Hello again!
I've just wrote a very long post, only to discover that nothing was saved and I can start all over again. so this post will be shorter than planned, because I don't feel like writing that much again... ;) I started cycling in the morning and I loved the crazy road! Transportation outside the city is done zith busses, minibusses (four times the people to the number of seats), official taxi and unofficial taxis (aka every car that stops to pick you up). The road I was cycling on is a very busy road and has an enormous amount of traffic, ramps and exits. Nonetheless it was a very nice road and I thoroughly enjoyed cycling on it. At malls (seventhousand tiny tiny shops packed together) there was a bustling of cars and buses dropping people off, taking people in and cars passing it all. It was a lot of fun cycling in there, but you do have to watch out. The cars are not used to cyclists and have no idea if they can or can't pass you. Sometimes they had to wait (patiently) for a long while before I actually passed and other times I had to brake in order to not run into the car that did pass me. The road went up and down, but always gently and I really enjoyed it. Did see some roadkill (dogs) though :( they smell very bad.... I saw some flocks of sheep and cows and men on horses that waved at me. This was fun! After lunch in the shade and some waiting for the warmest hours to pass (around 35°C - 40°C here!) I cycled on and stopped next to the road in the evening. I ate some food, but I was so tired that I couldn't eat a lot. I pitched my tent underneath the trees and once everything was set up I noticed some disturbing and weird thoughts in my head. I mulled them over and over, to see where they were coming from and what I could do to change them. I tried to go to bed early, but the thoughts kept me up until midnight. The next morning I packed everything and started towards Bishkek. In three days I should be there! After 3 kilometers I stopped. The 'spark' of travelling was gone and even though I really enjoyed cycling and camping, I couldn't find the 'spark' that I had at other times. I decided to follow my heart and turned around, back to Almaty. When I arrived at the hostel, the manager asked me what happened and all I could say was 'I want to go home' while crying tears of joy. The next day I got help buying plastic to wrap my bicycle up for the airplane and at 22h the taxi drove me to the airport. There I bought my tickets and waited for my flight at 5h. I had a stop in Kiev and at 13h I was back in Brussels. I unpacked my bicycle and went home. I didn't have a key to the house with me and nobody knew I was back. I wanted to surprise my boyfriend and waited until he would return home. I hid my bicycle close by and stood somewhere he shouldn't see me. It started storming badly, but luckily I could wait in the entrance hall of an apartment building. He didn't come home.... And after a while I figured out he must have gone to the movie theatre and wouldn't be back for a long while. I decided to go to a friends house nearby and she was very happy to see me. She tried contacting him to figure out when he would be home. We had dinner together and finally we received answer that he was home. I drove home with a gigantic smile on my face and couldn't wait to see his face when he opened the door and I stood there. He was very surprised of course and couldn't believe I was actually back. He was afraid that he would wake up in the morning to discover it was a dream and I wasn't there. But I was, and I will remain here... . I followed my dream, only to discover that it was no longer my dream. I've found a Home, a place where I belong, 'roots'. I never travelled to find a place where I belong, but I could travel freely because I wasn't bound to a place. Now that I discovered that I am bound I want to have different adventures. I long for a nice house, a German Shepherd, kids and above all being together with the man of my dreams. Even though I've planned this trip for years and really looked forward to it, I do not regret at all coming back after two weeks. I feel lucky that I have been able to discover these feelings and I'm happy that I finally feel so connected to someone that I am willing and with great ease give up the liefestyle I had before: crazy, weird and on my own. I look forward to settling down, starting a family and living a plain, 'boring' life. Some part of me tells me that I'll always remain crazy, but there is a whisper now that tells me it's okay if I'm no longer crazy. This is totally new for me and I still ahve to get used to these thoughts and ideas, but I'm discovering that I really like them and would have no problem at all living the 'boring' way. I look forward to it and so I say Farewell to my crazy childhood, adolescent years and early twenties and Welcome my new lifestyle with open arms and a big smile. I'm ready for a whole different kind of adventure! Over and out, Kelly
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- Did you know that... - travelling by train is very comfortable? - you have your own bed to sleep in at night and sheets are provided? - there should be showers, but I couldn't find them? - the water in the sink of the toilet doesn't work? - I washed myself with my own water? - this was possible because I had a bottle of 5 liters water with me? - I had to pour the water into my food bowl first and then in the small water bottle? - this wasn't easy on a moving train? - the toilet ran out of toilet paper sometimes? - the lady that took care of our carriage was very nice to foreigners? - she couldn't speak any English? - Moscow only has gigantic buildings? - they had some kind of festival dedicated to icecream? - the Kremlin and Red square were beautiful? - there were a lot of Chinese tourists there? - I didn't really see a lot of tourists elsewhere in Moscow? - I had to wait in the station for 6 hours before I had my train to Almaty? - I've read 6 or 7 books during that first week on the train? - the train stops at night as well? - the train stopped for 20 minutes in stations with foodstalls? - the foodstalls even sell warm meals, in plastic bags? - I arrived in Almaty at 7h in the morning? - by the time I unpacked my bicycle and found the tourist information it was already 10h? - the tourist information center was closed because of a holiday? - It took me until 13h to find the hostel without a map? - I still can't deal with derailleurs on bicycle? - luckily someone helped me? - the hostel Loco is AMAZING? - this mainly is because they have people with dreadlocks and cool graffiti and incense? - it rained a lot when we visited the Big Almaty Lake? - we even heard thunder? - 1 euro is 370tenge? - I can buy 2 loafs of bread, 1 liter of Coca-Cola and a pot of jam for 1000tenge? - this price was mainly because of the jam, that was 620tenge? - the Grand Bazaar is very organized inside and all the same food is placed together? - outside of the Grand Bazaar there is an entire maze of tiny stalls, also organized? - I saw like 20 stalls that sell shoes? - I leave tomorrow for Bishkek? - it should take me four days to reach Bishkek? - I'm nervous about leaving, but also very excited? - it's quite hard to find a computer with internet in hostels nowadays? - this is because they have wifi everywhere? - they let me use the personal pc of someone else? After the fun farewell party the hardest thing to do was to say goodbye to my boyfriend. I still get tears in my eyes thinking about it, but we both agree that I should at least try this even though it hurts! Getting all the luggage on the train and off and on again was a bit of a hassle, but in the Paris metro I got help when I had to take stairs. The train from Paris to Moscow was very comfortable and I shared it first with a Russian lady that could speak French. Near the end of the trip a Polish lady with her daughter joined us, but they only spoke Polish and Russian. Our carriage was of course the one where the airco didn't work, but they got it working in the end! In Brest we stopped for 2 hours because they had to put other wheels on the train. I got off with a British couple and we waited a bit in the nice and cool waiting room. When I arrived in Moscow I decided to take a taxi and tudum.... first rip-off! The guy told me it was 1500roebles. Something about big luggage and fance car with leather seating. I knew it was way too much, but I was tired and didn't want to argue longer... So I got it. Once we were driving I realised that he asked almost 25euros and that's more than half of my budget... . I couldn't check in yet, so I walked around (without luggage, that could stay in the hostel) without a map, without any idea what I had to do. In the end I sat in a cafe drinking a coke. I hadn't eaten since the morning on the train and was getting hungry, but no idea what I could order, since everything is in Russian... . Toilet wasn't there, so no toilet either. I finally got checked in and walked around more after that. I felt quite lonely and stupid and didn't want to be there. It's not that I was homesick or wanted to go home, I just didn't want to be there... . The second day I checked out and went to the Kremlin and red square. WAUW! That was amazing... I sat there for a couple of hours enjoying the views, people (lots of Chinese tourists) and reading a book in the shade. In the afternoon I went back to the hostel and asked for a taxi. Tourist information said it couldn't be more than 350roebles for the first 20minutes. In the end I paid 300roebles and had a very funny taxidriver that could speak a bit of English. He made the day amazing. I arrived at the trainstation 6hours early and well... read books. There were so many people.... and so many people waiting for the train to Almaty as well... . I got on pretty okay, but I couldn't fit my luggage underneath my bed, because there was other stuff lying there. My bag with wheels could go above the door and the purple one stayed on my bed. For the most part of the trip I shared my space with two brothers (the youngest was 12, the older one... 16?), they could speak some English. Border control was quite okay, but frightening for a bit. The first time they announced we had to go to the toilet now, becauce you can't go when the train is stopped. Then they started opening hidden storage rooms and vacuuming everywhere. When border control (exit Russia) entered we all had to go to our bunkbeds. They constantly asked who's bag it was above the door and left it alone when I told them it was mine. scary, but I got through everything quite smoothly. For a couple of hours there were other tourists and I had a nice chat with a black guy from France, when the lady from The Netherlands went to sleep. The guy told me that he got 60 to 70 requests daily to take a picture with him, just because he was black.
How did I know that there were other tourists? The lady of my carriage was always looking after me at border control and was so sweet. When the tourists came on the train, she came to my bunk and gestured that I had to come see, with the sweetest smile ever. She kept looking after me the entire time, even though the only English she could was 'ok'. After 3 full days and 4 nights I finally arrived in Almaty. I unloaded my bicycle and fixed it. Of course the quiet corner wasn't so quiet, it was the smokers corner apparently... so lots of people looking. In the end I managed it and left for the Tourist Information Center. It was closed... National Holiday apparently... . On one map I saw the street of the hostel where I knew was a cyclist living, so I tried to find it... Took me about 2 or 3 hours, but I found it. I first took a very long long shower and then I rearranged my bags so I have space again. During cycling I noticed that my shifters aren't completely okay yet, so I hope the cyclist can help me out. Yesterday I booked a tour and went to the Almaty big lake. Afterwards I visited the Green Bazaar. I really wanted to see Kaindy lake as well, but it's two days and quite costly unless you go with at least 4 people. Tomorrow I start cycling to Bishkek! Excited! (but I'm still missing my boyfriend a lot. It's okay during the day when I'm busy, but in the evening it's quite hard... .) More pictures can be found on my photo website! See you next time! |
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July 2016
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