Bicycle touring in Kazakhstan
Bicycle touring Kazakhstan in November and December was chilly and special. We only crossed a corner of this huge country. The country that is known for the movie Borat and the pro-cycling team Astana, and got a good impression. We entered Kazakhstan on the 26th of November and left the country on the 16th of December. We have cycled approx. 514 km, hitchhiked 120 km because of a broken tooth and ascended 3850 meters.
Almaty, the second city and previous capital of Kazakhstan, felt like Europe to us. Expensive Burger King, household appliances, large super markets, food courts and even proper dental care. It was nice to be in a place where we could enjoy some luxuries, although we were missing the off the beaten track feel of the places we [...]
Our legs are shaking, our fingers are numb and we are only 500 meters away from the hostel where we stayed in Bishkek. A really nice place by the way, nice and comfortable, where the communal heating was on all day. So making the step from 23 degrees inside to minus 10 outside after three weeks was [...]