9-3-08

September 3, 2008: flying over Kazakhstan

…in a prop plane! There is no flight crew…no one to tell you to buckle up. Our carryons are above the seat on a shelf.

Now this is travelling.

The people are stunning out here.

Anyway, I had to give up my carryon again & put money folded up into my passport for a bribe. I over packed, so I can bribe the officials into taking my luggage. Super.

This should be a 2 ½ hr flight…it took us almost 4 ½ hrs. I don’t know why.

So, OK, some pictures.

Here are some pictures of the hotel…and the Guns-n-Roses Bar where we enjoyed a beer at about 2am after we checked in. These are my new friends Doug & Kelly from Freeport.

Mmmmhowdooooyousay…façade? Take a look at my room. Room 1812. Pretty funky, but the sheets & towels are clean, so I’m content. It had been 2 days since my body felt any sort of horizontal bed…I slept like a baby. I was happy to have hot water for my shower the next morning.

Breakfast was awesome: a buffet of potatoes, sausages, omelets, grains, fruits, cheeses, yogurt, etc. I had a hard boiled egg, cheese (some tasty cheese that looks like Havarti only stronger) on a roll, tomatoes, cucumber, melon, yogurt, coffee & juice. The tomatoes and melon were some of the best I’ve had in years! The coffee is outstanding!

Nickolai was our driver…not much of a personality, but he got us safely to the hotel and back to the airport.

I will get the pictures and add at a later date...I have limited time on my internet card