Tale of Two Cities: Uralsk or Aralsk

New years continues the long stretch of the Kazakhstani holiday season. I can't complain because a few days off work is a great reason to head out of town. A few of us decided to check out Aralsk, the site of the Aral sea environmental disaster. The city was actually once a thriving fishing port on the shores of the Aral sea. Today a large part of the Aral Sea is gone, due to Soviet irrigation that took water from the Syr-Darya and Amu-Darya rivers that fed the sea. The water was needed in the southern regions of Kazakhstan because Moscow decided to increase the production of a water hungry crop, cotton. As a result of this irrigation the sea largely dried up, retreated from Aralsk and other ports, and over-salinated water left fishing communities in Kazakhstan and Uzbekistan ruined. I've read a variety of estimates of how far the sea is from Aralsk. Some accounts say between 60 to 100 km before a damn was built in 2005 to improve the situation. Nowadays the estimate is 12 to 35 km. What is for sure is the former 4th largest lake in the world is now much smaller and split into the Big Aral sea and the Small Aral sea.

The following is a recap of our adventures/misadventures.

Tale of Two Cities: Uralsk or Aralsk

A step-by-step guide

1. Spontaneously decide to meet friends in Karaganda for New Years break.

2. Look up train times online and realize the train leaves in two hours. This is definitely still possible.

3. RUN to the travel agency.

4. Ask many questions to a mean travel agent.

5. Find out there are no tickets that reach Karaganda until two hours after new years eve.

6. Decide it’s still worth it.

7. Find out there are no return tickets.

8. Go back dejected to start women’s club.

9. Brainstorm new travel destination with women’s club attendees. Come up with the genius idea to go to the Aral sea.

10. Test women’s club attendees geography by asking where the Aral sea is – get various answers.

11. Lonely planet book tells you this is possible- Let’s go!

12. Go back to travel agency and find a nicer agent.

13. Go over every possible combination of busses/trains/dates/stopovers and Discuss plans with two fellow volunteers in Kyzlorda.

14. Celebrate new years with host family and stay up all night in order to get to the train station by 4 in the morning.

15. Show up to a train station under construction and try to find a way in.

16. Successfully take the train to Kyzlorda and try to catch up on sleep.

17. Meet fellow volunteers at train station and begin 1 hour tour of Kyzlorda (ie. Delicious lunch at cairo),

18. Eat at Cairo Café!

19. Find out from a host dad that all roads to the Aral sea are iced and closed. Decide to take trains instead.

20. Go to train station IMMEDIATELY!

21. Drop freshly crocheted scarf in Kyzlorda, that means it’s now covered in an inch of mud.

22. Go to ticket counter and wait in mob.

23. Look at departure sign and see a train from Almaty to Uralsk- perfect.

24. Ask for ticket to URALSK but find out there are no trains going there tonight (how are we gonna get to the sea????).

25. Freak out and try to find out about busses despite warnings.

26. Find out roads are ACTUALLY iced over and no busses are leaving until mayyyybe tomorrow.

27. Call crazy bus ladies for more information on tomorrow’s busses and discover that Uralsk and Aralsk are 2 DIFFERENT CITIES!!??!?!

28. Go back to train station and realize we probably asked for tickets to the wrong city. Train to right city leaves in half an hour.

29. Rejoin the mob and ponder bribing others to get to the front of the “line”.

30. Have a local friend save the day.

31. Board the two wagon train. Wait doesn’t that remind you of the short bus?

32. Be told there are no more spaces on train and wonder if this really is the right one.

33. Show tickets to conductor and other passengers to no avail so just stand around in the aisle with drunk people pushing by.

34. Search for 5 seats together- quite a mission to undertake.

35. Questions:

1. Q: Why do they sell more tickets than seats?

A: What would you have them do? Leave people at the train station?

2. Q: Why is that lady laying there taking up three spaces?

A: Maybe she’s sick….or tired (btw, we are very tired!)

36. Take picture of crazy train situation as proof only to be told by old man, “you can’t take pictures of Muslims”. Overhear: Let them take your picture they’ll probably send it to Obama.

37. Watch as fellow passengers take pictures of the same old man as he poses for them

38. Remain steadfast as rude man tries to take bed already occupied by a volunteer, hovering over excessively and trying to read volunteer’s Economist.

39. Step out of suffocating train for fresh air, only to be physically pushed back by conductor in preparation for the fresh hoard of fur-wearing, heat-exuding passengers to board but wonder if this man is actually the conductor due to his track suit attire.

40. Sweat like it’s a banya. Try to figure out ways to strip with so many people around.

41. Realize the toilet is actually the best place on the train

42. Trudge through snow to get to the only hotel in A-ralsk

43. Pass out for an hour.

44. Successfully hire a jeep to take you across the frozen tundra.

45. See bactrian camels!

46. STAND on the frozen ARAL sea!

47. Take pictures with stranded boats!

48. Go to train station to get tickets back home. Get shoved to end of line mob by crazy ticket lady.

49.Eat Korean dinner accompanied by loud music.

50. Return to hotel only to find the hall has been rented out and is BLARING music. You will not sleep.

51. Board 5 am train and get out of A-ralsk, enjoy a nice and uneventful train ride, and be grateful to be going home.