I was dropped off near a cafe at a gas station where I arranged to meet Andrey's friends. I connected to Wi-Fi and messaged them that I had arrived at the designated spot. The guys were no longer there; they had called a taxi for me to take me to their place.
The car arrived quickly, and it was some old DEO model. I put my belongings in the trunk, sat in the back passenger seat, and noticed a woman wearing a hijab sitting next to the driver. From their conversation, I understood they were husband and wife. In about twenty minutes, they drove me to my destination. It was already past one in the morning. I was greeted by Andrey's friend, Pasha, with whom I had been corresponding.
Their house had only two rooms, a kitchen, and a living room. They paid quite a large sum for such a modest house, but due to the high influx of tourists, property prices had skyrocketed. Besides Pasha, there were about seven other people living in the house. They all worked for the same company in Tolyatti.
Pasha offered tea and cookies, to which I gladly agreed since I was quite hungry, and having something to eat would be helpful. The guys retreated to one of the rooms to discuss something. Pasha stayed with me, keeping me company. I shared a bit about myself and how I met Andrey.
After the tea, Pasha showed me to the second room with a folding couch and told me I could sleep there. There weren't enough beds for everyone, of course. The guys slept on mattresses they had laid out on the floor around the room. I had a neighbor on the couch, and there was another person on a mattress in the opposite corner of the room. There was no shower in the house, so I freshened up using the sink and went to sleep.
In the morning, I set out to find a place to buy a phone case, exchange money, and, of course, get a SIM card since I couldn't activate the SIM card I bought yesterday evening after crossing the border. It turned out that it was impossible to activate it without the SIM card box, which I, of course, threw away without realizing it would be needed.
I found a shopping center where I could find almost everything I needed, except for a favorable exchange rate. I left my passport with the girl who was processing the SIM card and followed the map to locate the nearest bank branch to exchange money. The first bank branch I entered turned out to be closed. The second one was open, but they didn't exchange rubles. I plotted a route on the map to another bank branch and set off on my way.
On the way, I had a conversation with an elderly Slavic-looking woman who asked me who I was and where I came from. We started talking, and I told her what I was doing here and where I was heading. She said she was also going to the bank to exchange tenge for rubles and offered to help each other. I decided not to refuse such an opportunity, and it would save the grandma from going to the bank. We completed the exchange at the rate shown on the internet. After thanking her and saying goodbye, I turned back towards the shopping center to retrieve my passport.
Having completed all my tasks, I called my brother on WhatsApp. After chatting for a couple of minutes, I told him that I had left the country and was currently in Kazakhstan. My brother asked me what I would do and what my plans were. Besides the small plan of reaching the city of Zhitiqara, where Masha and Andrey are currently located, I didn't have any other plans yet. I asked my brother not to tell anyone in the family about my departure for now because I planned to tell them myself when the right time came.
After ending the conversation with my brother, I called my sister. Our conversation revolved around the same topic as with my brother. I also asked her not to mention it to anyone for now, and my sister and I agreed that it wasn't necessary to directly tell our mother about my departure. My sister said she would talk to our mother about it and lead her to the decision that it would be good if I did leave. It was a reasonable approach because I wasn't ready to confess my departure to my mother yet and didn't know how she would react to it.
Upon returning, Pasha said that he had an acquaintance who could help me find temporary accommodation, and he gave me Igor's contact information. The guy was also from Russia, and he left on the first day after the mobilization announcement. He quickly found good people who could assist those who were hastily leaving the country. Thanks to Igor, I met Dasha, who allowed me to stay with her so that I could think about my next steps.
My mind was in complete disarray, with thousands of thoughts intertwined. The only thing I understood was that I should start saving money because I didn't have remote work, and I also had no idea where I would be heading or how I would proceed.
In addition to me, there was another guy named Artem in this apartment. He had been living here for a couple of days, waiting for his flight to Armenia. Dasha told me about places and things I could find, and she mentioned that there was hot water available. It was the best news for me today; I had already started to miss hot showers.
After freshening up, Dasha, Artem, and I went for a walk around the city and stopped by a local sports store. I wanted to check the prices of backpacks and other supplies in case I decided to hitchhike, as the idea had been lingering in my mind. To my surprise, the backpack shelves were almost empty, and there wasn't much to choose from. I decided to check in another city when I moved on.
On our way back, we got hungry and stopped at a place known for serving the most delicious shawarma in Uralsk. After having a snack, we headed home to rest. Since Artem and I had planned to go to the Centralized Service Center (ЦОН) early the next morning, the local equivalent of the Russian MFC, we needed to obtain a document there in order to apply for a bank card.
September 26st.
We woke up half an hour later than planned, and when we arrived at the Centralized Service Center (CSC), there was already a queue of more than 150 people standing outside in the cold. As it turned out, there was another queue inside the building, accommodating an equal number of people as the one outside. After 15 minutes, a notebook reached us with over three hundred names of people who were ahead of us in the queue, and they implemented this system. The queue was moving very slowly, and after about half an hour, a man came out of the building to whom you could ask your question.
A crowd of people gathered around him, and as far as possible, they took turns asking their questions. After 15 minutes, we managed to ask our question and received a not-so-optimistic answer. The task we were waiting for would take at least three more days, which neither Artem nor I had the time for.
Artem is leaving tomorrow, and I'm heading towards Zhitikara the day after, where my hitchhiker friends Masha and Andrey live, whom I mentioned yesterday.
I've already started thinking about where I'll go after Kazakhstan and in which country I can stay the longest and find a job in the restaurant business.
I remembered my first visit to Goa, India in 2019. It was a wonderful nine days, although I injured my foot in the middle of the vacation, and it only worsened by the end of it. Upon returning home, I had to undergo surgery due to an infection in my foot. However, this situation didn't spoil my impression of India; instead, it ignited a desire to visit remote and non-touristy places in the country.
In the evenings, I read information about the countries in Southeast Asia, the climate, ticket prices, and accommodation. After deciding to choose India, I started filling out the application for a five-year visa. After a couple of hours of leisurely completion, I finally managed to independently finish filling out the application and proceeded to make the payment. I couldn't pay the fee with my Russian bank cards, and I hadn't obtained a Kazakhstani one yet. I had to postpone this endeavor for more favorable times.