothing much you can do as a tourist except sleeping ,cooking ,lazing at the hotel room ,or go for the internet at the information centre while waiting for the time to leave. There is no eating out culture here , you can't find food stall around and for every meals ,we had to cook inside the hotel bathroom. Fortunately we have our own cooking utensils. We met some British Rally drivers at the same hotel ,they are driving the cars to Mongolia, not to rally but to aution away the cars and the money go to charity organisation there.

Day 113 Jul 31Tue - Aral'sk -Arranging Train Ride to Atyrau

Today's spending: 1450T
Total Distance to date: 7495km
Total spending to date:21414T



Based on our calculation , we had no choice but to hop on a train ride from Aral'sk to Atyrau,and then bike a distance of 300km to the Russian border town of Astrakhan. The reasons being:


1) My Kazakhstan Visa will expires on 10/8 and Heather's one on 9/8 , so that left only 1 week.
2) The distance from Aral'sk to the Russian border is 1599km,no way we can cover this in 1 week.
3) Information from the Kiwi bikers Arnold/Merike,the road is terribly rough with lots of pot holes and gravels.
So the only sensible way is to take the train. At the Aral Tehizi information centre,we engaged their help to arrange for train ticket and also the bike transportation , as the staffs in train station don't speak English. There is internet service at the centre where I done my updated my blog. It will be Heather's turn as only one computer is available. 300T for an hour, quite expansive but still cheaper than the one in Kyzylorda. Also I changed USD 100 to 1220.20T at the bank.

Day 112 Jul 30 Mon - Yurt stay in Altai Village - Aral'sk

colourful ladder of the soviet building
Ships left at where it is in Aral'sk today

A fishing port before but now the sea has gone
Aral Hotel

Watching Tower over the Aral sea
We bought these fish caught in the Aral sea , 2 for 100T
Kazakhs women selling dried fish and drinks on the roadside ,no cafe here
Sunset when we arrived at the entrance to Aral'sk

Aral'sk Tower going into the town Aral sea , fast drying up if no conservative efforts to maintain the water.
Watermelon seller,I bought one and they offer one free & a plate of fish noodle
And the very good milk tea
Fish noodles
I am willing to pay this time cos' 3 days no watermelons, I am a bit addicted now!

Today's Distance: 135km

Temp: 26 - 46c
Average Speed: 17.8 max: 34
Time on Bike: 7 hr 34 min
Ave climb: 1& max: 8%
Trip altitude: 227m max: 252m
Today's spending: 1200T
Total Distance to date: 7737km
Total spending to date:19964T

Since entering Kazakhstan on the 15th July, what I have seen about the people of this country , is their friendliness and the welcoming hands always reachout to greet the tourists. But the perfect image was a bit dented with an incident at the roadside cafe , 15km to Aral'sk . There were 2 sisters manning. One of the sister seems not happy when I open the cover of the coldbox looking for cold drinks . I then ordered a bottle of Pepsi when she pointed to the sample on the shelf. She wrote 200T on a paper ,that was double the price on a shop. I wrote back 120T . Almost immediately the other sister grab back the Pepsi without saying anything and put back into the coldbox. What irritates me is her altitude,I am willing to pay 150T or even 200T if she is friendly. We arrived in Aral'sk at sunset 8.30pm and check into the Aral Hotel for 3000T a nite, another former Soviet era building.

Day 111 Jul 29 Sun - Zhosaly petrol station to Yurt stay in Altai village

Free Kazakhs yurt stay
We are safely inside this mosquito net provided

Many camels seen from the road,quite different looking from the one in Africa
Food & drinks is far apart in this desert land
And water toooo!

Today's Distance: 164km

Temp: 26 - 41c
Average Speed: 17.7 max: 39
Time on Bike: 9 hr 16 min
Ave climb: 1% max: 8%
Trip altitude: 327m max: 258m
Today's spending: 650T
Total Distance to date: 7602km
Total spending to date:18764T

We passed by a Russian space rocket base in Baikonur at 70km mark and a neraby service town of Leninsk. Luckily we have infomation by our b2p Kiwi bikers Arnord & Merike who started one week ahead of us from Beijing, the advice is not to call in these towns . They had been stopped and detent by the Russian police for 3 hr on suspicous of spying while looking for food & lodging there. Thanks Arnord/Merike for the timely info most properbly safe us from unnecessary troubles. In fact , I cycled pass vey quickly even climbing up the overhead bridge , the atmosphere then was extreamly scary, quiet and calm , nobody seems on the road and only a few cars . I wonder how many cameras were actually focusing on me , I dare not stop to take pictures . The good things for today are the tailwind and a free yurt stay with solar warmshower.Thanks goodness,we don't have to camp in this DESERT!

Day 110 Jul 28 - Wildcamp[ 400km to Aral'sk to Petrol station camp ,Zhozali

Pillow and bed mattress offered Road condition with very rough stone
Desert area
Heather preparing for her coffee

Colorful architectural tower with the name of the town at the entrance
Petrol storage base for the railway at Zhozali
Campsite at the back of the petrol station
Outside bathroom, water manually refill from the well via the ladder
Alia, college student in Kyzyzlorda

Today's Distance: 145km

Temp: 25 - 39c
Average Speed: 18.3 max: 28
Time on Bike: 7 hr 54 min
Ave climb: 2% max: 7%
Trip altitudet: 137m max: 242m
Today's spending: 1105T
Total Distance to date: 7438km
Total spending to date:18114T

I guess nobody would like to get up at 5 am morning but we had to in order to cover more km before the wind hit us more in the afternoon. It normally takes 2 hr to pack,cook ,so it's 7.15am starts on the road. There are no towns that we passed and the villages are all off a few km from the main road. There is always a bus stop for every entrance to the village and a big architectual

concrate colorful tower, to show the name of the village or town. The road sometime good,but most of the time rough and uneven , like riding on bmx , you have to be good to steer around left & right to avoid a bump or a hole. What I really missed is the watermelons stall , none are seen along here.After crossing river Syr Darya for the 2nd time, we arrived at Zhozali where we cycled to town to buy some camping foods & cold drinks. Our campsite tonite was at the back of a petrol station offered by the owner,free to use the toilet and bathroom outside ( a container on top with the on/off valve just over your head). His has a beautiful daughter Alia , a college student in Kyzylorda, a little English she speaks , chat with us for almost an hour.

Day 109 Jul 27 Fri - Kyzylorda to Wild camp 400km to Aral'sk

This man is more than a nuisance than help which we don't want to offend
A camp fire to keep the mosquito away
Swampy lowland that we passed

Train station in Kyzylorda
Bridge over the Syr Darya river
Bus stop in Kazahstan have often occupy by the cows than people
Fishing spot in some of the lake
And the small little fish they caught

Today's Distance: 55km

Temp:25 - 39c
Average Speed: 17.6 max: 34
Time on Bike: 2 hr 59 min
Ave climb: 2% max: 3%
Trip altitudet: 57 m max:247m
Today's spending: 2220T
Total Distance to date: 7293km
Total spending to date:17009T

It was only a half day ride as we went to the internet in the morning which open at 9 am.Yesterday was closed at 7 pm.We spent 5 hr and it was by far the most expansive one we had have. Not only it charde 150T/hr but also for the megabait used,at the end I paid 2000T ( Rm65) . Back to the hotel,pack up & only left at 4 pm after having lunch on the way out. Crossed the bridge over the Syr Darya River flowing parallel to road M32.Along the way ,many small lakes and swampy lowland, people seen fishing ,and the fish caught more like " lampan" in Malaysia. We found a campsite but was far away from the river.So no water for washing & bath. We had to entertain one man who came to our camp to offer him cigarette and food in exchange for a bottle of fermented cow milk. We started a camp fire to keep the annoying mosquito away.