Finished at last

Finished at last!

 

Too tired to update properly but have finished all safe and sound

 

Will update properly tomorrow with pics and vids tomorrow

 

>K< >k

Russia again

We are back in Russia for the second time from Kazaksthan after a 10 hr border crossing at Veseloyarst on Thursday. We met up with a load of other teams who had been there along time before us and I had a chat with another saxo driver and we swapped car stories like true boy-racers, lol

We stayed in a cool little hotel 5 minutes from the border crossing - double room for $10 each and celebrated with a whole roast chicken and a good few local beers

Yesterday we drove from there to Byist and stayed in a even groovier hotel which was being refurbed ( a common thing in RU ) thus the low price of $40 for a double room, breakfast and a Sauna which we both melted into last night

Todays chores involve updating blog (painfully from this very slow post office), getting some good 95 grade fuel to fill up the two 20 ltr jerries, filling the two 10 ltr water containers and strapping it all down ready for the final stretch...Mongolia!!!

Yes, as soon as the border crossing opens Monday morning, us,along with a ton of other teams we will all be clawing our way across what I have been told is a very slow border crossing

We are itching to get into that desert!

No vids this time or pix cos this little post office cant handle anything more than key-presses

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

>K< >k

Kazaksthan at last!

So...bloody hell where to start

 

After chilling in Russia now for two weeks the 10th of August was finally approaching which meant we could finally enter Kazak

 

We decided on the Ozinki crossing which proved to be a very big mistake

 

We arrived on the 8th and thought we would stay in a local hotel which was not too bad at all. I parked the car near to our window and we slept like babies. In the moring both my 20ltr jerry cans filled with the best RU 95 and my toolbox (filled with alot of crappy pound shop tools) were gone..stolen in the night by some Ozinki bandits!

Oh well I though, the day can only get better - i didnt!

We thought we would go check out the border ready to cross the next day but was stopped by what we thought was the local policeman. Introducing Sergay, a local copper who saw us as a very large meal ticket. After checking my migration card and seeing that I had not registered ( I dont have to as I have a year long RU business visa) he explained he would have to write a protocol and I would be fined. As it was Sunday this could not be done until the next day but he knew the women who worked in the Police station and of we went on a very long and drawn out rouge. First we visited the migration chrone in the middle of nowhere who had never even seen a business visa, then Sergay took us to one of his friends who wanted 1000 Rubles to look after our car and she called him Oleg? Sergay, er I mean Oleg spent the next 10 minutes telling us that if we stayed anywhere in Ozinki that our car would be stolen and we would be robbed and that we would have to trust him to look after us and take a huge bribe in the morning to let us off the fake protocol he kept mentioning. We decided to thank Sergay/Oleg for all his help and Skidaddle

After a bit more investigation and talking to a few very helpful people in the Migration office in Ozinki we found that Sergay/Oleg was a bit of a legeon round these here parts and  he regulary conned any foreigner trying to cross on his watch

One of these very helpful people said we could stay at his granfathers up the road so we camped in his garden and locked ourselves in for the night as both attemps at eating at local cantines had proved to be very dangerous and we later found out from the old man  that Ozinky was not a nice place to be

Monday morning bright and early we stepped into the Police station to confront the angry Sergay/Oleg and the very rude Migration crone. Surprise, surprise Oleg er.. Sergay ... er whatever was nowhere to be seen and after some very load argusing in Russian between Ksenia and the Migration crone we were told to 'just go'.... so we did

When we crossed through the police checkpoint again Sergay/Oleg was nowhere to be seen and we were waved through to the Russian / Kazak border

We crossed through the Russian / Kazak border quite quickly with just a few $5 bribes and were finally in Kazak!

 

We ran intoi the 'No Left Turn' Team, had a brief chat with them and then they dissapeared into the dust as did we.....

 

 

>K< >k<

 

Here some pix and vids

 


Nuff Moths?


 River Dance

 

 Space 1999!

 

 Sunset over the Volga

 

Wakey, Wakey!

 

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