Kazakhstan - the home of Borat

Entering this country by train was a bit of a slow process - 32 hours on the train, 7 of which spent on borders. Yet, it was a nice way to leave China smoothly, especially since we were travelling first class, making us feel like former Communist leaders.

To be honest with you, we were a bit disappointed it was nothing like the movie. Despite that, Lee made it his mission to track down Borat's sister and was inconsolable after not finding her.

We found Almaty to be a mixture of Moscow in a mountain desert landscape and a modern globalized city. The food was excellent quality, especially since it was so familiar to us.

The ethnic mixtures of Russians, Asians (mainly from North-Korea), Steppland- people and combinations of all the three made it a stark contrast to the purity of China. Thus, we spent a lot of time people-watching.

Also, we took a two day trip out into the mountains which border Kirghistan. The landscape was absolutely breathtaking and can only be described in pictures.

Overall, we hope to come back with a little more time on our hands to explore this country further.