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(new Thread) Back from Kazakhstan
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Posted by: dknew

Well my old thread was deleted somehow so had to start this one

[a note from the RMP forum webmaster: this original thread was accidentily and unintentionally deleted as a result of an error in the forum's database]

I arrived into Almaty, Kazakhstan at 11:00 pm on the 17th and go through customs just to find out my luggage did not make the plane in Germany. Customs fills out the paperwork and tells me it will be there the next night so come back, They stamp my customs form without even looking at anything and out the door I go more then a little tired and upset at having no clothing.
Now Elena is supposed to meet me at the airport and as I head out I'm having to run the gauntlet of taxi drivers all the time saying nyet to them. When I did finally get out side I can't find Elena but a couple mins later I hear my name and look around to find a pretty RW standing infront of me, It was the tour director and behind her is Elena looking more beautifull then any picture could ever capture (I should note here that at no point was I ever nervous about meeting her) we hugged and kissed then went to sit on a bench till the other men who were on the tour made it through customs.

Will post more later have to go to work

Dan...

Posted by: Woody

Already it sounds good....... we're waiting.....

Clive

Posted by: dknew

I've read on a couple of other boards that when the 2 people meet at the airport they will know within 5 seconds if they like each other well with us it must have been all of 2 seconds and we knew we did like each other, Also the 1st kiss at the airport was there a spark ? NOPE, more like the 4th of July fireworks going off

When all the people were ready to go we all headed to the van for the ride to the Otrar hotel in the center of Almaty, Elena and I holding hands all the time (note, Of the 5 men who were at the airport for this tour to meet the women they had been writting to only Elena showed up out of the women, 1 plus for me

)
I can't say that I saw much of the city on the way to the hotel since I kept looking at her and it was dark by that time.
After checking into the hotel Elena and I go up to my room and sit and talk for a bit then kiss till things start to get to hot and she says it's time for her to go home

so I walk her down to a cab and say good night, She says she'll be back in the morning to get me to take me to her Dress shop.

more later.......

Dan...

Posted by: dknew

I only sleep about 2 hrs get up at 05:30 and go looking for coffee in the hotel only to find out that I can't get anything till 08:00 so much for coffee

I decided to take a walk around but by 07:00 the air polution was so bad it drove me back to the hotel till Elena showed up.
When she showed up at the hotel we were off in a gypsy cab to her shop ( for those that don't know what a gypsy cab is it's any car that will take you anywhere you want to go for a price but make sure there are no other ppl in the car and you set a price before you get in ) I think the ride cost 300 tenge or about $1.60
Now remember I'm still very tired at this point from the lack of sleep and jet lag but she has to have me meet all of her employees then sit with her room mate and a couple of other women who work for her.
Next thing I know the women are bringing in food and cognac and we all have to say a toast then drink after the 3rd round I was feeling no pain, And I mean this in all trueth since 2 days before leaving I broke my left foot in 3 place's but refused to have it casted till today (2 days after I came home), We ended up drinking the whole bottle doing toast to Elena, her freinds and myself. Time to head back to the hotel for a rest before dinner.

More to come...
Dan...

Posted by: pharmrep2

Hi Dan
Sounds like a great start to an exciting story. Cant wait to read the rest.
Dax

Posted by: Woody

There's nothing better than a reminder of those 'first meet' special firework feelings. I'm gripped Dan.... continue...

Clive

Posted by: dknew

Dinner that night was at a cafe just a short walk from the hotel and only cost about 800 tenge ($5.25) for 2 ppl then it's off to the airport in a gypsy cab, Half way to the airport the car runs out of gas in the middle of a busy intersection the driver jumps out opens the trunk gets a can of gas and put's it in the car at this point I'm just shaking my head and looking at Elena saying what the he||, All you can smell is fuel and I'm thinking this old Lada is going to blow up as the driver is trying to start it, Finaly it does start and off we go again and make it to the airport.
Elena walks up to security at the airport and tells them I'm there to get my luggage, Nyet they say, I ask what they meen by that and am told I'll have to wait till all the planes scheduled to land that night do so and that all the ppl have left the terminal before I will be allowed in to get my bags, I wait till 12:30 am before they let me in to get them then have to get the bags xray'd no problem I have my luggage and out we go to find a cab for the ride back to the hotel.
Trying to find a cab at 1:00 am is not an easy thing even at the airport since with all the nights planes landed they all left but for 1 gypsy cab driver who wanted $20 to take us to the hotel, Elena keeps telling this guy nyet but he follows us all the way to the street and just will not leave us alone, This whole time we are on the street the police are looking at us then ask Elena what I'm willing to pay for a ride back to the hotel she tells them $10 and the say nope not enough $ for them to take us to the hotel (don't trust the police), After 30 mins we get a car to take us back for 500 tenge ($3).
Back at the hotel the porter see's us and runs out to take the bags and as he's moving to the front desk I show him my room key and he carry's the bags up to my room with Elena and myself following him. After he left the room he must have gone down to the front desk and told them Elena was moving into the hotel with me since 2 mins after he went down reception called my room to tell Elena to check into the hotel or leave she said fine she was leaving, I walk her down to a cab and she leaves, I walk to reception and ask the girl there what that was all about and she tells me that with Elena bringing in her luggage it's normal for ppl to check into the hotel, Well by this time I'm just a little upset at this young women for making this conclusion about who's luggage it is, So I tell her thats it's mine and go through the story of how my bags were lost in Germany and going back to the airport to get them, She just looks at me and shrugs her shoulders and turns her back on me.
End of day 1

Dan...

Posted by: Jim_FL

Nothin' like good old FSU customer service

LOL

As an aside, whenever you go back, book the room in both names, it rarely costs extra and does 2 things:
A) Avoids scenes like above
B) Gives you an excellent piece of evidence for BCIS later down the road, should you need it

Posted by: Woody

Dan / Jim,

Nadya was registered with me for our room at the Moskva in St Petersburg. She did not have any problems with reception but on 3 occasions over the two week stay she was confronted by security in the hotel lobby (the 2nd & 3rd time by the same guy). You can imagine the immense irritation I felt. Nadya acted as if it was not unusual, and asked me to stay calm. Had it happened again I would have exploded.

Dan, don't stop now, I'm gripped!

Clive

Posted by: Jim_FL

When we stayed in the Centralny in N.N. we were issued security cards, just flash the card to the guy guarding the elevators, and that was it. As a matter of fact, when her family came to visit us at the room one day, Liliya went down and explained to security that they are our guests for the afternoon, and even that wasn't a problem. So, it may depend on the hotel also. (sidenote: Hotels in N.N. don't have hookers milling around in the lobbies either, so we weren't cutting into their profit margin LOL)

Posted by: Khashyar

Thanks for the interesting story, Dan...

I am amazed at how inexpensive the cab rides were for you in Kazakhstan

Feel fortunate.... I paid $100 for a cab ride from the Moscow airport (SVO) to a southern part of Moscow...

If I am not mistaken, Kazakhstan is a muslim country, and so I would assume that people in Kazakhstan would have more conservative feelings about an unmarried man and woman staying in a hotel together... Did you feel any of this?

I would have loved to have visited Kazakhstan and some of the other Central Asian former Soviet Republics... Do you have any photos of the people or architecture to post? I would love to see them...

Lena and I solved the staying-at-the-hotel-together issue-- Lena found a private apartment to rent and we stayed there without any discomfort from hotel staff

In Lena's town of Mogilev, we paid $200 for a month in a furnished and pretty nice apartment.

Thanks for the story, Dan... There are several people who would enjoy reading more if you have more to post

Khashyar

Posted by: dknew

Kazakhstan is a muslum country but not a devout one like in the middle east , I found the Kazak ppl to be very open to others veiws and opinions.

Posted by: rtking

When I went to Uzbekistan, it was a very Muslim and conservative country. Kissing in public was met with lout honking of horns (expressing disapproval.) Hand holding was a marginal... but any other physical contact was a definite "no no."

The funniest thing for me was when my (now) ex-fiance and I walked to the Sheraton hotel, she was always stopped and asked for her documents. At first I tried to offer my documents also (thinking it was just a traditional Visa and Passport check) but they declined my offer and said I was OK. Only after did I learn that they were making sure that Oksana was a citizen of Tashkent and not a prostitute. I was shocked, but apparently they are very strict about this sort of thing and all citizens have learned to accept this and produce their documents upon request.

When Oksana and I went to visit Samarkand (and ancient, ultra conservative and traditional Muslim town) the inn-keeper allowed Oksana and I do stay in the same room, but separate beds. (We moved the beds together after closing the door.) But the inn-keeper made an exception for us (after a little pleading from our guide) and respectfully asked us to refrain from entering our room together when other guests were present. (This was so other people wouldn't see us staying in the same room together.)

Thankfully the hotel staff was very friendly and understood our situation and didn't require Oksana to register with the hotel. But considering that the hotel in Tashkent was a Sheraton, I expected more Western style of service (which i received.)

Bob K.

Posted by: dknew

Elena arrived at the hotel around 11:30, We meet in the lobby since I was down there talking with the other Americans who where there.
Today the Agency is having a social and the owner knew that Elena and myself had no plans to go to it but the agency manager sent Elena a letter asking her to bring me to it just to show the other women that the agency does get ppl together (in other words a show and tell for Elena with me as the show part ).
At this point I can't remember what we did till the start of the social at 1400 hrs, I think Elena was hungry so we went to a cafe for lunch.
A little before 1400 we meet the other guys back in the lobby of the hotel plus Natalia from the agency who is going to walk us in to the club and introduce us to all the women who showed up for the social. Elena and I were last to enter and introduced as a matched couple then there was loud applause and we were shown to a table 3 women sitting at it, As we sit down I look at the women sitting next to Elena and realize it's one of the women I had been writting to before going to the WOVO approach, I'm not sure she new who I was and I never brought up the subject of us writting to each other, She never mentioned it either (Note: When I went from WMVM to WOVO I did write this women with the reason for my stopping communications with her and she sent me back a very nice letter wishing me the best of luck with whoever I matched with). I should also say this women was #2 on my list if things didn't work out between Elena and myself.
Now if you want to feel like a piece of meat be in a room with 50-60 women looking for a husband and only 7 men, that was the place to be

I'm not sure I would have stayed if Elena wasn't there. The agency set up games and dancing and over all I would say that Elena and I had a good time. The one question that kept being asked by the women were why so many men write but very few ever go over and it's a question I can't answer.
Word of warning : These are real women with real feelings so if all you want to be is a keyboard romeo take it to an adult site and don't waste these womens time or emotions.

more when I get time
Dan...

Posted by: dknew

The social ended about 7:00 pm and it's back to the hotel for a little rest before dinner, Dinner was at a very nice cafe on the silk road. The silk Road has been turned into a pedestrian walkway
and has many shops and cafe's on it, The only problem with this place is the amount of beggars on it and most are small children being coached by thier parents, It's a sad sight to see but if you give in to them and give them money you'll go broke in no time.
It's getting late by this time so time to head back to the hotel, Once there security makes Elena sign in and off to the room we go. Once in the room I come out right and ask Elena to marry me, Do I get an answer NOPE all she say's is that's a very complicated question so I just leave it at that and tell her to take all the time she needs.

Day 3
The phone rings early it's Elena's room mate she needs to talk to her, Elena has to go to work for a few hours to order some cloth for the business, She tells me she'll be back by 3:00, She ask's what I'm going to do, I think I'll just walk around and take some pictures of the city and parks.
What I end up doing is going to the 2nd social just to kill time, Myself and 1 other american have to meet our girls at 3:00 so were only going to stay for about 45 mins, There were only about 15 women this time and most were at Saturdays social so I knew some of them and they knew I was matched with Elena so it was real easy talking to them with out having the pressure of trying to match with anyone.
We played games till I left at 2:45 and went back to my room to get my camera and as soon as I walked into the room the phone rang it was Elena saying she was going to be 15 mins late I tell her thats ok I'll wait in the lobby.
She shows up right on time (she's very promt) and out we go just to get around the corner of the hotel to find the 1 Brittish guy that was on the tour sneeking out of the social , He had enough of the meat market since he already had his sights on a women, He told us that all the men but 1 had left the social , Poor guy left all alone with 15 beautifull russian women

more to come
Dan...

Posted by: Khashyar

Interesting, Dan....

I never experienced a matchmaking "social," and I can certainly imagine how much pressure that can be on the women who attend them, since so there seem to be so many women interested in foreign mates than Western men....

(But, I'm happy with teh choice that I made

(and with who I married

)

Thanks for sharing your story with us....

How did you like Kazakhstan in general?? What particularly stood out for you about Kazakhstan?

It was interesting to read your travel story thus far

Khashyar

(P.s... if you need some help in resizing any photos for the photo galleries, please let me know..... I can even resize them for you if you need me to.)

Posted by: dknew

After leaving the social the rest of the day was spent just walking around Almaty taking pictures plus sitting in a park talking and watching the ppl. I was suprised by how many ppl in the park were openly drinking beer or vodka, In this state you'd be locked up for drinking in public.
Now as to the city of almaty most area's that I went to were very clean and nice with wide roads but there were also places that the buildings were falling apart the sidewalks were in bad shape plus open man hole covers that you wanted to look out for after dark. And I have to mention the cars, They put out so much pollution that by mid day the air is very hard to breath, Elena and myself were sitting in an outdoor cafe and my eyes were watering from so much smog, The only time I found it easy to breath was very early in the morning or when we went up into the mountains.

Day 4
Today we take a bus tour of the city and mountains, We meet the rest of the ppl at 8:00 am in the lobby of the hotel load up on the bus and head to 28th Paniflov park, Funny thing is the park was just across the street from the hotel but they took us in from the back side of it and all of us on the tour had already spent a good deal of time there, In the park is a very large WW2 memorial and a church plus a new memorial to those who fought in afghanastan. We then do a large circle of the city looking at all the statues and old Gov't buildings, Then it's off to the medeo skating rink up in the mountains. While heading up there we saw 12 new hotels being built and alot of new single family homes being built also, Almaty is a fast growing city and the financial center of Kazakhstan.
Once outside the city you enter a whole new world with rivers, mountains and canyons, As we get to the medeo were told it's closed for renovation but we can still go up on the dam, We can either walk up the 800 stairs or take a car up (guess what I chose with the broken foot

) From on top of the dam the veiw is fantastic looking down on the rink and on the back side looking at the mountains that still have snow on them plus a very large canyon that was formed when the dam was built to stop mud slides. We spent about an hour there then back on the bus to head a short distance to have a traditional Kazak meal in a Yurta(?sp) This meal was great except for the horse meat and smoked Carp (YES I said horse they do eat alot of it ).

More soon
Dan...

Posted by: rtking

Wow Dan... your comment about horse meat brought back vivid memories (which I had selectively forgotten) about horse meat in Uzbekistan also!

In Uzbekistan, horse meat is considered a delicacy. I experienced it in sausage form. From that point forward, I was very, very, VERY careful about what I ate! I'm not partial toward lamb... which is eaten in mass quantities, so I ended-up eating a lot of vegetables and some chicken!

Bob K.

Posted by: ConnerVT

A horse (or even lamb) is different in any great manner than eating a steer, a pig, or even a chicken? Spend some time in a chicken coop, or by a cattle pen. Give a good thought about where that cut of meat comes from from your selected animal. How is it much different from other types of meat?

Don't get me wrong -- no vegan here. I'm 100% carnivore. But we have gotten way to far away from how and where our food comes from. Let's hope nothing serious ever happens to the agriculture industry on this planet, less we can't find ourselves something to make a meal of...

Posted by: Jutman

I yet have to try to eat horsemeat, but easy to get in my country.

My lady do not understand that I have eaten ostrich and in the shop you can get Kangaroo meat

... About the cars.. and pollution.

After East Germany was united with West, they stoppped made a terrible car named Wartburg.
Very easy to recognize, even by it sound

This cars is very, very low price to produce. For one reason it has only 2 cylinders. This car was stopped in production in around 1990 in the United Germany, but for 2 or 3 years ago Kazakstan purchased the license to produce the car.

I think this small story, will give you a idea of the situation.

One thing I noticed in Russia (400 miles from the border to kazakstan) is the octan number 76. A very low number.. I just do not know how this affect the car and pollution. But assume it has something to do with it.

Posted by: ConnerVT

Quote:

Originally posted by Jutman
One thing I noticed in Russia (400 miles from the border to kazakstan) is the octan number 76. A very low number.. I just do not know how this affect the car and pollution. But assume it has something to do with it.

The "Motor Head" part of me gets to respond.

Actually, the 76 octane gas in Russia may be the least polluting fuel of the bunch. I'm sure all the gasoline sold in Russia is leaded fuel (unlike the unleaded gas that's mandated in the U.S., and in many other countries). Lead is used to raise the octane of gasoline. More lead == higher octane. It is used to prevent "Pinging" (aka "knocking" and "pre-ignition") in higher compression (high performance) engines.

It is one of the most toxic chemicals out there. It causes brain damage and developmental problems in even the smallest dosages, and is cumlutive in damage, as the body does not purge itself of it. This is why it was banned as a fuel additive in the early 1980's in the U.S., after a phase out period.

Now, the smog and other pollution from automobile engines, that comes from older technology and poor maintenance, two things that are found in quantity in the FSU.

Posted by: dknew

After the meal in the Yurta it's time to head back to the hotel for a quiet evening with Elena.

Day 5
Tuesday is a free day to do whatever we want so Elena and myself just spend time sitting in the park with me reading an English book to her and her asking questions about some words she doesn't understand (she does speak very good English but still doesn't understand some words).
About 4:00 pm were back in the hotel room and I asked her if she had thought about my proposal and she put her arms around me and say's "Da" now I asked is that a Da you thought about it or is it a Da you'll marry me, She then wispers in my ear Da I'll be your wife, I think my heart skipped a few beats hearing this, I can't remember ever having been so happy in my life by just hearing a few words. Ok for those who have read this whole TR so far you will note I proposed after 2 days of meeting her so I should note that before I went over Elena and myself spent 6 months doing the letters, E-mails and also talking on the phone 3-4 times a week so we knew each other very well by the time we meet and found each other to be the same ppl as when we were writting and talking on the phone.
I asked her if she wanted an engagement ring she says yes so it's off to the jewelers When we get there she choose's a wedding band instead and one for me (reason for the bands is she has no concept of the engagement ring ) I said ok to the rings and pay for them, When they told me the price I couldn't believe it and had to wonder if the gold was real, It is, I can say now that the place to buy gold is overseas
After that we head to the agency so I can send an e-mail home and also tell the agency manager we are engaged She's not suprised at all. Sometimes I have to wonder how much chatting is done at the agency between the staff and the girls.
After leaving the agency it's a very nice and romantic dinner in a quiet cafe with a bottle of wine.
So ends the best day of my life so far

Dan...

Posted by: Woody

Wow!
Sometimes things are so perfect. Hahaha, can life get any better than this?

Clive

Posted by: Khashyar

Great story, Dan

Your writing (and thread) is very descriptive and well-written, and I enjoyed reading them and learned some things about Kazakhstan also...

I didn't realize that horse meat was eaten in Kazakhstan and Uzbekistan... I didn't know this. But, really, meat is meat

(although I know they have different tastes, as Conner (Fred) mentions)... (by the way, I'm not a vegan, but I am a vegetarian

)

It is also interesting that although there is a law against public drinking in Kazakhstan, that people were openly drinking vodka and beer in public.... During my trip to Mogilev, Belarus, I "smelled" many men with heavy old alcohol smell on them on the bus...

I also found gold jewelry in Russia to be cheaper than it is in the U.S.... Definitely, the labor costs must be lower, and the profit margin is probably lower than in the U.S. (and Europe). I have heard that the more copper look of certain Russian gold jewelry is a result of the higher copper content in their gold than in Western gold.

Thanks for posting the interesting thread... People enjoy reading stories about travels to former USSR countries... It brings those countries more to life for them...

Feel free to post more photos of your trip if you would like...

Khashyar

Posted by: dknew

Kashyar as far as I know there is no law in Kazakhstan on public drinking, I was refering to the law here in NH were if you drink in public you will be locked up

Dan...

Posted by: Khashyar

I see Dan... Thanks for the clarification

Actually... In Lena's town of Belarus (and I am assuming this may be true of other Belarusian towns) the police were quite strict about people drinking in public...

One day during my trip to Mogilev, I saw two Mogilev police officers arrest a probably underage teenager who was visible drunk in one of the town's main squares (although he was did not seem to be bothering anyone and not not making a lot of noise)...

I want to re-read the articles that I posted about alcoholism in Russia, and see whether there are any stats about alcohilism in Russia...

Khashyar

Posted by: dknew

Kashyar I do know that I asked Elena about a Drinking age in Kazakhstan and she told me it was 21 but alot of the ppl I saw drinking in the parks looked alot younger then that.

Dan...

Posted by: Italianetz

I lived for some time in Belgium, and horse meat is quite pupular there too. Though usually in a form of pate` that's served with breakfast. I was told that when you see horse farms with "not the healthiest looking horses" those are the ones they'd raise for slaughter. Needless to say my diet consisted mostly of frittes, and a greek restaurant in Antwerp

As for a "tour" I don't think I would ever feel comfortable in a situation like that, but I refrain since it seems to work for some.

Congrats and show us pictures!

Posted by: Khashyar

Dan... I would somehow expect that the drinking age would not be strictly enforced in Kazakhstan... I'm not sure exactly why I have this expectation, perhaps because there seems to be an inefficient bureaucracy in other former Soviet states and republics....

Italianetz... I agree that I would enjoy seeing more of Dan's photos from his trip... I have never been to Central Asia, and I have enjoyed other Central Asian photos that have been posted in our photos galleries (RKing) has posted photos of his previous trip to Uzbekistan...

As far as horsemeat goes....

I have never tried it (and because I am now a vegetarian, I probably will never try it). But, I am guessing that it tastes a bit like beef (perhaps a taste between deer and beef).

In the U.S., perhaps because the U.S. has had a strong historical relationship with horses (they have helped famers, as well as the pioneers who have helped settle the U.S. in the last 200 years or so), there is a taboo about eating horse meat here....

Khashyar

Posted by: rtking

Dan!

Congratuations on the engagement!

I loved reading your "serial" story! It was cool to keep checking back in to see what was new with the "Life of Dan!"

I'm glad everything worked out great in the end!

And YES! Please post those pics of Kazahkstan! I would love to see the country. The more I travel, the more I have a fascination with seeing parts of the world that haven't been "Westernized."

Now... as for horsemeat, I have to confess that I didn't know it was horsemeat when I tried it. But it's not the idea that it's a horse that kept me from eating it. It's the taste. It tasted a little "gamey" (wild) to me. Just like duck, lamb, buffalo and venisson taste "gamey" to me. I can't explain it, but it's not a flavor I've grown accustomed to, so I'm just not fond of it. But I'll try just about anything once...

Congrats again on the engagement, Dan! I'm thrilled for you!

Bob K.

Posted by: Khashyar

So... horsemeat probably tastes more like deer than beef?

Yes, I agree, Bob... Dan's story is interesting to read.....

I think it would be interesting for anyone who would like, to post their experiences and stories from their travels to the former USSR.... I may think about what other aspects of my trip (like riding on the Trans-Siberian railway) might be fun for me to write, and interesting for others to read.

Khashyar

Posted by: dknew

Wed. was spent at a very large lake about 2 hrs outside of Almaty just swimming and eating shashlik (?sp), This lake was so large you could not see the other side of it, I know the name of it but have no idea how to even come close to spelling it

About 1400 a thunderstorm came through with very heavy rain and even hail, We all ran for cover under a thatched hut and a porch deck, This storm lasted about 30 mins then when it cleared it got very hot and humid. We stayed till about 1800 then headed back to Almaty.

Thursday: Elena's friends have planned an engagement party at a spa up in the mountains for this evening.
In the morning Elena wants to do my laundry even though I said I had plenty of clean cloths for the rest of my stay but she wanted to do it

so she takes it to her flat and tells me to meet her at her dress shop at 1530 to head up to the spa.
I had to arrange a van to take us all there plus pick us up later in the evening, The driver picked me up at 1500 at the hotel and I have to thank god he already knew where Elena's shop was since he talked to the agency manager before picking me up.
We get there at 1530 load up the van with 6 women, Booze and me

and head toward the medeo turning off on a very narrow road just before the gate to the medeo, As we move up into the mountains the roads turn to dirt and most are washed out I think at this point the driver Andrei is wondering where the He|| these women are taking him and his brand new mercedes van since the only directions we have is written down on the borders of a newspaper one of the women has with her.
I can hear Andrei and Zhanna in the front speaking in russian at about 100 MPH and can only guess he's not to happy with the roads and her directions but we keep going, After an hr on this road we finally found the spa and I can say it was worth the bad roads we had to go over to get there, The view from this place was just fantastic.
We make arrangements for Andrei to come back at 2:00 am to pick us up and he heads back down. The owner gets us set up in a dinning room and goes off to fire up one of the Banya's, Now all the banya's are indoors at this place and have a bar, livingroom, Bedroom and a indoor pool. The other women gave Elena and myself 30 mins to spend on our own in the Banya before they came down to it, Warning about russian sauna's they are very hot I lasted only about 20 mins the first time and about 15 mins the second before I had enough

At 2100 the spa owner made a very nice meal then it was time to head outside for music and dancing plus more wine and vodka.
I found the vodka to be very smooth and went down very well

Andrei showed up right on time at 2:00 am and back down we go, We dropped all the women off close to their own places and get back to the hotel at around 4:00 am.

More to come
Dan....

Posted by: Woody

Dan,

is all this from memory or did you keep a diary? Mmmm, a diary, what a good idea.....

Clive

Posted by: dknew

Woody it's all from memory

Posted by: Castlestormer

I LOVE THIS STORY!!!! Please continue...

Posted by: dknew

Friday is my last full day in Kazakhstan as my plane leaves Sat. morning at 4:15 am for Germany then home.

After we get back to the hotel at 4:00 am from the spa were not even in the room for 5 mins when Elena's room mate (we had just dropped her off at their flat) calls saying she doesn't have her house key So Elena tells her she'll be right there to let her in and tells me she'll be back in an hour, Now I'm just a little upset at this since I had other plans for us before going to sleep

, Well needless to say after she left I fell asleep sitting up in bed and was awoken by the telephone ringing it's elena telling me to open the door since I didn't hear her knocking on it

She had to go to the maids station and use her phone to call me, lucky it was just across the hall from my room.

At 8:15 were sound asleep when the phone rings it's the agency manager asking why were not in the lobby ready to go on the last tour of the Kazakh country side, I tell her we are not going to go she then reminds me since I did sign up for it I'll have to pay even if we don't go

so Elena says we need to go since I have to pay for it, It takes us all of 10 mins to get ready and down to the lobby and off we go on a tour that I don't think either one of us want's to be on (remember we only had a couple hours of sleep and was still feeling the wine and vodka).
The first stop was at the golden man statue and it turned out to be quite the place and a great place to get some pictures of Elena and all the ppl I had come to know over the last 9 days.
Then it's off to a trout farm so a few of the ppl can get in some fishing, At this farm you could not toss back any fish you cought and the price was around $8 a pound, With prices like that I'm glad I don't like fish

we then sit down for lunch of cold pizza and juice and I can say that I've never had a pizza before with peas, carrots and hotdogs and I hope I never do again

It's then off to the stetson ranch where you can rent horses (not to eat to ride

) But the ppl there wanted $50 from everyone of us just to have a drink at the cafe

. All we do is walk around the place take some pictures of the river and more of Elena

.
By this time I'm getting very tired and Elena is falling asleep everytime we get in the bus, I'm ready to head back to the hotel and I think just about everyone else is since we can't go into the canyons since mud slides have taken out all the bridges going to them. So what do they do next ? Take us to an ostrich farm and then on to a botanical garden where all we saw were tree's then it's back to the hotel at about 5:00 pm.
This day just seems to be a waste as we could have gotten some other things done like get certified copies of all her parerwork we need for the visa process and just spend time to ourselves since it was my last day there.
Elena has to run home to get my cloths and doesn't return till around 9:30 pm (I thought she was going to hold my cloths hostage so I'd say in Kazakhstan

). She did ask me on Wed. to stay but we both knew that was not possible.
At 1:45 am she wakes me, We only have 15 mins to be down stairs to meet the ride to the airport lucky I finished all my packing before going to bed. It was a silent ride to the airport with us holding hands and thinking our own thoughts, At the airport we only had time for a quick cya later and a long kiss ( I will not say good bye it seems to permanent for me ).

Well that ends my TR but is not the end of my story which is really just beginning. We dicided yesterday that we'll get married in Kazakhstan and go the K3 route. So I'll be leaving the US on Dec. 1st and spending 2-3 months durring the winter there.

Dan...

some of my photo's can be seen here:
http://www.ofoto.com/AlbumMenu.jsp?...752_55477628405

Posted by: pharmrep2

Dan
Great story, thank you for sharing it with us and for sharing the pictures also, they are really great. If you do the K3 route I wish you best of luck and hope you will have a great and memorable wedding when you plan it in the Winter time. For me I am going through the K3 also and see how it goes. Again best of luck and keep us posted.
Dax

Posted by: Woody

Thanks Dan,

all of it gripping, purely because it is an experience we want to know about or in my case remind myself of how I felt when I first met my good lady.

Thanks again,
Clive

Posted by: rtking

Dan!

Thanks for the great photos! I loved seeing Kazahkstan! And thanks for sharing your wonderful story! You're a natural story teller! Gripping, suspensful... we'll need more after your trip in the winter!

Seriously... Congrats on the engagement and all the best wishes for the upcoming wedding!

Bob K.

Posted by: dknew

WoW 517 views and I thought my story was rather boring compared to alot of the others I have read over the last 8 months.

And thx to those giving Elena and myself the best wish's

Dan...

Posted by: Castlestormer

Could it be the smell of a Pulitzer Prize for Literature wafting through the air?

I really enjoyed the story either way! Thanks for sharing it with the board!

I love you guys! I hope to be posting my own story some day.