Crossing to Kazakhstan--July 24

By 11am my visa is ready. In Central Asia just about any car you see is a taxi--a consequence of unemployment. Off we go to the border, which is in a state of semi-controled chaos. As a tourist, you naturally stick out, and this usually helps you pass through. The residents are treated more as cattle. If customs officials are greedy bastards (I've personally only witnessed this in Azerbaijan), they are a 100 times worse to their own people.

Border crossed, new taxi, off we go to Shymkent. The Hotel Ordabasy seems to work; looks like they're fixing it up on the outside. The inside appears to be retro-Intourist in design: dark hallways, shaking walls when you turn on the hot water in the bath, etc.

I go off on a wander. Although the city's origins lie in Silk Road mythology, this is a completely Russianized city. At least there are restaurants and cafes. People are walking in the streets. One nicely dressed (probably too nicely dressed) girl chats with a cute boy who has pulled over in his car. She hesitates; he makes a face like, "oh c'mon," and smiles. She hops in. Maybe they go make sexy time together :-)

First order of business is to eat. I find a nice looking outdoor restaurant. You ask: "How the hell do you order from a Russian menu?" 1. You can either point wildly and take your chances (not a good idea) 2. Sit there with a Russian phrase book and try to decode (still apt to get something you really don't want to eat), or 3. get up out of your chair with the waitress and look at other people's plates or leftovers and point. This works.