Road rage

.not driver rage, rage at the actual road. It's RUBBISH! We were treated to 50KM of bliss today. Super wide, super smooth, 110kph road. The memory of which is shattered by 350 kilometers of miserable, bone shattering, hate filled crap. Call me slow, but I think I've figured out why no one else goes through Kazakhstan, these roads are so rubbish that I couldn't tell you if we drove through forests or open plains. Ugh - so over it! and only another 4500km of it to go! We're ~1/8th through distance wise.

I said last night that we would have an early start and cover some distance, well a more fruitful approach was starting early, stopping for a good hour for lunch, then back at it. It's like two half days. We stopped at just before 5PM but realistically it's still too early to stop as it's hot and windy. Oh well, better to be hot and bothered than drive till you snap.

Tonight's dinner is some kind of beef cubes, mashed potato (peas corn and cruton variety) and gravy.

We were helped by a lovely empty-nester couple who's kids have moved to London. They called their son to translate to us. Effecively we were given directions to Almatay. Through translation confusion we didn't get his number, even though he said get it from my dad so you can call if you have any trouble. It would have been nice to meet them in London - oh well. They drove 30KM out of town to show us where the turnoff was. They may well have been going that way anyway, but it was still kind. Our map is just a basic street atlas, the kind you'd get at a service station. It's getting the job done, but not knowing our exact location on it, combined with no street signs is making navigation difficult... even here! I did buy a Khazakstan physical map online but even with three plus months to deliver it they didn't come through. I bet it still hasn't arrived actually. I bought a digital version online from this same mob and thier website broke three times over the course of a month.
ugh.

Dinner was fantastic and hit the spot real good. Tomorrow will no doubt yield much of the same, but at least it won't come as a surprise.
Cassie is like a baby giraffe. I can't beleive how many times shes hit her head, elbows, knees and feet in the car. Although I'm taller, I obviously haven't confused the interior of our car for a jumping castle. What's weirder is that has just resigned to the fact she will bump into things, rather than changing her behaviour. What's that about?!

Position: 12-08-17 18:13:41 +0600 +0000
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