After Bishkek the road leads back to Kazakhstan and it’s only 200km till Almaty the former capital. I parked my bike for two weeks here in Almaty to take some rest, eat and also to flight back to Berlin to spent some time with the two most amazing things in the world – visa applications and dentist visits.
In the 90s Kazakhstan built a new capital in the center of the country but Almaty is still the cultural center and a big piece of civilisation after a while.
From Almaty you can take a cable car up into the mountains to 3200m where in winter you can go skiing and in summer you can drink Coffee and see some strange looking himalaya buffalo called Yak.
After two weeks the summer had suddenly disappeared and now the temperatures are approaching 0 degree and it’s raining. I had totally forgotten how clean and shiny my bike looks after rain.
People tell me that it might even snow and it’s getting dark already at 6.30. I am a bit scared.
This is on the brand new motorway towards the Chinese border east of Almaty. It’s so new that even most locals haven’t heard it’s open yet. So, there’s hardly any traffic and a tailwind that is so strong you don’t want to stop.
Finally the sun is also back. China here I come!