Kazakhstan

We finally left Tashkent after a day of sitting around reception whilst Pete went back and forward to the embassy trying to track down our passports and visas. We then bombed it down to the border, to find it was closed to foreigners after we were told that it was open so we drove to a further away border making it there about 7pm. Customs forms filled and we were stamped out of Uzbekistan within an hour.

Then the problems really started as we found out that the Kazak border was closed. Either the Kazak consulate doesn't know his border opening times or the 2 borders don't work on the same time! Either way we had nowhere to go and were stuck in no- mans land for the night!. Luckily we always have food and water on board so we pitched our tents (out of the area of mines) and camped out as an Odyssey first.

Packed up and ready to go at the crack of dawn we entered Kazakhstan, the land of flat grassy plains and crazy driving as poor Kirsten experienced when a car decided to over take and then stop dead in front of the truck. The problems with the angry drivers quickly solved as the locals realised it wasn't a truck full of girls as the boys jumped out the back of the truck. Clocking up many km's we bush camped 150km from the Kyrgystan border and crossed over with few problems the next day.

We arrived in Bishkek in the afternoon and had a wander around. A few squares and some statues but not alot going on. Good evening though as we all ate out and had a few drinks at one of the pubs in town.

Today we are leaving for the mountains to spend some time at the alpine lakes so shall be out of contact for a while.