The rumble outside our tiny balcony built up to a celebratory crescendo. The curtain of Poplar leaves stopped shivering as the wind died down, tiny pieces of jagged jade that blinded the sight to the lights of the city and fireworks afar. In the garden below a brigade of crickets slowly began their late night performance.
Our stay here was a mind boggling, numbing at times albeit startling fun adventure. Only on our last night here we discovered the ease of succumbing to being creatures of habit when we ventured off a different route tonight for some Irish grub. That single lane alone contained all the Internet, optical and other small amenities that we had been hiking up and down the main road in great puffs that will shame the big bad wolf (and might had saved the three pigs along the way). It was necessary to laugh at our own silliness. Well, somethings you just put down to things to be learned as you travel another step ahead.
Our stay here was a mind boggling, numbing at times albeit startling fun adventure. Only on our last night here we discovered the ease of succumbing to being creatures of habit when we ventured off a different route tonight for some Irish grub. That single lane alone contained all the Internet, optical and other small amenities that we had been hiking up and down the main road in great puffs that will shame the big bad wolf (and might had saved the three pigs along the way). It was necessary to laugh at our own silliness. Well, somethings you just put down to things to be learned as you travel another step ahead.
There were some pickle moments like finding out things are sold in measured weight (perhaps in defiance I ate the entire 600T @ 400gm of plov that night). For every one of those we had rather pleasant surprises in the kindness of locals that hardly spoke any English but went above and beyond to assist us poor, lost travellers - weary for a shower, desperate for an approved visa, and sun-scorched in looking for the elusive train ticket booth amidst the giant bazaar. And there was a genuine feeling of young vibrance that had swept across today's arvo when our stretched up hand (to wave down our lost fellow traveller popping up in the sea of heads) got a high-five. Stunned but not surprised now, we took on to asking more people who had no idea where to buy a train ticket but were more happy to learn about us. Then a cold wind suddenly came down crisp like a lettuce, raining down some respite from the heat.
Our Uzbekistan visa approved and in hand, train ticket booked, we were off to celebrate tonight's impending win for Holland in the WC2010 semi-finals. It was a rare but appreciated / treasured gift when your Uzbek officer wished you the best and got you a speedy approval without any of the dreaded money politics nightmare. Someone actually welcomes you to this part of the world!
As how we rolled out of Almaty, we head to Shymkent en route to a stopover in Turkistan before arriving at the border into Uzbekistan, Kazakhstan's interesting mix of past, present and future flow seamlessly in the bowels of my imagination like all the wonderful ingredients of a satiating meal. The Mongolian and European feel were apparent. A headlock of the have's and have-not's, Orthodox churches in the colours of a candy store, an explosive but heart-wrenching tribute to the fallen of the city in the war and the unnecessary dead of the suicide mission in defending Stalingrad, the Revolution, the Eternal Flame burning on amongst the little ones running after the pigeons.
As how we rolled out of Almaty, we head to Shymkent en route to a stopover in Turkistan before arriving at the border into Uzbekistan, Kazakhstan's interesting mix of past, present and future flow seamlessly in the bowels of my imagination like all the wonderful ingredients of a satiating meal. The Mongolian and European feel were apparent. A headlock of the have's and have-not's, Orthodox churches in the colours of a candy store, an explosive but heart-wrenching tribute to the fallen of the city in the war and the unnecessary dead of the suicide mission in defending Stalingrad, the Revolution, the Eternal Flame burning on amongst the little ones running after the pigeons.
Thank you Almaty for making this wonderful mystery that much more novel. Just a piece of feedback: oil-inflated prices suck! I can't even buy a decent hair clip for less than U$15... an my Irish stew tonight (served with Russian waiter warmth) was way below the expected size of good ol' Dublin will serve up. Plenty to muse about. Definitely a funny city with its own brand of indignant stubbornness and identity. Like that snotty boy in my kindy class who couldn't stop harassing me, I kind of like you but will never understand you (smile).
