Kazakhstan

Kazakhstan is the ninth biggest country in the world, and the most economically advanced of the "Stans" in the formerly Soviet Central Asian Republics. It is well on the way to becoming a prosperous and modern multi ethnic Eurasian nation. Travellers are still relatively rare here, and we were treated with real hospitality. The photo above is from north east Kazakhstan, south of the city of Semy, going south through the steppes towards Almaty, a two day plus drive.
The area is not heavily populated, just small farming settlements here and there. It was in this part of the country that testing of the atomic bomb took place during Soviet times and some of the countryside is heavily contaminated. The photo is of a Kazakh cemetery at the side of the road and its unique mausoleums.
Open steppe. The road was paved but heavily potholed. Hard on the bikes and difficult to make good time. It got much better closer to Almaty.
My second flat in two days. I almost lost it when this one happened with a bang on a curve at 80 kms. per hour. The bead broke on the side of the tire in the middle of nowhere. Caine came up with the ingenious idea of using plastic strip ties to hold the tire wall in enough to carry on. It wasn't the safest way of traveling, but there was no other option.
With notches cut, the ties were installed, and at 60 kms. an hour we preceded to a major town 250 kms. to the south, periodically stopping and making adjustments along the way.
Arriving in Taldyqorghan, we pulled around to the parking area behind our hotel and the was a little ethnic Russian boy with his father named Maxim. He was literally screaming with excitement over the motorcycles. He got to sit on them and even start the engine!

The tire! That was far enough! Hired a truck and put on the back for the 200 km. trip to Amaty the next morning.
Street scene in Almaty through the back window of a SUV while going to find a new tire. Adam Shani, an Israeli motorcyclist on a three year around the world trip in the foreground, followed by Caine.
Street scene from the front of our hotel in Almaty, with the Tian Shan mountains and Kyrgyzstan in the distance
Almaty, with a population of 1.3 million, is the largest city in Kazakhstan and the nation's commercial, social and cultural hub. It has an incredible setting on the steppe, with 5000 meter snow capped mountains rearing up immediately on its southern flank.
The streets are full of well dressed people, and the roads with Audis, BMWs and Mercedes negotiating the peak-hour traffic jams.
Yeldos Ametbay in the photo at left is the owner of the Eldoro Restaurant, the only 24 hour establishment of its kind in Almaty. He's an avid motorcyclist, an amateur historian and a gold mine of information on Kazakhstan! Yeldos was incredibly helpful to us and several other cross country bikers who were passing through Almaty. Without him, the processes of upgrading the motorcycles and patching up visa issues would have been much more problematic! We were fortunate to meet him!
Suppertime on the patio of the Eldoro. Clockwise from the left, Adam from Israel, Omar, Yeldo's son, Caine at the head of the table, Simon, Chris from Italy, and Yeldos.
The food was good and reasonably priced. Wi fi was an added bonus
Some of the staff at the Eldoro
Sunday brunch with Yeldos. The weekly group consists of American and English expat friends of Yeldos. They work in the oil and gas industry and are motorcycle aficionados.
A man and his Harley, on the street outside the Eldoro.
Monica, and changing oil, in the outskirts of the city.
Bicycle and skateboard park for the kids in Almaty, just like you would find at home.
Omar brought us over to meet some of his friends. Kids similar teenagers in any western urban area.
In the food court of one of the bigger malls in the city.
Zenkov Cathedral, Panfilov Park, Almaty. Many ethnic Russians left Kazakhstan after the fall of the Soviet Union. About thirty percent of the population are of Russian or Ukrainian descent. Kazakhs make up about fifty six percent of the 15 million people in the country, up substantially from Soviet times.
Kazakh is the national language, but the working language, especially in the cities, is Russian.
Babushkas, outside the Cathedral.
Young family, Panfilov Park.
Chess club, by the park.
Impressive war memorial in Panfilov park. Stalin drew heavily from this area of the Soviet Union for troops after the early setbacks during the Second World War. These soldiers were instrumental in breaking the siege of Stalingrad, the beginning of the end of the German war effort.
On an excellent road out of Almaty west along the Kyrgyz frontier, towards the border crossing and Bishkek, the capital of Kyrgyzstan.

A- Kazakh Russia border, B- Semey, C-Almaty, and D-Kyrgyztan Kazakhstan border crossing near Bishkek. 1534 kms..