A frustrating start as the hotel staff in the earliness of my desired departure would not unlock the restaurant door and take me through to the back rooms where my bicycle had been safely stored. After patiently waiting and seemingly upsetting both receptionist and caretaker by wanting to leave the hotel at 7.30am I finally manage to escape.
Often when riding along people will stop and give me drinks and food. Today was no different. A lorry driver and his mate stopped and wanted to give me a watermelon! I had no where to place it on my bike, so we ate standing on the hard shoulder. It was very nice! The police in Kazakhstan are good fun as well. Often a passing police car will turn on its siren and lights, sometimes with the driver shouting "Hello, hello!" out of a megaphone! At lunch I stopped in a small town, and was given free ice tea by a shop keeper. The kindness of strangers!
My target for today was Shimkent, quite a big city and a meeting point for the east/west highway and the road that heads south to Uzbekistan and Tashkent. As I was riding I noticed that a not yet opened new road is running parallel to the narrow, bumpy, dusty old road. I decided to ride this new road. It was much easier and the road workers did not mind! I made Shimkent, quite late after dark and found a hotel on the edge of town.
Any scrap of shade is soon filled!
Lunchtime refreshment. The shopkeeper is on the right.
The new road, fast, flowing and empty!
Often when riding along people will stop and give me drinks and food. Today was no different. A lorry driver and his mate stopped and wanted to give me a watermelon! I had no where to place it on my bike, so we ate standing on the hard shoulder. It was very nice! The police in Kazakhstan are good fun as well. Often a passing police car will turn on its siren and lights, sometimes with the driver shouting "Hello, hello!" out of a megaphone! At lunch I stopped in a small town, and was given free ice tea by a shop keeper. The kindness of strangers!
My target for today was Shimkent, quite a big city and a meeting point for the east/west highway and the road that heads south to Uzbekistan and Tashkent. As I was riding I noticed that a not yet opened new road is running parallel to the narrow, bumpy, dusty old road. I decided to ride this new road. It was much easier and the road workers did not mind! I made Shimkent, quite late after dark and found a hotel on the edge of town.
Any scrap of shade is soon filled!
Lunchtime refreshment. The shopkeeper is on the right.
The new road, fast, flowing and empty!
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