Some Like It Hot

Casey writes:

We are currently embracing the most challenging conditions of our trip so far. We are on a train from Almaty to Aralsk for 36 hours. The temperature outside is pushing 40+ degrees, but inside, with a third class carriage full of 54 people and no air-conditioning, the conditions are bordering on extreme. We love the fact that this is all part of the experience! The air is hot, stuffy and stale; part of my seat is too hot to sit on due to the sun's rays burning it through the windows; lying down means being further away from the small open window and therefore not enough air to breath comfortably; and standing up makes my vision blur and nausea set in within about 30 seconds. Despite these challenging conditions, being on a train in the middle of Kazakhstan is an amazing travel experience, and one we will never forget!

We, like everyone else on board the train, have resorted to fans and wet towels, but there is little respite. The vomit bag is close by and I've had to reach for it a few too many times (fortunately, all were false alarms). We are wiping away the sweat dripping down our legs, arms, necks and backs, and the leather seat we are sitting on resembles a swimming pool. I drank my Kit Kat chocolate bar that was faring worse than either of us, and the water in my drink bottle is hotter than most showers I endured in Russia.

The landscape outside is beautiful. It's a barren dry grassland, with the odd cow, the odd camel, and the odd village. How on earth do people live here? I take my hat off to them because I think their resilience is truly amazing.

Despite the heat, there are so many positives to this train journey. The only children in our compartment are quiet, well-behaved and polite. We are not sure if this is because Grandma has a firm hand, or that they are unconscious in the heat. Either way, we are counting our blessings.

The other people in our compartment are lovely. Gone are the rude, loud and obnoxious families of our previous trips. Instead, we have a super friendly young girl with a beautiful smile named Malika. She is enjoying practising her English with us, and has shared her food and her knowledge of Kazakhstan. The Grandmother next door is lovely - she has already offered us a lift to our accommodation in Aralsk, and forced her grandson to be in numerous photos with Richard. The guy next to us is quiet and also polite, and he is quite efficient - his solution to the empty plastic bottles on the table is to throw them out the window without fuss. Out of sight out of mind is obviously a good philosophy in Kazakhstan.

So after the snow and freezing conditions of Mongolia and Siberia, we are now embracing the heat and making the most of our Central Asian experience. My advice to Kazakhstan is to perhaps do some research into the benefits of air-conditioning: shops, trains, buses and hostels would be so much more comfortable with this small innovation. In the meantime, we will continue to love this beautiful (and hot) country, and, I am sure it may make me appreciate London's cold weather all the more when we finally arrive.