Drugi del poti (Kazahstan) končan in predčasno tudi cela pot

Tale post pišem na istanbulskem letališču, po predčasnem odhodu domov. Vsesplošna panika glede koronavirusa je zmagala in na koncu ni bilo več nobenega potovalnega užitka. Države se zapirajo, leti se odpovedujejo, grozi se z dolgotrajnimi karantenami – skratka, prav nič popotniku prijazne okoliščine. J A naj začnem tam, kjer sem zaključil v prvem postu. Zadnji dnevi v Uzbekistanu so bili vrhunski. Kljub temu, da nas opevana Khiva ni ravno navdušila (v bistvu gre za muzej na prostem, vse je podrejeno le turistom, izven sezone pa gre za mesto duhov), pa smo bili dobesedno navdušeni nad ostanki peščenih trdnjav, ki jih turisti, glede na pripovedovanje domačinov, obiščejo zelo redko. Očitno bolj pali instant množični turizem in nakupovanje na štantih polnih kitajske cenene robe. Zadnje mesto, ki smo ga obiskali v Uzbekistanu je mesto Nukus, ki pa je le točka, s katere se podaš na famozno pot proti Kazahstanu. Gre za več kot 25 urno vožnjo v spalniku predpotopnega ruskega vlaka, ki bi namesto na tračnice bolj sodil na smetišče svetovne zgodovine. Ta pot bo šla pri meni zagotovo med “epske” poti, ki sem jih imel možnost doživeti. Pa ne le zaradi razsutega vlaka in dolgotrajne naporne vožnje, temveč predvsem zaradi stvari, ki so se odvijale pred našimi očni. Vlak je bil namreč poln ženskih “švercark”, ki so v sosednji Kazahstan švercale praktično vse, kar je možno. Vsi skriti in malo manj skriti kotički so bili polni buč, vreč krompirja in ostale zelenjave. Pod polštri so bili skriti piščanci, pod jogiji ostali mesni izdelki. Vonjave so bile že po nekaj urah nepozabne. Na koncu je zagotovo zmagala teta, ki je dobro uro pred prečkanjem meje ugotovila, da skriti prostor za njenega piščanca ni najbolj idealen. In ko nismo ravno pazili, ga je prefrigano počasi stlačila kar pod našo prtljago. A razlog, da smo se podali na to pot ,je bil vreden trpljenja. 3 nepozabne dneve smo preživeli na planoti Mangistau zahodnega Kazahstana, kjer smo skupaj z vodičem doživeli nekaj neverjetnih pokrajin. Kljub zimskih razmeram in kampiranju je bila vsa stvar nepozabna. No, po prihodu nazaj v civilizacijo, pa so se stvari hitro spremenile. Vodič je prejel v enem dnevu odpovedi za praktično vse spomladanske in poletne ture, hoteli so začeli poročati o množičnih odpovedi rezervacij, oblasti pa so na vsakem koraku kazale svojo paniko glede koronavirusa. Preveč je bil vsak kašelj, kih, vsekniti se je bilo že skrajno radikalno početje. Hitro smo potem sprejeli odločitev, da pot končano v Almatiju, vzhodni del Kazahstana, predvsem pa sosednji Kirgistan pa pustimo za kdaj drugič, ko bodo časi malo manj konfuzni. Več postov s fotografijami pa delim v naslednjih tednih iz domače naslanjača.

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I write this post at the Istanbul airport after leaving home earlier. The widespread panic about the coronavirus won and in the end we didnt enyoy the situation at all. Countries are closing their borders, flights are being canceled, they treat with long-term quarantines – in short, not really a traveler-friendly situation. But let me start where I ended up in the first post. The last days in Uzbekistan have been top notch. Even though the notorious Khiva didn’t really impress us (it’s basically an open-air museum, everything is tourist-only, but it is a ghost town during the off-season), we were really impressed by the remains of the sandy forts in the northern part of Uzbekistan, that are rarely visited by tourists. Obviously its better to shop on many stalls in Khiva. The last place we visited in Uzbekistan is the city of Nukus, which is just the point from which you embark on a famous trip to Kazakhstan. It is a more than 25-hour drive in the sleeper train of a very old russian train, that should fit perfectly in the museum.  The train ride was trully “epic”.  Not only because of the train itself and the lengthy hard drive, but mainly because of the things that happened before our eyes. The train was full of women smugglers who smuggled practically everything in neighbouring Kazakhstan. All the hidden and slightly less hidden corners were full of pumpkins, sacks of potatoes and other vegetables. Under the pillows there were chickens, under the yogis other meat products. The smells were unforgettable after just a few hours. In the end, the aunt, who a good hour before crossing the border, surely found that hiding space for her chicken was not the most ideal one. The winner was for sure and old lady, who found out just an hour before the border crossing, that her chicken needs better hiding spot – and when we were not looking, he found it under our luggage. 🙂 The reason we went on a trip like this was well worth it. We spent 3 unforgettable days on the Mangistau Plateau of western Kazakhstan, where we experienced some amazing landscapes. Despite the winter conditions and camping, the whole thing was unforgettable. Well, after coming back to civilization, things changed quickly. The guide received in one day cancellations for virtually all spring and summer tours, hotels began reporting about massive cancellations, and authorities showed their coronavirus panic at every turn. It was not a time to cough, sneeze… Soon afterwards we made the decision to leave the route in Almaty and leave the eastern part of Kazakhstan, and, above all, neighbouring Kyrgyzstan, for another time.