Where are Ron and Ellen?
Central Asia, 17 September - 18 November 2009
Ellen and Ron, Shymkent, Kazakhstan, October 2009
Shymkent, Kazakhstan, October 2009
Bureaucratic entanglements
To see photos of Skymkent, click on the thumbnail at the left.
20 October 2009
ALmaty, KazakhstanDear Family and Friends,
We are back in Almaty, and Ellen flies home tonight (the flight actually leaves here at 2:55 am on Wednesday 21 Oct). Ron will then go back to Bishkek, Kyrgyzstan, and then make his way by one of several possible routes to Dushanbe, Tajikistan.
We spent several days last week in Tashkent, staying with Bob, during which time we finally did the shopping we’d put off all along our route. On Friday 16 October we left Bob’s house at 9, took a taxi to the closest metro stop, took the metro to the opposite end of town to the place where you get minibuses and shared taxis, took a minibus to the border between Uzbekistan and Kazakhstan, arriving at the border at 11. There is a border crossing 20 km from Tashkent, but for some reason we never understood (if Bob told us a reason we have forgotten), foreigners (i.e. anyone not either Kazakh or Uzbek) are not allowed to cross near Tashkent and must go to this other more distant border crossing. So you take the bus, get out of the bus and walk across the bridge to the Uzbek passport control and customs, go through that, walk a bit further and then have to go through the Kazakh passport control and customs. There was no problem going out of Uzbekistan, but coming into Kazakhstan (with all the folks from Kyrgyzstan and Tajikistan as well as probably Uzbeks and Kazakhs) was in the same league as going through incoming customs at the Tashkent airport, about an hour in the midst of a pushing and shoving crowd before being admitted by the guard through the doorway to the customs and passport desks. They did open our suitcases and make a cursory pass through them but nothing major. The things they were most interested in were the chapstick and bottle of pills (Excedrin, Tylenol, Advil) in Ellen’s purse.
On foot once out of customs and passport, we were trapped by the taxi mafia waiting outside the immigration point. There are no buses (except a large one to Almaty, which would presumably go when it filled), no mini-buses or marshrutkas, only taxis, and you are in the middle of nowhere, so, although you can negotiate some, they know they have you over a barrel. And of course you have to wait for the taxi to fill. So 5.25 hours after leaving Bob’s house we arrived at the Kazakh side of the border crossing 20 km from Bob’s house that we as foreigners are not allowed to use. Talk about going around Robin Hood's barn.... We arrived in Shymkent, our destination, about 7 hours after we left Bob's.
The first thing we noticed after crossing the border was the big difference in variety of vehicles. In Uzbekistan you see Ladas, and then large numbers of Daewoo/Chevrolet (made in Uzbekistan, where Chevrolet took over the Daewoo operation 2 years ago). In Kazakhstan we’ve seen no Daewoos, and although we do see Ladas, we see much more upscale cars: Mercedes, Audi, BMW, Opel, VW, Mitsubishi, and lots and lots of Toyotas. First indication of a much more affluent country.
Shymkent was a lively, bustling commercial city, much more entrepreneurial activity, indicating less economic control than in Uzbekistan. People seemed more spirited, and there was more life and activity on the street. Friday evening, I was standing outside a market while Ron was inside buying water. A young woman asked if I spoke English, and we began to chat. With her were her husband and her husband’s mother (neither of whom spoke English). Her English was quite good; she had studied English at university, and is now teaching kindergarten and English at the Montessori school in Shymkent, the only Montessori school in Kazakhstan. She was eager to practice her English, since she doesn’t get a chance to talk with native English-speakers very often. We all agreed to meet a 4 the next afternoon. When we met, the three of them gave us a long and wonderful walking tour of the city, explaining a great deal about the various buildings and about the city. After our tour, we were invited to their flat for dinner. Their small flat was very nice, but they will only have it for 6 more months, since the owner intends to sell it. They do not know yet whether they will find another flat in Shymkent, but they are seriously considering moving to another city to preach as Jehovah’s Witnesses. We had a lovely afternoon and evening and it was a wonderful experience for all 5 of us.
Sunday evening we took the overnight train from Shymkent to Almatty. Yesterday in Almaty, since we are gong to be in Kazakhstan more than 5 days (Ellen barely, Ron definitely) we had to go to the Migration Police to register. Another bit of Soviet bureaucracy, or perhaps current government control. At any rate, the office was another madhouse scene, where we had to fill out incomprehensible (to us, since all instructions were in Russian) forms, pay a fee, get copies made of our passports and visas, and finally hand in our passports, visa/passport copies, letter from the hotel where we are staying, and forms. This afternoon we go back to pick up our passports with the appropriate stamps in them -- just in time for Ellen to leave!
Love to all,
Ellen and Ron
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Last updated: 30 October 2009
