I spent one day in Astana, the new 20-year-old capital city, wandering around with travellers from hostel who later joined me to meet some locals from Couchsurfing. Despite all the good humans I met, I couldn’t imagine spending an extra day here. Like many other travellers, I think it’s a city wired just for working and businesses. I then was determined to reschedule the night flight to a morning flight.
And that’s one of the best, spontaneous decisions I’ve made! Fast-forward to the next morning in the airport, I was looking for a seat at the boarding gate. I walked up to one of the few empty seats next to a man and asked if it’s taken. He shook his head with an affable smile. Just a few moments later, people started approaching him - asking for pictures, autographs and handshakes.
Just a few moments later, people started approaching him - asking for pictures, autographs and handshakes. Not gonna lie but my heart started racing as I decided I NEED talk to him no matter what. With a mix of broken English, body language and the all-powerful Google Translate, our conversation started.
"Are you famous? What do you do?”
“I’m an astronaut.”
“Wow, хорошо (good)!!!”
(Googled a picture of the younger him and asked if that’s him. He nodded and smiled just like a grandparent.)
“Have you been to Hong Kong or China?” “Yes, yes...5 years ago...in Beijing. For work.” “Do you know them personally?”
(Showing him pictures of famous Chinese astronauts)
“Yes, all. I know.”
“When I was small, I watched them fly to the sky on TV.”
“When they were small, they watched me fly to the sky!"
We both cracked up laughing. The next thing to do was no doubt taking pictures with him and asking for his precious autograph. He also put “Удачи!” which means “Good luck!”, though I knew it only after a few days when a local told me that. Thanks to his blessing, this lovely encounter worked as the best conversation-starter throughout the rest of the journey. It’s especially useful for breaking silence with drivers who usually don’t speak English. As far as I know, all locals know this man, even a 9-year-old girl I met in the bus.
Meet Balu! My first Couchsurfing host in Almaty who happens to be a self-taught music performer, a knowledgeable instrument and yoga instructor, as well as my first ever musician friend. Couldn’t quite imagine how such a mature soul’s living in a 19-year-old body - he’s more like an elder brother who teaches you about life!
Had some of my most fulfilling days in Almaty as he invited me to #nomadvibes2018 the first day we met, brought me to an outdoor yoga session early the next morning, saved me some home-cooked soup as our last supper. Thanks to his generosity, I survived wild camping with his tent and sleeping bag, and made many free rides possible with his hitchhiking tips.
Funny that it was his experiment to start naming himself “Balu” a couple years back. This name just popped up in his mind one day and he wanted see how people would react to such an unusual name. He’s the first person I personally know who hugs his friends with all his heart (like I could really feel or see it). It’s also worth-mentioning that he turned vegan after his trip to India. Such a living inspiration he is!
It was magical to experience the therapeutic power of music during a Shavasana sound therapy session led by him and his friend, Andrew. So one had to lie in the Shavasana (大休息) yoga position, then relax till the music naturally and miraculously put you to sleep.
The science behind is that the electronic music Andrew created shares the same frequency as that of the human brainwaves!
In addition to the idoldrum he hand-crafted, he also showed me how to play all the flutes he managed to pick up in just 1.5 years. They are Bansuri (an Indian bamboo flute), Bulrush (a native American flute), Duduk (an Armenian flute), Shakuhachi (a Japanese flute created by Samurai monks), Native American flute (which is also named romantically as "Flute of Love") and Didgeridoo (an Australian Aboriginal wind instrument). I’m not exaggerating but he definitely unfolded the world of music in front of me, and it’s like the largest “dose” of music I’ve taken since I quitted violin.
Meet my wild camping buddies! We met and teamed up at a Couchsurfing hiking event just two days in advance. They were Grant from the U.S. who’s been trained as a pilot in a military academy back at home, and Jonas, the “hitchhiking expert” from Germany who has been updating the free/paid miles he made on his blog (www.aenywhere.de). Our journey began as a taxi dropped us at a parking right at the tip of the canyons. It was merely within the canyons territory when we looked up the map.
From one of the many pictures I took of their backs, I was apparently always lagging behind - I had to move slowly to either avoid getting stinged again by the needle-like nettle plants, or avoid losing my balance as I trekked along the steep inclines. We had trekked for 3 hours (but took breaks in between) until we reached the perfect camping place. It was a flat land opening up to the streaming Charyn River, with sufficient supply of dry leaves and sticks from dead trees, and very importantly, huge rocks for peeing behind.
The three of us talked about politics in broad daylight, even when we were hiding from the sudden rain shower in a shallow cave, enjoying the sight of rainbow over the canyons. When the night came, it was like many movie scenes I always wished would happen in real life.
With no one else spotted or heard, we sat around the campfire under the starry night, sharing sweet biscuits dipped in Mongolian tea and devouring “Chinese noodles” (that wasn’t even produced in China but it’s just a funny German stereotype to name all noodles Chinese noodles).
It was the perfect time for some heart-to-heart talk about family traditions and upbringings, favourite mode of travelling and future aspirations.
Wondered if I was “man in wild” in my past life - I went straight into sleep and woke up to the chirping birds and summer heat 9am the next morning. With the plan of getting a full-fledged lunch and some fresh ingredients for a nice dinner, we hitchhiked (paid) to get to the nearest store (магазин; magazin). Still remember we were so looking forward to our second night in the “real” canyons...till the unexpected happened.
Anticipating our second night at the heart of the canyons, we paid for a ride to get fresh supplies from the nearest store. We felt strange (actually they felt strange as I fell asleep) as it took nearly an entire hour till we found ourselves 40 minutes away from the Kazakhstan-Kyrgyzstan border. Okay, so the driver was trying to charge more from us as the two were quite sure they saw some stores halfway.
Grant and Jonas have been talking about their further plans to Karakol in Kyrgyzstan so I knew it’s hard for these kind gentlemen to propose the idea that they leave me there. I then bluntly asked if they would like to cross the border that day and emphasized “I’ll be completely okay on my own”. I was excited but nervous at the same time. Wild camping alone has always been on my bucket list, so this unexpected situation came slightly ahead of the expected time to check off the item.
After a quick lunch, we watched the short film "The Road from Karakol". It was basically Kyle Dempster vlogging himself getting lost all alone for days till he found civilisation again. Unfortunately, Kyle died during his attempt to conquer a Pakistani peak (R.I.P. Kyle and truly thanks for boosting my courage at that time).
To prepare for the worst, Jonas handed me his bottle of leftover fuel, then I grabbed a HKD10 cooking pot, a matchbox, some random food and was good to go! We said an abrupt goodbye as they needed to reach the border before 6pm. So my buddies left to Karakol and I was on my own for 2 nights.
With the clear destination set at the eco-village, which was an hour-long drive (i.e. 3 hours of walk) away from the highway, I hitchhiked till I was 2 hours of walking distance away. I was completely enlightened by the fact that no one was around so I could play music out loud and claim the magnificent nature for myself.
It was an easy road in general, despite having to ascend steep inclines or go bounding down some rough and windy paths with 30 pounds of weight on the back. The sun slowly set as the offline map that said I was closer and closer to my destination. Nothing was more satisfactory than reaching the site and finally seeing civilisation. It was at 11pm, completely dark, and no one else was camping there - all tourists stayed in yurts or bungalows in the eco-village.
It’s not that I didn’t have money with me but I challenged myself to spend zero money (or as little as possible) for the remaining two days. Keeping that thought in mind, I was more than determined to camp there. But guess what? As I was setting up the tent, two man walked over with their torch shining on me. With the little English vocabs they spoke and a welcoming gesture signalling me to follow, they invited me to stay in a bangalow where they used to store stuff. And that was FREE. For a budget backpacker, what’s better than earning free accommodation, especially when you found yourself in a touristy spot! . It would be nice to have a buddy sharing the views and experience with me. But finding myself alone in that circumstance and having the chance to enjoy solitude in the nature left me feeling more powerful than ever before! Charyn Canyon, thank you, and you will always have a special place in my heart!
P.S. I hiked up to a spot next morning where I could take this picture showing part of the road I trudged.
There were two hitchhiking rides which made me feel completely safe. Both chances were met by pure luck at the right timing. . After the canyons, my plan was to catch the ecobus, get back to the highway, hitchhike about 93km to Kosai Lake #1 and spend the night there. I was quite sure I didn’t want to walk all the way back and climb uphill with a 30-pound backpack, so ecobus was a perfect option for relaxation plus a good view. It hasn’t even been 10 minutes when the bus stopped with a broken engine, next to a 50-degree steep slope. I was returned the fee and advised to walk out of the canyons. Still recovering from my sore muscles, I let out a sigh of despair, gritted my teeth and started climbing up uphill.
I might have fell off if it wasn’t for Anna who lent me her helping hand. This 25-year-old Russian girl was having a family road trip with her father and uncle in their 70s. They invited me to join them the moment we found out we’re heading in the same way. But before that, we had to fill our stomachs - Anna handed me a slice of bread, salami and cream cheese; the uncle handed me a cup of tea; the father cut and salted an egg and a cucumber for me; while I only had biscuits to offer. I also wouldn’t forget the sour and peculiar aftertaste of Kumis (fermented horse milk) and Kashk (dried salted kurds). In the following time, Anna and I chatted a whole lot in simple English with the help of Google Translate, just like we were long-lost sisters separated at birth and raised in different countries. As her first foreign friend, the fact that I couldn’t pronounce some Russian words left her laughing hysterically. After sending me to the lake, the Russian family decided to go back and stay in the village for a night so they could charge all their electronic items.
It was all cloudy and misty so I got everything set up in a pavilion by the lake. Unfortunately, I couldn’t set a fire as the weather only got worse - it was raining intermittently, sometimes lightning and thunder striked. So I walked upslope with my cooking pot and knocked on the door of a yurt.
They were a group of builders headed by a smart-looking architect. I asked them for hot water so I could boil some noodles. After putting the kettle on the stove, they sort of realized they still had a huge pot of pasta from dinner. They then asked “you want?” and I said “YES! Спасибо (Thank you)!” without the slightest hesitation. I was too hungry. After getting 120% full, I was about to leave, but then, they pretended howling and said there were wolves from the mountains going down the lake. With the help of one of the builders, I moved my tent and everything next to the group of German and Swiss travellers.
After a good night's sleep, I brushed up, packed everything and could finally get to know these travellers. They were a Swiss couple travelling in camper van and another German couple motorbiking around the world #travelgoals. They invited me over for porridge, coffee and a nice chat. It was interesting to learn that, unlike in Germany, married couples in Switzerland pay considerably more taxes than unmarried cohabiting couple. That’s why it wasn’t as easy for Andrea and Andreas to decide getting married. Soon after breakfast, Andrea and Andreas offered me a lift to the highway so it would be easy for me to hitchhike back to Almaty, and the group continued on to Kyrgyzstan.
I'm a 20-year-old Hong Konger who enjoy meeting people from different cultures and living like locals during my travels. Currently taking Sociology as major and Entrepreneurship and Innovation as minor in the Chinese University of Hong Kong. One of my life goals is to build an Earthship out of mud and waste (aka treasures). In this little hut of utopia, I anticipate to share thoughts and ideas with other conscious individuals. Shoot me a message at emilykwokeyan@gmail.com to sign up as a guest in advance!
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