zaroakkordkent / final stage

almaty-ban eltoltott 1 napom utan ujra nekivagtam a hegyekenk, bar nem minden porcikam vagyott mar faradtsagos maszas es hideg utan, de ugye a varosban logni otthon is lehet... szoval nekiindultam.
egy jol megpakolt hatizsakkal szokas szerint felszalltam a helyi jaratra, es elmentem vele, ameddig csak lehetett. ott egy taxist elharitva elkezdtem stoppolni. egesz hamar felvettek, viszont 1-2 km utan utlezaras volt, igy gyalog folytattam. nagyon faraszto volt, valoszinu az egyoldalu etkezes es a megszokottnal kicsit tobb gyaloglas es joves-menes az elmult honapokban megtette a hatasat... azert felkuzdottem magam 2500-ra. az ut egy csatorna mellett vezetett, ami furcsa hangulatot adott a helynek. ami vicces volt a vegere, hogy a varos felol felkuszott egy alacsony felho, es a latotavolsag igy lecsokkent 20 m-re. szoval fogalmam sem volt, hol vagyok, es mennyi van meg hatra. es felerni a tohoz sem volt akkora elmeny, ha ennyit lat az ember:

szokas szerint kicsit faztam...es mivel semmit nem lattam a kornyekbol, megkerdeztem a helyieket, hogy hol tudok inni egy teat - mi mast ugye?!? mondtak, hogy fenn a hegyen van egy csillagvizsgalo, ott van hotel is (a hotelt ne tessek szo szerint erteni!). utkozben az ido kegyes volt hozzam, es egesz sokat latni engedett a tobol. es esni is csak kicsit esett. tokre orultem...a hotel egy igazi orosz gyongyszem volt...megittam a teamat, ettem a sajat kajambol (ez itt sehol nem problema: volt olyan, hogy egy szorakozohelyre beultunk ugy, hogy egy masik helyrol rendeltunk oda pizzat, es a boltbol vittunk bort...), majd ugy dontottem, hogy az ejszakat a to mellett toltom a satramban. mire odaertem, megint esett, de gyorsan felhuztam a satrat (eddigi legjobban sikerult!), es fel 7-kor lefekudtem aludni... ami nem ment olyan konnyen, mert ez volt az elso satrazasom egyedul, es nem tudtam hirtelen, hogy feljek-e vagy sem. vegulis nem feltem...
ejjel tobbszor felebredtem arra, hogy esik. meg hogy hideg van. meg hogy esik. meg hogy hideg van. reggel 8-ra viszont megjott a napsutes, igy gyors reggeli meg a halozsakban, es pakolas. ez volt a szallasom:itt:
mire elindultam, ujra esett, igy teazot kerestem. a helyi lavinafigyeloktol kerdeztem, hogy hova tudnek menni, mire termeszetesen behivtak (utolag bevallom, erre apellaltam...), es lelkesen meseltek a mindenfele maszasaikrol. meghivtak teara, es ebedre (friss hal a tobol!!!), sot, eso esetere ingyen szallast is ajanlottak. mondtam, hogy hamarosan repulok haza, es meg ezer dolgom van, igy amint lehet, megyek tovabb.

egyebkent hihetetlen, hogy mar akar ket oran keresztul is tudok oroszul tarsalogni, es mar nem is olyan unalmas temakrol. a jelek szerint meg is ertjuk egymast, es a szotar is egyre kevesebbszer kell :P

esett egy adag jegeso es ho:aztan a valtozatossag kedveert kisutott a nap. azert a hegyek teteje mar friss hoval boritott:

ugy tunt, hogy az idojaras nem nekem kedvez, mert fel ora utan ujra osszeallt egy ujabb zivatarfelho. gyorsan bekeredzkedtem egy ott parkolo minibuszba, ami vegulis lehozott a varosba. kozben fel ora jegeso volt.., (:

azert megerte, meg ha nem is tudtam felmenni magasabbra az idojaras miatt, igy is sokat tanultam a hegyekbol. es majd legkozelebb tovabbmegyek (:

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after spending a day in almaty i decided to go back to the mountains. i was a bit reluctant, because i was tired - maybe because of the same food all the time, or unusually lot of walking - and i did not long for cold weather either. but hey, these are my last days here, so i just cannot sit in the sofa watching tv...

so i started with a backpack full of food and warm clothes, took the local bus to as far as possible  to the mountains. there i refused a taxi and started hitchhiking. pretty soon someone took me, but the road was closed after a while, so i walked further on.

despite the fatique i climbed up to 2500 m. the road went next to a tube, which looked pretty weird, and not really nice...

by the time i reached the lake, the weather changed and got sooo foggy, that i could hardly see anything. got a bit disappointed by trekking a few hours and not seeing anything from the lake... i had no idea where i was and what was around.

as usual, i was cold...

because i could not see anything from around, i asked some locals, where i could have a cup of tea (what else?!? of course...) i was sent to an observatory nearby, and a hotel as well (not a real hotel, just to avoid misunderstandings). the weather was really nice with me and let me see a bit of the lake:

the hotel was a russian miracle...

i drank my tea, ate my own food (which is very normal here: once we went to a pub, where we ordered pizza from another place and took wine from the shop!!!). i decided to spend the night next to the lake, just to have a beautiful view in the morning. by the time i got there, it was raining, so i had to be quick - still one of the best with this tent, and went to bed at 6:30 pm... it was weird as this was the first time i camped on my own, so i was not sure if i should be affraid or not... so i decided not. (:

at night i got up several times hearing the rain on the top of my tent. and it was cold. and was raining. and cold. but! by 8 am sunshine and warm!!! so, a quick breakfast and packing. this was the place for camping:

here:

by the time i was on the road, it was raining again... shit... i tried to find a place to hide. i asked people in the first house, where i was - of course - invited in. they were the local lavina detectors (have no idea how they are called...), and told me everything about their climbings. i was invited for lunch (fresh fish from the lake!!!), and was offered a free couch for night in case of very bad weather. i really wanted to go as there is still much to do before i leave.

unbelievable, that i can already have a conversation of two hours in russian, and it's not that boring at all, we kind of understand each other, and my dictionary is not that often used... :P

it was ice and fresh snow on the top of the mountains, but in half an hour the sun was shining again. so i took my boots and on the road again...

this was not my day, as in half an hour it was storm again. i hardly had time to flee to a minibus, that finally took me to the city. we had another half an hour of heavy rain and ice on the way... ((:

anyway, i was worth it, even though i could not go as far as i wanted - due to the weather mainly -, but still i learned a lot and had a wonderful time there. more next time... (:

a vilag legvegen... / at the very end of the world

...vagy pont itt kezdodik a vilag?

ma hegymasztam. ez onmagaban mar tok jo (1700 m-rol 3100-re, es ebbol csak egy 300 m-es szakaszt tettem meg sifelvonoval, a maradekot 841 lepcso megmaszasa utan fuvon, kovon, csovon es havon!!! (: ), de az erzes, ami ma magaval ragadott: leirhatatlan. turistak sehol, helyiek eppenhogy, habar szombat volt. nem tudom, mikor volt utoljara ilyen nyugodt napom. amikor tenyleg semmi nem szamit. az ember csak megy, megy, a hegy teteje csak kozeledik, es semmi mas nem fontos, sem ido, sem penz, sem hataridok, tenyleg semmi... csak a hegy es te (:

(ott voltam fent a feher reszen, csak arrol nincs meg foto keznel)

de kicsit gyakorlatiasabb leszek: szoval felmasztam a sok-sok lepcson, aztan egy osvenyen mentem tovabb, ami neha nem allt masbol, mint hogy egy nagy cso tetejen egyensulyzva lehetett menni. egeszen chimbulak-ig, ami a helyi siparadicsom. ott mar volt etterem es egyebek. eloszor ettem itt etteremben. toltam egy helyi husos kajat - azt mondjak, hogy etteremben no para; amugy nagyon finom volt -, bar a felvonon a gyomrom utana kicsit kerdore vont, hogy nekem valo-e az olyan kaja, amiben tobb az erospaprika, mint a hus (:

no, de felvono, aztan gyalog tovabb. a latvany annyira lenyugozo, hogy nem tudtam betelni vele. csend, nyugi, tiszta levego - ennyi. 3000 m magassagban jelentkeztek az elso hofoltok, gondolom, meg tavaly oktoberben eshetett le az a ho, ami most olvad. tok jo kis patakok keletkeznek belole, kristalytiszta jeghideg vizzel - kihagyhatatlan! aztan egy keves hogolyozas szandalban (:, a turistak lekenyerezese, hogy plz csinaljatok rolam is egy fotot, es mailben kuldjetek mar el, mert nalam ugye nincs gep... (se bakancs, se turabot)

ezert sincsenek meg sehol kepek a blogban (csak egy bejegyzeshez sikerult feltoltenem), mert:

- nem vittem ma magammal gepet

- nem hoztam kabelt sem a telefonomhoz, sem a fenykepezohoz

- nem fotozom (de fogok neha!)

egyebkent vicces volt, mert fogalmam sem volt, hova megyek. es bakancs helyett szandal volt rajtam. finom erzes, amikor mezitlab bokaig sullyedsz a hoban... de az eszre nem vett kispatak sem jobb (:

ja, mondanom sem kell, hogy a helyi sipalya kivetitojet budapesten gyartottak ((:

annyira magavalragado volt a hely, hogy nem volt szivem ott hagyni. 7-kor ment az utolso busz, en 5-kor mar tudtam, hogy ez reg bukta (ez mar csak egy ilyen utazas...). mit volt mit tenni, stop. vagy gyalog haza. asszem, az elso biztonsagosabbnak - es 1000 m megmaszasa utan - kenyelmesebbnek tunt. szoval egy toyota highlander hozott majdnem hazig, amibe alig mertem beulni izzadtan es budosen, annyira meno volt... (:

hat ennyi egyelore almaty. holnap meg egy mecset, es delutan nekivagok a vegtelen sztyeppenek. hogy lovakat fogok orizni, vagy krumplibogarat szedni, ez meg a jovo titka.

ja, van kinti szamom: +7 777 5494735

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...or it's just the beginning?

today i was mountainclimbing. this is cool already (from 1700 m to 3100, and only 300 m altitude by ski-lift, the rest is on foot: 841 stairs, then on grass, pipe, stones and snow!!! (: ), but the feeling that just enchanted me: beyond exceptions. no tourists, maybe locals, even though it was saturday. i cannot remember when i last had such a calm day. when nothing counts. one just walks up, and walks up, the summit gets nearer, and nothing esle is important, no time, no money, no due dates, really nothing... only the summit and you (:

(i went up to almost the top, i just have no pics about that yet)

but to be more realistic: i conquered the stairs, then a route, that soon became a pipe: until the local ski-resort, chimbulak. yeah, that was more for tourism, restaurants and so on. i had lunch in a restaurant (first time here, they say there is no problem with restaurants), which was really good. although my stomach challenged me if the food is really suitable for me, if there is more paprika in it, then meet (:

but OK, ski-lift, then going on foot. the scenery was so-so-so impressive, that i was just standing there... silence, calmness, clean air - c'est tout. in the altitute of 3000 m i met the first snow patches, that most probably fell last october or such. the melted snow created little cute springs with christal-clear, ice-cold water. ok, then some snowballing in sandals!!! then asking others to take a few pictures of me and send me by mail, as my camera is laying on my bed at home (:

(same issue with my boots and hiking equipments)

that's why i have no pics anywhere (except one):

- no camera with me

- no cabel for my camera or my phone

- i dont take pics (but sometimes i will!)

otherwise it was funny as i had no glue where i was going. so instead of boots i wore sandals. and the feeling, when you get sunk in the snow until your ankle barefeet! but the spring, that you don;t notice isn't better either (:

the place itself was so fascinating, that i could not leave. the last bus left at 7 pm., so at 5 i was sure, that i failed (again...). what to do, either walking home or hitchhiking. the second option seemed to be more secure, and after 1000 m hiking also more comfortable. so a toyota highlander - which was so elegant, that i hardly dared to sit in with the dirt on me - took me almost home. (:

ok, this is almaty for the first round. tomorrow a mosque and in the afternoon i will start off to the great steppe. whether i will take care of horses or collect colorado bugs, this is still the secret of the future.

oh, and i got my mobile here: +7 777 5494735

Kazahfoldon / kazakhland

eloszor is elertem a gepet. wow! gondolom, nem meglepo, hogy raadasul kesett is egy orat. persze, nem hetfon, hanem most... (((:

masodszor, valamiert nem aerosvit lett a gep, hiaba kerestem a feliratot kitartoan, hanem az altalam kevesse ismert es kevesse bizalomgerjeszto Donbassaero legitarsasag, ahol sem a stewardess, sem a becsekkoltato nem beszelt angolul (!!!). (: szerencsere valahogy nemetul elkommunikaltam valamelyik utassal, aki forditotta nekem a tortenteket. de nem gondoltam volna, hogy kievben mar ennyire messze vagyok europatol. igaz, a repulon a kutyat nem erdekelt semmi, a helyemre ultek, ossze-vissza rohangaltak, eldontottek a szeket felszallaskor (amit elmeletileg nem lehet), mobilt bekapcsoltak stb...

a repulon vegre, 16 ev utan ujra teliholdas felhos ejszaka volt!!! aztan pedig olyan tajak, hogy nem is igazan tudom, miket lattam. mocsarak, fennsikok, fekete hegysegek, ami ugy nezett ki, mintha egy nagy tanyer olajat ontottek volna rajuk, csomo fele szep felho, miegymas. aztan hirtelen meglattam a hegyeket a varos deli oldalan... kepen mar lattam oket, de... nem is tudom leirni, meg kell neznetek! azota is szedem ossze az allam a foldrol, annyira lenyugozo.

harmadszor pedig: Geri, barmennyire is biztos voltal a sorsomban, nem adtak el a repteren kecskeert! sot, azota sem. bar neha azt erzem, hogy cirkuszban vagyok, es mutogatnak, mint latvanyossagot. nem tudom, hogy en nezem meg oket jobban, vagy ok engem. (:

szoval a repteren siman beengedtek - csak hogy lassatok, hogy van, ami gond nelkul megy -, jottek ertem, van szallasom, kaptam reggelit stb. aztan nyakamba kaptam a varost. az elso benyomas nagyon pozitiv: rengeteg zold terulet, tagas, nem tul budos. aztan kiderult, hogy egy igen jo kornyeken lakom, prada es egyeb boltokkal korulveve. a haz elott allo 12 autobol 9 terepjaro, direkt megszamoltam. es nem am lepukkant gepek, hanem hammer, x5, land rover, lexus-hegyek, cayenne (no, nem skywalk (: )... de ez mindenhol jellemzo itt, hogy meg a duledezo panelek alol is legalabb egy rav4-es gurul ki. viszont a masik oldal: a hazak es a buszok total lepukkantak...

sok sokkoloval nem tudok szolgalni, tok europai a hely. ja, talan a kozlekedest kiveve. itt is lehet a piacon venni jogositvanyt, es ez meg is latszik az utakon. a zebran megallnak, amikor meg 10 m-re vagyok toluk, de azonnal elindulnak, ahogy a kocsi ele erek... ki erti ezt?!? (:

azert a kozlekedes temaja kimerithetetlen. lassu, koszos, tomott. de legalabb lehet a helyiekkel kommunikalni. ami a buszon tipikus:

1. a mellettem ulo mindig beszedbe elegyedik velem. kivetel nincs (:

2. mivel egy turista (aki csak amerikai lehet, венгерский semmikepp) mindenkit erdekel, igy a fel busz minket nez, ahogy az orosz-angol tarsalgasi zsebkonyvembol a legkulonfelebb mondatokat probalom osszeheggeszteni

3. leszallni nem lehet, csak kisebb harcok aran... (:

4. sosem engednek fizetni! tokjo!!!

a helyi aruk neha viccesek. tegnapi kedvencem volt a tevetej, amirol eddig sokat nem tudtam. vettem egy uveggel, majd felraztam felnyitas elott. kb ugy reagalt, mintha cola lett volna ((:

es a piac: mindig is ugy gondoltam, hogy a piac sokmindent elmond egy neprol. hat az itteni sem volt semmi! mar az odavezeto ut tele van arusokkal, akik egy kartondobozra kipakoljak a birkafejtol elkezdve az osszes portekajukat, fuggetlenul attol, hogy az romlando-e vagy sem. sajna a birkafejet nem tudtam lefotozni, mert mire eszbekaptam, mar eladtak...

a piac eleje semmiben nem kulonbozott a mi kinai piacunktol. ami viszont lenyugozo volt, az a fuszer-, gyumolcs-, sajt es salatareszleg. mindenhol megkinaltak, en mindent - aszalt gyumolcs, 4 gombasalata, majsalata, halsalata, kulonbozo magvak, 3 kumisz, tevetej, valami izetlen lotty benne zabbal - el is fogadtam (amugy a legtobb nem tul jo). ebedelnem mar nem kellett, es ha ezt kibirja a gyomrom lazadas nelkul, akkor nem lesz semmi gond. vagy csak lehet, hogy az egyik semlegesitette a masikat? elvegre mindnel azt igertek, hogy az jo a gyomromnak... (:

a piac felso szintjen volt a husreszleg, de mint az utcan, itt is huto nelkul. nem ertem, abban a tikkaszto hosegben, ami ott volt... mondjuk, volt egy szaga a helynek.

aztan jo ideig hezitaltam, hogy merjek-e venni valamit a bananon kivul, es akkor eszembe jutott Agitol kapott mindentmoso folyadeka (koszi meg 1x!!!), es vettem mindenfele szinu paradicsomot, amit csak lehetett kapni. tok jo, azota sem erkezett reklamacio belulrol (:

ja, itt van 6 es 10%-os tej is, nem csak 3,5...

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first: i reached the plane!!! woooow! iguess, it's not surprising, that the plane was delayed. of course now, and not two days ago, when i missed it... (((:

second: for some reason it was not an aerosvit, but a so called Donbassaero, which i have never heard about. the stewardess and the lady at the check-in desk did nto talk english at al... to be honest, i did not think, that in kiev i would be that far from europe. it's also true, that on the plane noone cared about rules: they sat on my seat, ran up and down, switched on the mobile etc... but the route was wonderful! i saw things i have no idea about what they are, but lovely ones. and when i glimpsed the mountains laying on the south of almaty... wooow, cannot explain. you must come and check it out by yourself!

my first expression about the city is very positive: lots of green area, not very crouded, not really polluted. then i got to know, that the district i live is a really good one. you cannot stand anywhere without seeing at least 3 4x4 cars, from the luxury categiry. even if the houses are a bit ugly...

i cannot provide you a lot of shocking, because this is a really european, or rather cosmopolitan city, maybe excepttraffic and transport. one can buy a driver's licence without lessons, which is pretty much visible on the roads. they stop when you cross, but start immediately, when you reach the car... who understands this?!?

anyway, public transportation is a neverending story: slow, crowded and dirty. but at least me - as a tourist - can communicate with locals every time. what is tipical on buses:

1. the one sitting next to you always wants to talk to you. no exception. (:

2. as a tourist (who can only be american, never венгерский) you are interested to everyon, so thalf of the bus looks at you all the time when trying to translate every different kind of sentences by my russian phase book

3. one can only get off by smaller fights... (:

4. they never let me pay. cooool!!!

local products are sometimes funny. my favourite from yesterday is camel milk (shubat), what i have not really known until now. so i bought a bottle, shaked it, and... had the same reaction as if it was a bottle of coke!! (:

and the market!!! i have always professed, that a nation can be known better by visiting the local market... yeah, and this was a real taste of central-asia. already on the way there i found hawkers everywhere, who just put their goods - including the raw, cleaned head of a sheep - on a paper box, dependless of its perishability. unfortunately i could not make picture of the sheep heads, as by the time i got back, they were just sold out...
the first few rows of the market was just like a chinese market in hungary, but later on... when i got to the section of food - salads, spices, cheese, dairy products, meet, fruits, nuts -... woooow!!! that was so lovely and colourful! amazing. i was offered by something everywhere, and i took everything: liver salad, fish salad, 4 different mushroom salads, dried fruits, nuts, 3 types of kumis (mare milk product), shubat etc. if my stomach accepts all this without bounty, then there woll be no problem at all! or maybe only one neutralizes the other? anyway, i was told, that all are good for digestion... (:

the meet section was upstairs, which was a bit shocking for me: everything, but really, and without cooling. (it was about 90F!). anyway, i did not purchase anything.

i was hesitating for a while, if i should buy anything. then a miracle cleaning stuff i got in hungary came to mind and i decided to go ahead and buy the most amazing tomatoes and such. until now, no complaint inside (:

oh, yeah, and they have milk with 6 and 10% fat!!! must taste them once my shubat is over.