Kazakhstan, only steppe?

Posted by monkey July 10, 2022 Add Comment

After hiking in the Taganai, I cycle towards Miass. I take a look at Russias 2nd largest lake (after Baikal, in regards to the amount of water) – lake Turgoyak.

I continue towards Troitzk. I planned on crossing at the border point Petuchowo – Mamlyutka.
I figure out, that it will be tough to get to the border in time after the required PCR test.
So I decide to already cross at Troitzk, there the border point is close.
On Wednesday in Troitzk I do the PCR test, unfortunately they tell me I will only receive the certificate on Friday. So I buy groceries for 2 days and head out of town into the fields.
The following day I perform a check-up on my bike. Tim, a cyclist from Troitzk contacts me and in the late afternoon I pack my stuff and head over to his workshop. There he and friends repair bicycles in their freetime.
Later Tim and Stanislav show me the city and afterwards I stay at the workshop and sleep there.

The next day Stanislav meets me, we pick up my PCR certificate and cycle to the border point.
After I got in line behind the cars, someone comes to me we chat a little and he tells me I should go to the front – I am first.
The passport control on the russian site has some questions I don’t understand – there is noone available who speaks german or english, so it takes a few minutes.
Then I am free to leave russia. I am very glad they did not consider me a spy and ask questions for hours – I had been told, that happened to others, who were leaving the country recently.
On the kazhak passport control noone speaks english or german either. It takes a few minutes there too and I excuse myself for the kind people who let me go first.
The customs control guy is a funny one. He just wants to know if I have a gun and I should open 4 bags, but he doesn’t really look into them.
I am free to go, it was less complicated than I had expected.
I cycle to the first town Karabalyk and want to buy a SIM card. A nice man and girl help me find a shop and buy a SIM card – there seems to be an issue with my german passport. Then another woman helps me exchange my rubel for tenge and takes me to a house where a german guy lives.

Alex currently stays at his parents place where they invite me for tea and a meal. I end up staying there for the night.

The next day Alex accompanies me for the first kilometers. After only 10 km my left pedal falls off the axle.
I can’t repair it, try to fix it with zipties and then just cycle with the the axle only. It’s not working great, so Alex buys a cheap pedal for me and we meet again.

Then I cycle through the steppe, to Kostanay and then eastwards. On my way to Kokshetau a few people stop by, talk to me, take a selfie and offer me food and water. I stop at a cafe and they give me a discount. Afterwards Dastan, related to the cafe, goes with me to the gasstation on the other side of the road and purchases groceries for me. I continue and the police stop by, check my passport and ask me if I was hungry. Then the trucker Argin stops asks me if I need anything and offers me a ride to Kokshetau. I accept.

In Kazakhstan I have 30 days for 2500 km if I cycle straight to Almaty. It would be a tough schedule when so many people stop and invite me.
This way my time in Kazakhstan won’t be stressful and I might have time to see some mountains instead of steppe only.
When we get to Sarykol, we stop at a cafe for dinner. Nurlan invited me earlier to his place for food and shelter. He comes to the cafe before I ordered and takes me to his place, where his mother-in-law prepared the traditional meal Beshbarmak.

They make sure I don’t stop eating and when I got fully stuffed, Nurlan brings me back to Argin who has been waiting. We continue driving through the steppe. Sergei, another Trucker, seems to have problems with his truck. We stop and Argin helps him. Afterwards we follow him to the next truckstop and have some beer before going to bed. Sleeping in a truck doesn’t even seem too bad, it’s more comfortable than I expected. We continue together to Kokshetau. My bike fell to the side, but seems alright. Unloading takes a while and then we go to Argins place. We eat Beshbarmak again and later his sister and her husband come around. We eat more and drink beer and vodka. The next day I cycle towards Burabay. I unexpectedly encounter a decent bikepath and make it to an open campsite at a lake with a great view.
The next day I go for a swim in the lake and then slowly make my way back to the Highway. At times cycling on the highway is pretty tough. It’s not dangerous, since I have a decent sidelane for myself, but it’s pretty hot and my fairly short hair doesn’t protect my head from the sun anymore. There is not much shadow and not too many shops. Also there is no internet. I arrive in Nur Sultan (or Astana, since the new name has not really been accepted yet by the people) and take a hotel room for 2 nights. In Kazakhstans capital I get a new chain for my companion and explore the modern city.
Now it’s highway time again. For about 150 km I have a decent sidelane again, then it gets partly replaced by gravel.
Sleeping in a kazakh river after the rain.
South of Karagandy I continue on the Highway. After about 50 km, road construction works begin. Fortunately only one 3 km and later many very small sections are bad. Often I get to cycle on a separate new road. I am very lucky to find a monument with shelter for the first night.

The next day I see the first camel. A girl and her brother sell Shubat, I buy a bottle, but don’t really like the taste.
After one more night in the steppe, I arrive in Balkhash, buy some food and cycle another 30 km and pitch my tent next to the lake Balkhash.

At the lake a take a restday. Swimming in the lake feels great after all the days in the steppe.
Soon after I continue, I meet Asilxan. He is cycling from Karagandy to Bishkek and we team up.
His plan is cycling to the next city and sleeping in a Hotel, but later it turns out it’s too far for him. The strong headwind is really challenging.
At some point, when it’s already dark, I pitch my tent. Meanwhile, being eaten my mosquitoes again.
Since I expected us to go all the way to Saryshaghan, I didn’t pack enough food at the last cafe. We cook some instant noodles and go to bed.
It’s probably the worst place I slept at on the tour so far. It’s too close to the Highway and I don’t catch much sleep.

While packing, we are watched by a group of camels. If you look closely, you can see them in the background.
We realize we slept right next to the cafe we were looking for last night, but didn’t find. Great breakfast opportunity 🙂 Out of nowhere a donkey appears infront of the cafe.
We now continue with strong headwind and arrive at Saryshaghan after around 40 km. I already got quite hungry again, so we eat at the first cafe in sight. We continue and arrive at a nice spot at lake Balkhash. We go for a swim and Asilxan invites me to a hotel, 5 km to go he says. So I leave the perfect campsite and accept his offer. I have no need for a hotel, but how can I deny an invitation. We arrive at the village and it turns out there is no hotel. Instead, after eating at a cafe, we get to sleep in some kind of container infront of the cafe. I am pretty disappointed at how he screws up my plans 2 days in a row. I think about the saying: ‘”Kindly me help you.” – said the monkey to the fish, putting him safely up a tree.’ – It’s a perfect fit, just that I am not the monkey in this case. We get up early and quickly cycle to the next cafe for breakfast. Today the wind isn’t too strong and we therefore make 80 km by 2:30 pm. Landscape doesn’t change too much, steppe, a few hills and dry salt lakes.
This time there really is a hotel. It does not correspond to European standards, but I didn’t expect that. Shower costs extra and is nice, and I don’t need to pitch my tent.

Toilets

Showers

We continue cycling and arrive at a Hotspring. We cook some lunch and refill our waterbottles. In the late afternoon, we eat at some cafe and continue seperate afterwards. Asilxan cycles all the way to Schu and I sleep in my tent. The next day we both cycle to the border city Korday. On my way through Schu, I am being invited to lunch and have some nice chat with the locals. After 160 km I arrive in Korday, allow me some nice steak and hotel room. On the way I encountered thunderstorms and it had been raining for about 80 km. Great way to cool off in the heat.

The next morning I meet Asilxan infront of the border. We cross without trouble and cycle into Bishkek.

 

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In my hostel I meet a german couple traveling for 6 months. They too just arrived in Kyrgyzstan and will explore it by feet for about 2 months. The hostel is a great place to meet all different kinds of people. I meet 2 brothers from Palestine (in Bishkek for weightlifting events), a mongolian guy (traveling 1 month through central asia and russia), one Indian and one Pakistani studying medicine and a vietnamese from Silicon Valley traveling with his wife. I leave Kyrgyzstan again and cycle towards Almaty. On the way I meet Anatoli, who is currently taking part in a 2000 km race with Solar powered vehicles and on 2nd place. But that’s not enough for him, he will be driving 7000 km in total through Russia and Kazakhstan.

 

Later that day I see the third racer, but he doesn’t stop. In Almaty I meet my warmshowers host Dan. He lives in a big apartment and I have my own big room and bath. It’s on floor 17 and offers great views over the city – atleast when there is no smog.

 

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My parents sent a package with some spareparts from Germany to Dan. Unfortunately it is stuck in customs and I only realize now. After many calls to DHL I receive documents for customs. Dan writes a letter for me stating that I am allowed to pick up the parcel and gives me a copy of his passport. Since it’s friday the customs department closes in a few minutes and only opens on monday again. So on monday I go there and hope for the best. One woman actually speaks english and they seem to be doing their best. It takes a while, but eventually a guy appears with my parcel in his hands. A bicycle mechanic helps me installing the parts and unfortunately tells me my rear sprocket is already worn off too far. I actually thought it’d be fine if I turn it around. It’s not available anywhere in Kazakhstan or Kyrgyzstan so I continue with the old one and try to import the new with a letter. Now I can finally continue. Only 300 km to the border with Kyrgyzstan. Overall I didn’t expect Bishkek and Almaty to be this flat, located so close to the mountains.

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Around ~190 km from Almaty I meet 2 cyclists from Slowenia. They have just been cycling through Kyrgyzstan and are on their way to Almaty. They tell me how beautiful the Sharyn Canyon is, which I already saw signs off and is only 25 km away. So now I certainly check it out.

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After cycling through the Canyon, I prepare lunch at the entrance and fill up my water supplies. Now it’s getting mountainous. In Aksai unfortunately no Cafe is opened, so I just buy some noodles, corn and cookies. The next morning some cows wake me up.

 

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I cycle up to 1965m and make it to Kegen, where I plan to eat at a cafe or restaurant, but all places are closed. So again I just buy groceries and cook lunch later at a small resting area for farm workers. Now it’s time to say goodbye to Kazhakstan.

Thank you Kazhakstan for your incredible hospitality!