The Death of Empires

So, here we are in Almaty, the main city of GLORIOUS NATION KAZAKHSTAN and also the city where the USSR officially ceased to be, pausing for a day to gather our strength and rummage for supplies before the final, gruelling leg of the trip - across eastern Kaz, up into the Altai Republic in Siberia, and then down the Mongolian steppe to U-B for a bit of warm beer and and some top-shelf yurting. Distance enthusiasts will be interested to know that Almaty is but a handful over 5000 miles from james' front drive in Kenilworth, Warwickshire, making it roughly the halfway point on the journey. Others will probably not care. Both James and I are not feeling tippity-top, the Uzbek and Kazakh food challenging our stomachs as much as their roads challenge the scarlet harlot. However, we feel this is a time for reflection- on the eternal border bureaucracy, the appalling driving talents of the locals, the hunger, the physical punishment, the indescribable heat, the extraordinary hospitality, the mind-bending rudeness, the Kazakh steppes, the Karakalpakstan desert, the parched Caucasus, the snow-capped mountain passes, the car problems, the national fuel shortages, the illegal midnight petrol purchases, the camels, and finally the daunting feeling that we are only halfway. This is pretty much the best thing ever.   R