After seeing Rowena off on the train on Wednesday evening, we set off the following morning for Embi, leaving Bolashak at Bazargul's to rest. Zorbee and I made faster progress over the next five days, following a (relatively) good road across the steppe and over a low ridge of hills to Embi.
More Pointless signs!
Now Rowena has left us, Bauzhan has taken over the role of camp cook. Here he is concocting a tasty evening meal on the day of the Royal wedding, with Zorbee grazing happily in the background. We toasted the happy couple in vodka and orange in the middle of the empty steppe as the sun set over the horizon
Riding down the other side of the hill ridge towards Embi....
Embi is a small railway town with traditional housing centred round an open square surrounded by little shops and a bazaar. I am staying in a government workers hostel which passes for the local hotel, and have a room with two squeaky beds and an electric point so I can charge up my laptop. My eagerly anticipated shower proved to be another interesting experience. The shower room consisted of a compartment with grubby tiles and two taps/showers which gave off little electric shocks - rather disconcerting when one is naked and wet. I was virtually on hands and knees to get full benefit of the meagre trickle of hot water, and my ablutions were regularly interrupted by the lady janitor who kept popping in to check the water temperature!
However, clean and refreshed, Bauzhan and I strolled over to the chaikhana opposite (door on right with propietoresses in photo) where we had an excellent laghman.
If you are ever in Embi, you could no better than to eat at this little eating house .
Tomorrow Bauzhan is driving back to Shalkar to fetch Bolashak, hopefully suitably refreshed after his little holiday.
Unfortunately Bolashak has been very off colour, seems depressed, and is going slower and slower - we do not know if he is ill, or not coping with the work load. Rowena was reduced to Shank's pony for the last couple of days - leading him to conserve his energy. As she is taking the train home from Shalkar, we have decided to leave him in Shalkar to rest while I ride on to Embi. Baurzhan can then return to fetch him in the truck.
Today Bazargul treated us all to a traditional Kazakh beshbarmak. As the local English teacher, she has been most welcoming.
This was a vast improvement on the shashlik I ate last night at a local restaurant, which resulted in my spending the rest of the evening running back and forth emptying my guts in the long drop loo outside our hotel. However before the effects of the shashlik took hold, the evening was considerably enlivened for me at least by a somewhat inebriated aging lothario who repeatedly visited our table to declare his undying passion for Rowena, who seems to hold a fatal attraction for Kazakh men of mature years. No matter that she protested that she had a husband at home that she loved, we were treated to a graphic mime display to indicate that he would hang himself if she did not hand over her mobile phone number pronto.
