Crossing to the Far Side of the World: Part III

I was planning on walking from the border all the way to the next town, but I came across a parking lot filled with taxis, all ready to take paying customers to Almaty. These drivers are known to be scammers. They were my only option and I was not happy about it. They first wanted 12,000 tenge (about $100) but I told them they were crazy. I bid one of them down to 3,000. Boris, my driver, took me in and then set out to find more people. We eventually found two Kazakhs coming home from University in China. That was enough people to start our journey... or so I though.



Boris took us to the town and he said he needed to get a few things. He did not come back for about 45 minutes. He then came back and told us that there are problems with the papers for his car so he is going to find another one. 30 minutes later he came back saying he had to stay a bit longer to help sell another car. He eventually told us he was not going to take us to Almaty but we could talk to his friends. This was the scam. Take us away from the other taxis and get us tired and annoyed so he can up the price.



After the Russian students negotiated for an hour, we scored a ride for an extra 1,000 tenge each. We finally set off for Almaty and arrived at midnight. I called the only person I knew in town, a couch surfer named Alexey, who answered my plead for a place to stay. He welcomed me with a beer and a warm floor with blankets to sleep on. I explained to him the whole fiasco and the next day he took me to the bazaar to get supplies.



So after 3 days of buses, a trip to the bazaar and getting kicked around by Kazakhstan this is what I have:



2 pairs of socks

2 t-shirts

2 pairs of underwear

pair of jeans with a mended hole

jacket

sweater

beanie

pair of gloves

chocolate bar

my journal and notebook

my camera

my world phone and charger

my watch

toilet paper

basic toiletries

a chocolate bar

AND a lock in case anybody wants to steal any of it





* I am just fine and quite humorous about this whole adventure. I do not need donations to cover my missing items. Merry Christmas from Kazakhstan!