Episode 9Well, as usual nothing went smoothly.My lot got most of their money back from DHL but not easily or without hassle. Lost about 3 Euros but by that stage both of my lot had had enough of arguing so settled for that. The moral of this story is not to deal with DHL again, at least not in Kazakhstan. In Kyzylorda there was no other option, however, there are other couriers into and out of Almaty.We set off out of Kyzylorda in the late afternoon with a cloud of black smoke as D was expecting from all the oil in the exhaust. However, it turned out that there was still an oil leak and we had gone quite a way before the engine cut out and D discovered that we still had an oil leak. Fortunately the sensor cut the engine before any damage was done. D was very upset and annoyed with himself for not stopping and checking earlier. So, we had to get a tow truck to come up and collect us, no way was d going to try and get back using the engine. He couldn’t see the oil leak when we were by the road side. We had quite a wait for the truck and then I had a real exciting time as I was left in the car by myself after it was loaded and rode in it all the way back into Kyzylorda where it was unloaded at a small workshop. It was quite late by this and the wife of the mechanic whose workshop it was gave us a very nice pizza for our tea. As you know I don’t eat pizza, so my lot scoffed the lot, and they assure me it was very good too. This couple, the mechanic and his wife also took us back to the hotel where we had been staying, it seemed to be the best and cheapest around, and goes by the name of Hauat. Next morning D went off to the mechanics and was back in quite a small space of time. It seems the leak was easily found once he could get in the pit and look up into the engine. It was one of the pipes that had been blocked off, the pressure of the oil had unblocked it. So now, with that pipe more firmly blocked we set off again not waiting for the late afternoon. The road continued long and straight and not a lot of traffic so we continued to plod along quite nicely, no black smoke and no more problems, for the moment at least. My lot had been going to do some sightseeing around the towns of Turkistan and Shymkent, however with all the problems we have been having and the fact that the car is difficult to handle in heavy traffic, not having any acceleration all sightseeing was put on hold. We did make a few stops, especially for an ice-cream that went down well in the middle of the scorching heat. The good 4 lane fairly new highway continued all that day. We went into Shymkent to find a hotel for the night we were all so hot and sweaty but all we achieved there was to get caught up in afternoon rush hour traffic. We did see a really lovely mosque in the centre, quite new and L tried to get a photo, it isn’t very good but she will load it up anyway. We were another 50k’s further on before we found a place to stay. This is a hotel used by truckies mostly and was fairly new. The air-con worked for the first hour or so then stopped, couldn’t get it going again. There was only cold water and not so cold water. Luckily because it was so hot that didn’t matter and by the time the air-con had stopped working the evening had cooled and with an open window the room was quite pleasant anyway so we all survived.David had discovered there was a small leak in the airless he was using to pump up the EAS, we had been having trouble with it all day yesterday and had thought that the leak in the bag was worse. We had new pump that D had got back in Uralsk just in case the old one packed up as they can do without warning. When we were relying on it to this extent it was vital we had a back-up. So out came the new pump and with that the airbag inflated better and stayed that way. That made things a bit easier for L who had the pump/compressor under her feet so that she could switch it on whenever needed to re-inflate the leaking bag. Soon after setting off we ran out of 4 lane highway and found that the older road we were on was much more interesting. We passed through a number of small villages where many people were selling apples, apricots and tomatoes by the roadside. A couple of times we came upon a place where the new 4 lane road is under construction and crosses the old road. We had quite a number of very slow long pulls up hill that slowed us down considerably, then long steady descents where we could get up to a good speed, usually we came upon a slow truck that because of on coming traffic we couldn’t pass so that slowed us down again.Off to our right, while we were cruising along in 40C heat we could look up a the snow capped mountains over the border in Uzbekistan, we could have done with a few degrees of coolness. Again my lot scoffed a few ice-creams during the day to keep their body temperature workable.In the evening we stopped at some roadside cafes for a meal. My lot enjoyed a tasty meat and rice dish that they barely made a dint in, it was so big. Hanging up for sale in the same place were a number of heavy wooden item that looked decidedly out of place for on a hot summers day but not doubt could be in big demand in just a few months time when temperatures drop again.At some point the new 4 lane road resumed again and eventually we found ourselves at the Kyrgyz border. Without any problems we crossed into Kyrgyzstan and now my lot have a place where they can stay for up to 3 months. No rush to move on because of short term visas.We found a lovely hostel called Tunduk hostel in a fairly quiet residential suburb. This is a small area where a few vehicles can be parked so the RR is there taking a breather while David has gone back to England to collect the much needed spare parts. L and I are here, well someone has to keep an eye on her, and we are just taking life easy.We go up to a market not so far away now and again and she always comes back loaded down with fruit. The peaches, apricots and nectarines are all in season at present, so too strawberries, but L, unlike her bother Peter, isn’t a big strawberry eater. She’s not safe to be left near apricots though, she can go through them like s swarm of locusts. The city centre really doesn’t have a lot to offer. We took the mini bus one day and got off at what the girl from the hostel described as the ‘Big Ben of Bishkek’. Don’t get excited, this clock doesn’t even have hands, but after being described in such terms L sat me on the grass in front of it and took a photo. It sits at the end of the Kyrgyztelecom building.One thing that is lovely in this city is the rose gardens. Roses do really well here and although not a mass of bloom they are colourful and sometimes you even get a whiff of their scent. When the Moslem fasting month of Ramadam ended the other day the girl that seems to run the hostel, it’s her family who own it, put on a Plov party. She cooked up a very doughy pastry that L couldn’t eat, took one mouthful and that was enough for her, the other at the party really enjoyed it. Also a very tasty rice dish that L scoffed plenty of. There were only a few guests at the hostel, a French couple who had been living in New Caledonia, another French fellow traveling by himself and two Czech guys heading home the next day. There was also a Kurdish fellow from Turkey but for some reason he chose not to join us for the party. One of the Czech fellows spoke good English and told us he had lived in Edinburg for a year, however, it sounded more like he had lived in Cardiff than Edinburg, to L, she reckons he had a real Welsh accent. As, the girl who seems to run the hostel speaks fluent French and English, she has lived in Paris for a year and learnt English at school. Guess she was one of those students who actually paid attention and learnt something. We can look out the window of the hostel and see snow on the mountains, at least when they are not covered in cloud. Most days storm clouds have come up at some point and we have had quite a bit of rain whilst L and I have been here. She is careful to take me out only when I’m not likely to get wet but also when it isn’t too hot, she doesn’t like walking around in the blazing sun any more. I don’t like the blazing sun either, I will fade.A week later:L and I had been back into the city and wandered about some more just to see if we really could find anything more interesting, but we didn’t. The roses have suffered badly from the heat in the last few days and are nearly finished blooming now. David came back early Monday morning, however, his baggage, complete with new turbo charger and other parts didn’t make it this far. So at present we are not much better off. He had two lots of checked baggage and the smaller lot arrived with him so we have a new airbag for the suspension and the parts to repair the EAS pump. So we suppose that’s something. Apart from the missing luggage he seems to have had a good trip back to the UK and had a pleasant stay with Heather in Arundel. It seems they are still waiting for summer to arrive.The girl at the hostel says that it’s a frequent happening, this missing luggage, It usually turns up but can take many days, however, some never does turn up. Most likely it was not transferred to the correct plane where D changed flights in Istanbul. His incoming flight had been caught in a stack and delayed, so there was probably a rush to get the luggage transferred. We have been up to the market nearby where there is a vast array of fruit and veggies for sale as well as just about anything else one could possibly use. One lady where my lot stopped to buy an ice-cream wanted to buy me. Despite me trying to give her the ‘evil eye, apparently I must still look my normal cute and cuddly charming self, she persisted. As though L could put a price on me, I’m PRICELESS: Not sure I want to go to another market, after that experience.It was almost 3 days later when the luggage turned up. some of the stuff in L’s old back pack had been damaged but the turbo that was packed very well wasn’t damaged thankfully.Just now and again the gods do love us says L, because the day David set about replacing the turbo there was a lovely cool breeze in the courtyard that usually is as hot as an oven and even more airless. Then before the sun got too high in the sky the cloud come over thick and dark and kept the place pleasantly cool. So David could get on with the job without becoming heat exhausted. I, off course had to keep and eye on things being the head honcho in this outfit. I’m fairly convinced that he has done a good job because when we took it for a run up into one of the mountain valleys not far out of the city it ran quite well. It was a continuous up hill pull for the 25k’s that we went but no steep hills. No idea how high we climbed as the sat-nav lost all satellite communication just out of the city even though it seemed a very open area. we have been in far bigger mountains and not lost the satellites before. This must be some sort of dead spot for them.Once we got back into town my lot put in for their Tajik visa and GBAO permit so that we can drive the Pamir highway in Tajikistan next month. They will collect the visas and permits this afternoon and providing we all survive another night we shall head off tomorrow morning and see some more of Kyrgyzstan. Probably head into the hills again as it is so much cooler up there.Meanwhile a couple more people who arrived at the hostel had also lost their luggage but it seems to have caught up with them now too.We visited the consulate and collected passports complete with Tajik visas and GBAO permits, then went into town for a walk around in the cooler afternoon air after some cloud had come over and cooled things off.Now we are set to head off in the morning. We shall spend another couple of weeks around Kyrgyzstan before heading into Tajikistan, Well, that the plan, but who knows what lies in store for us next. We shall see. © Lynette Regan 15th July 2016
Not many photos this time, I'm sad to say. Should be more next time.