traveling alone with my friends (part two)

Saule and Jason
I called Saule when I got to Almaty, asking when we might get to meet up. She is a former university student from Petropavlovsk whom I had met last year in Petro and in each subsequent trip to Almaty. She recently married an American guy named Jason who works for a USAID sponsored aid organization, and they invited me to a diplomat party at the Guns n’ Roses bar and grille in the golden crowned Hotel Kazakhstan. The party, hosted by the Pakistani Embassy, is a weekly social networking gathering for any and all international people interested in free food, beer and music. I met three former PCVs, one of which who served in Petropavlovsk in 2000. Also in attendance were USAID representatives and foreign businessmen from all over the world. The night was full of interesting people and tasty food, and gave me a glimpse of what an expat life in Almaty could look like with a government-related job. It’s something worth considering.

Christine and Joe
I walked to the office on Thursday, planning to spend a day on the internet researching a combination of future jobs and grad school programs upon returning to the US. When I got to the office, I met two Kaz-20 PCVs whom I didn’t know. Christine, from CA, is doing a grad school program in which Peace Corps serves as her practicum. Joe, from OH, studied urban planning and development. Both were on vacation, Christine having just returned from Oman and Joe on his was to Paris. Instead of spending uninterrupted hours of somewhat productive internet time, I went on a picnic with Christine and then went to the city center to have coffee with Joe. Peace Corps never fails to introduce me to new and interesting people.

Friday, I finally got my act together and went hiking. I took a city bus up to the Medeu skating rink, located at the base of a beautiful mountain valley. Following the instructions from a day-hike I found in the Lonely Planet guide, I hiked from the skating rink up into the adjacent valley, up along two pine-speckled ridges. I made it up to the Butakovka pass, which at 9800 feet is the highest point on earth that I’ve ever been. Along my 10 hour hike, I saw the most amazing mountain view I’ve ever seen, had a picnic or cucumbers, bread and granola, and played in the snow up on the top ridge. What I didn’t see was another person. The whole day was quiet, except for my newfound tendency to say things out loud to myself. Nothing crazy, and I don’t answer myself, but things like, “Well, that’s a convenient place for a picnic table,” or “Man this mountain is steep.” I also enjoyed singing as loud as I could, not worrying about who it might bother.

Dauret and Asilgul
On Wednesday I had purchased a ticket for Saturday to Charyn Canyon, which is a mini version of Arizona’s Grand Canyon. The woman at the Ecological Tourist Agency gave me a ticket and instructions to meet the bus at 8:30am on Saturday, to leave at 9:00 for a daylong trip. I woke up early on Saturday, sore from my strenuous hike the day before, and showed up at the bus stop at 8:20. When I gave my ticket to the driver of the coach bus parked there, he sighed and explained that the bus to Charyn Canyon had left an hour earlier. He told me the buses receive their fares from a network of tourist agencies, and that the agency had told me the wrong time. He gave me two choices; one, to take it up with the agency to get my money back or try to reschedule the trip; or two, to hop on their bus going to Turgen. I weighed the options, knowing that the hassle of running around the city to try to get a new ticket for the next day (if there even was one) would be just that, a hassle. So I asked, “Well, what’s in Turgen?”

On the bus, I met Dauret and Asilgul, a couple from Astana who were also on vacation in the Apple City. Dauret works for the national telecommunication company and had learned enough English to be able to travel. He was eager to explain about the fish farm, waterfall and ostrich farm that we would be seeing that day, along with his impressions of the many countries he’s visited in the last few years. We compared our Bangkok experiences and talked about our plans for future international trips.

When we arrived at the base of the trail leading to the waterfall, I started walking with them (and the other 200 people that had come on other buses), chatting about Almaty and the benefits of living so close to these beautiful mountains. As the trail narrowed and the path more crowded, I bade them farewell and chose a path leading up the steeper edge of the valley. When I finally reached the waterfall, I took my pictures and continued up and around the valley’s rim. I’m not saying that the waterfall was unimpressive, but I just didn’t pay to sit with fifty people at the base of a small waterfall. I had an hour before the bus was to leave and I wanted to see what was over the next ridge. My twenty minute ascent brought me to an open valley, one side covered with brownish green tall grasses and shrubs, the other a lush green mat of leafy vegetation spattered with pine trees.

Hasan, Genghis, and Dulat
After the waterfall, we headed back down the valley to a picnic area near the river fed by the mountain streams above. I found a spot in the shade of a short tree and pulled out my bread, peanut butter and orange. Nearby, three young Kazakh guys had spread out a blanket and were preparing a large salad and a spread of meat, bread and canned fish. Hasan, Genghis and Dulat invited me over to share their food and we struck up a conversation. I started with the rote explanation of my presence here, but they were interested in other things. “What religion is Obama?” “Who did YOU vote for?” “Did you hear about the latest US vs. Spain football match?” “Do you have a girlfriend?” They spoke amongst themselves in Kazakh, but to me in Russian. The food they gave me was much more satisfying and filling than what I had brought, and they were thrilled to try peanut butter. They had seen it in so many American movies and were happy to try it, although one of them didn’t really like it. Hooray for cross cultural sharing! Hooray for peanut butter!

My solo trip is coming to an end as Tim and Alex will arrive early tomorrow morning and we’ll begin preparation for our departure to Kyrgyzstan. I’ve thoroughly enjoyed the experience which has given me a chance, though limited, to think and relax and hike and eat – in short, to enjoy a vacation on my own terms.