Yesterday I wrote a blog post while sitting on the train for 42 hours. I posted it but then decided to delete it as I felt like… I complained there too much. 😀 Yeah, backpacking is not always great like chocolate mountains and caramel rivers. Even though at the moment I really do feel like in the heaven – I just got back from the local bazaar in Kazakhstan, got ripped off less than I expected (well, can’t be too sure of course :D), it’s nice and warm outside, I’m sitting in the shadow of grapevine and eating strawberries, three kittens are playing around my feet and I’m thinking that… that life is crazy beautiful! Still, I want to be honest and show you that despite my crazy good life at the moment it’s not always like that. Also, I just wanted to let you know that some hours ago I became a proud, but certainly not the best owner for the 5th phone charger during my journey so far. Because, well… just read what happened. 😀
At the beginning of a long journey
„Marleeeena!“ – someone shouts my name wrongly all over the restaurant wagon and I’m just so tired. 😀 I have been sitting in this train for the last 35 hours. Yes, Kazakhstan is crazy BIG! And I still have seven to go… from Aktau, the port city at Caspian sea to Shymkent in the south…
There’s not much to see from the window – just some flat land, steppe, a few camels time after time. Okay, these animals really make my heart beat a bit faster – it’s pretty much the first time for me to see camels in the wild nature.
But yeah, not every second of backpacker’s life is as exciting as seeing a camel. No. At the moment it’s just bloody hot and the air is not moving at all.
Restaurant wagon
I feel a bit quilty. I should order something more to drink as I’ve been sitting here with my instant coffee… for three hours already…, occupying the whole table with my laptop and other stuff. But I don’t care too much – yesterday they ripped me off asking around 5 euros for three fried eggs and a package of apple juice. At that moment, I remember, I was just too sick of sleeping to think properly. Well yeah, that’s the main activity to kill the time on the train…
So I felt a bit used by the staff at the restaurant wagon who saw me only as a walking wallet – I was really considering to avoid this place forever :D. But it’s pretty much the only wagon for me where I could sit normally as my bunk is too uncomfortable for that, but it’s fine for sleeping. And last but not least – there are no power outlets in my wagon and even here I had to wait around half an hour to charge my phone. What a luxury!
Fried eggs with ketchup!
The train is stopping again in a small station among the other hundreds of stations. That literally means I stop thinking for a while as the hot air is now just standing still and here’s nothing to breathe. „People are still nice“ – I start thinking when the wind blows again. When I woke up in the morning and went to brush my teeth into the small kitchen corner (as there wasn’t any water in the toilet for some reason) I got offered some tea and cookies by a local granny. To be honest – I felt a bit sick because of all the cookies I had already eaten, so I just agreed to drink a tea with her. I sure was a bit worried when she poured some milk into it – can it really be good after standing a while in the hot wagon? Stomach problems… that would be the last thing to wish for here!
There are ladies selling homemade stews at the stations
The granny speaks only Russian. It’s fine, I need to practice it anyway but just right now I’m too tired of the heat. Time after time I put my head out of the window to make it clear again.
A lady sleeping on the first floor of my bunk says kindly that I don’t need to climb up every time as there’s not enough room for sitting in my bed – I can just hang out on hers. We are just chatting but she is not patient enough when it comes to my bad Russian. I feel better with not talking anyway and go back to the restaurant wagon.
Something beautiful for a change
I think the restaurant wagon is cursed especially for me! 😀 After charging my phone one local old man just takes my charger saying he will give it back to me after we reach Shymkent. Of course, I never see it again…
At least, the weather is fine!
With love,
Half Dead Brain Madle
PS. Now I feel pretty okay 😀
