Camping at the Western Side of Balkhash Lake

From Balkhash town I made my way south towards Bishkek but had to break the journey two times since it was still quite a distance. First stop was still along Balkhash Lake on the southwestern side somewhere between Akerme and Ulken. Second stop was Shu. This effectively breaks each segment of travel to less than 300km per day but still more than 200km.

There was not much choice of places to stay in Ulken area and mostly are niche resorts along the lake catered for holiday getaway for family or gatherings which without knowing the Kazakh language was difficult for me to book or even inquire about the price.

A little dirt road to Balkhash Lake along the way to Shu

Campspot for the night overlooking Balkhash Lake

There was a small chance of camping since one never knew what the terrain was like or the weather or the environment if it was nice for camping. Camping is even more a luxury in my opinion. Always looking for that perfect spot, sweet weather temperature, no mosquito, no smell, no noise, no people, no bears and of course beautiful view.

I had to go offroad to find the marked hut hotel/resort by Balkhash Lake. It was a good 7km off road after leaving the main highway but then 2km into the offroad I saw tracks going everywhere and thought, maybe I could find a new camping spot, I thought to myself.

Clear Waters at Balkhask Lake

Camping at Lake Balkhash

There is always a little risk in this kind of adventure. I was alone and there was no one around to help if I were to get stuck. Slowly following the track marking, making sure that there was always a way back and no forcing through crazy offroad obstacles, I found many camp spots along the lakeview.

It was evident that many locals gathered here to camp to have a good time by the lake because I could see fire pits and rubbish pits everywhere. I picked a spot and set camp then it was a short walk to the lake. On this side of the lake there were barely any waves, and the water was crystal clear, cool and still fresh water instead of the expected salt water.

It was one of the nicer campsites that night with optimum weather and no one around. In a way I do miss company when camping alone. Nothing like a good bottle of Vodka and a little campfire to lighten the mood. Camping alone means just doing nothing and early to bed especially when there is no internet reception.

Travelled on: Aug 2024

Getting The Petrol Tank Welded in Balkhash

The hostel Owner, Chengis and the guys extending his hostel at the back yard helped me a lot. The next day I decided to really strip the petrol tank out to see how I could better do the patch. 

The current method would not last. While stripping the patch, Chengis helped me find an Argon Welding shop, but it was closed so we got back to the hostel and left the tank in the garage.

Best Hostel in Balkhash 

Later that evening I decided to do more work with the tank, slowly opening up the fuel pump, which I was so nervous because if there was any mistake the pump may not fit back in and more leakage would occur. Fortunately, it was simple and I striped out the fuel pump and this time really emptied the tank of petrol.

The uncle doing the renovation was curious about my work and made some calls and eventually asked me to pop the tank into his car and follow him. He brought me to another workshop that had Argon Welding machine. The guys there had a look, filled up the tank with water and helped weld the tank where the crack was effectively sealing the leak.

Strip off the Fuel Pump from the Tank

The Kind Uncle that Help me sort out the Tank

The welding guys 

It cost 5000 tenge which the uncle paid and refused to accept my money. Next morning with Chengis around I greeted the uncle again while he was working on the hostel extension. I gifted him my last lucky charm or, as he replied to me, a Talisman for his upcoming grandchild. A bunny rabbit crochet that I had brought from Khiva.

For understanding, I usually have a bunch of soft toys hanging off the bike which I constantly give away to kids, and I am constantly replenishing the soft toys in every place I visit. Bragge is out of toys now and I would have to restock it later.

Can you see the bunny rabbit sitting on my Dashboard ? 

Bike was now in good condition, and the next day was spent tuning up the chain, oil change and fixing the signal wiring that I had somehow knocked off while re-attaching the tank. It was a good day, and Balkhash was a small enough town that an hour ride was enough to cover the whole town.

Lovely as Balkhash was, I was really not doing much other than tinkering with the bike and chilling. The hostel was cozy and the town had enough things to do for a day. I ended up staying for 5 nights in Balkhash, tuning up Bragge and catching up with writing my journal. .

A double Rainbow in Balkhash 

Lake Balkhash

Local Market in Balkhash City 

Life is good travelling slow.

Travelled on : Aug 2024

Its Leaking Again – From Astana to Karaganda to Balkhash

From Astana it was a short ride through good roads to Karaganda. 200 km approximately and I checked into a cheap local hostel for 2900 tenge a night. It was a clean hostel but it would be what I call a local hostel not really for international tourist but for local tourism. Then again there was nothing much to see in Karaganda hence the lack of international tourism.

I planned to stay one night in Karaganda and push off initially since it was really a simple town and after arriving early afternoon and walking all around, I figured I had given Karaganda a chance and hostel conditions was not really comfy enough to make Karaganda a place to chill and do nothing.

Mosaic Murals in Karaganda Downtown

Mosaic Murals in Karaganda Downtown

Next morning while packing up and loading Bragge, I noticed the wet patch on the floor and the tank leakage had started up again. It might have been the sudden cold rain overnight or the vibration or many other factors, but the fact was it was leaking again and the epoxy lasted me about 1000km from Zhezqazghan.

No choice and I checked back into the hostel and stripped Bragge again to check the leak. It was the same issue which was the epoxy had formed a weak point not bonding with the metal. I suspect it is due to vibration and contraction of the tank from cold and warm weather causing the bond between epoxy and the tank to weaken till a path form for the petrol vapour to go through.

Redoing the Patch on the Hairline Cracked Fuel Tank

After hammering off all the epoxy the leak was like a mini squirt. So, in fact the epoxy actually reduced the leak to a vapour minimum. I redo the patch with new epoxy, and everything was good. A whole day spend in Karaganda just redoing the tank bandage and waiting for the next day to push off.

Karaganda to Balkhash was a good 350km and I kept stopping and checking for leaks being paranoid. For the most part of the journey, there was no leak and the ride was through boring straight roads with not much to see or do.

On the Road to Balkhash

When I reach Balkhash and checked into the hostel, I could still smell petrol but there was no drip or any wet patch. I decided to strip Bragge again and do a check and it was there, a very small bubble every minute. Looks like the epoxy patch is really a temporary emergency band-aid and is not going to last me till I reach back Malaysia.

Traveled on : Aug 2024

Taking a Break in Astana

Astana was a nice break where I could just relax and explore the city. There are many different opinions and feelings about Astana since the capital was a newly built city and lack historically significant, but I kinda like it.

Nicely organize and planned city with lots of gardens and open sidewalks makes the place really relax in the summer. I heard in the winter it was about -40 degrees and can’t imagine how people would actually live here. I was in the best season in Astana, a good 21 degrees in mid-day which makes the weather perfect for just strolling around.

Modern City of Astana - Kazakhstan

Baiterek Monument in Astana - Kazakhstan 

Modern City of Astana - Kazakhstan

Modern City of Astana - Kazakhstan

The city was huge as well so there was a limit to how much I could walk it and ended up taking the bus to see a bit more of the city. The bus system was 110 tenge per boarding but only payable via bus card or the local Kaspi app. Tourist like me end up having to ask random strangers to buy me a ticket and let me snap a photo of the digital ticket during the bus ride.

I took the bus a few times around Astana nearly once every day going to one edge of the city then slowly exploring back towards the hotel. Every time I got a local to help me purchase a ticket, but they would not take my money afterwards. The Kazakh hospitality or rather Central Asia people hospitality is real.

Bus Ticket Help from a Local

The very Rare McDonald's in Central Asia  

Ishim River - Astana

Hazrat Sultan Mosque - Astana

National Museum of the Republic of Kazakhstan

All the monuments were made to order in Kazakhstan. Baiterak monument was the centrepiece of the city and flanked by government building everywhere. It was a city built to be artistic, singing a composition that this was the future of Kazakhstan. The usual ex-soviet mundane buildings and bleach monotone architecture is hardly seen in this city.

I spend five nights in Astana, roaming around just window shopping and cafe hopping while visiting some of the museums and monuments. It was a good downtime which was really long overdue.

Travelled on: Aug 2024

Riding from Zhezqazghan to Astana and Camping in the Steppe

After redoing the patch using ABRO metal epoxy which was the nearest, I could get to JB Weld epoxy type, a big sandstorm hit Zhezqazghan so in a way it was a blessing in disguise for if I had pushed on the journey I would have been caught in the crazy winds full of sand.

Instead of test riding Bragge 2 hours later, due to the sandstorm I just let the bike sit and the epoxy cure for a good 24 hours. The next morning after loading the bike and making a small prayer, I hit the road directly for Zarnaka onwards to Karagandy. Zhoshi Khan Mausoleum was a skip this time for I did not want to have a repeat de-ja-vu.

Riding Through the Steppe from Zhezqazghan to Zanarka to Karagandy 

I resisted checking the tank for leaks every 10km and rode with average speed through mediocre bumpy roads through the vast steppe grassland scenery. At the first water break around 50km, the epoxy was holding good. At this point my internal mantra was, if it could last 50km it can last 5000km.

Zhezqazghan to Karagandy was a good 550km so with average road this was really not possible to do in a single day. I would have to really push the bike and ride pass sunset to get to Karagandy on the same day so I decided to camp somewhere past 350km mark near Zarnaka looking for that sweet spot.

Looked like a good sign for a Camp spot

Camping in the Steppe near Zanarka

Campsite was just off the main road with trees behind to block the view of vehicles and it was a new experience camping in the vast open field. No fear of bears this time but with my current set up, there was no chance of camping few days in a row for there is no shade for mid-day sun and no place to hide if there was a storm.

I woke up the next morning to gloomy weather and slight rain. It was cold very fast at night and the gloomy weather in the morning did not abate for the whole day. I packed up tent in the cold then started riding again trying to decide if today would be to Karagandy or to Astana. It was either a 200km run or a 400km run.

I had to double back to Karagandy from Astana anyway a few days later so it was not really a skipping altogether but just postponement hence I did not really decide till I reached Karagandy. 

Weather was shit forcing me to unpack the winter riding pants and layer up with raincoat just to push on through the rain. There was no shelter for anyone along the road and cresting a small hill one could see the road extending to the horizon with no establishment or structures around.

The precious Rainbow

A little rain does bring a beautiful rainbow which I enjoyed for a moment. By the time I reached Karagandy, it was only 1pm in the afternoon. Weather was still gloomy but there were signs that the rain onwards had stopped. Another 200km to Astana and there I knew had cheap good hostels.

I decided to push on and was greeted with lovely smooth exquisite well maintained highway. That balance 200km journey was cruising at 110km/hr instead of the slow 60km/hr for the initial 200km to Karagandy. 

Good Roads from Karagandy to Astana

When I reached Astana and checked into the hostel, a quick check on Bragge Tank told me that the epoxy was holding very well. Nearly a thousand kilometres now since the patch and it was holding. If it can last 1000km it can last 10000km.

Travelled on: Aug 2024