As mentioned earlier, my first trip through Kazakhstan happened in 2014 during the Cochin-London car trip. In three days I drove 2200 km through Kazakhstan from the border with Kyrgyzstan to that of Russia. It was a whirlwind trip but introduced an intrepid entrepreneur and friend into my life. Mr. Ali, the owner of Kazmunai Services was the host, not only in Kazakhstan but also for a major part of the drive through Russia. He made elaborate arrangements to ensure smooth border crossings, provided a pilot right through to Moscow so that we never fell afoul of the law enforcement agencies, slept in comfortable accommodation and were well nourished.
One of Mr. Ali’s resources who had liaised with me at the time was CS Arun, an employee of Kazmunai Services in Almaty. He had been in charge of providing logistics support during my drive through Kazakhstan and Russia. Even though I had spoken to him a few times then I had never had the opportunity to meet him. Therefore, it was a surprise when he got through to me on WhatsApp last evening after seeing my Facebook post to request a meeting this day. This morning he dropped in at the office - he is presently on a short term assignment in Atyrau with a reputed company. It was indeed a pleasure to meet him and exchange a few thoughts. To me, it was never too late to thank someone for valuable support he had given during a difficult phase of the trip in 2014. While leaving, he gifted me a bottle of Kazakh wine, a souvenir and a box of Kazakh chocolates.
The official agenda for the morning was to visit Makhambet, a small town of Atyrau Region in West Kazakhstan, which lies 75 km north of Atyrau. One thing must be said about the roads in Kazakhstan – they are adequate, no frills ones with strict adherence to laid down speed limits. By and large, the road users are responsible and one does not get to see many accidents, even though the condition of many private cars looked beyond repair. On the way it was interesting to see cut-outs of horses kept on both sides of the road. Apparently, the vast lands that abound on either side of the road are used for horse breeding and farming. Indeed, I did see very many on the way. Fortunately, none sauntered on to the roads.
Makhambet lies below the mean sea level with a population below 10,000. A few new townships have come up in the recent past – evidence of new builds are also there – based on relocation of families from proven oil reserve areas like Tengiz. Another remarkable feature of the country in this part is that groundwater exploitation is totally prohibited. In fact, no digging is permitted without statutory clearance because of the possibility of oil and gas finds. Water is in plenty, though, because of the proximity of the Ural River. Moreover, the authorities act quite fast to provide water and electricity and laid down procedures work efficiently.
On the way back to Atyrau, taking a newly laid highway I saw a large population of Bactrian camels, young and old, white and brown. The Bactrian camels were used mostly for the caravan trade along the Silk Route due to their high tolerance for extreme climates, drought, cold and high altitudes. These are double humped and native to the steppes of Central Asia. In the present day, their population of two million are found mostly in domesticate form. When I approached the herd the young ones quickly stepped away while the mature ones stared me in the eye for long before they thought me an intrusion and moved away. So much for experience!
The Ural River is by no means majestic in Atyrau, but I am drawn like a magnet to its bank, come late evening. The calmness, the cool breeze and the general quite in the area is balm for the old bones and soul. The walkway along the bank on the Asian side stretches long, as it does on the European bank too. At least at two points of the walkway there are steps one can take to enter the bridges that span the river connecting the two Continents. People enjoy their evening out with kids and elders. There is a dedicated cycling path too, which is quite popular. A few vendors hawking fruits and a couple of jetties providing boat rides are added attractions along the walkway. Another visit to the city has drawn to a close after providing abiding memories.
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