03/22/2007

Bulat then took us to a hotel which we arrived at on Thursday at 3:00am were we stayed until our train departure at 7:00pm that evening. We were able to sleep shower, and he took our cash for the in country adoption fees/expenses $8,000 and $500 driver/translator, then we also showed him our gifts and he picked two of them (he did the same with the other couple that we traveled with).

He then explained a little about the culture and gave his speech…. which lasted about 3 hours. So when we finally were able to sleep it was about 5:00am. We slept a while and then got up around 9:00am for breakfast, and then walked around since it was a holiday (Kazakhstan New Year – March 22nd) so there were many things to see on the streets. We then went back to the hotel prepared our luggage, and ate dinner, and then Bulat picked us up for the train. He had purchased our tickets then we reimbursed him for that cost. (about $50 per person) The train was not as bad as everyone stated, it was not luxurious, but not horrible either. The bathrooms, reminded me of an outhouse (due to the smell), and the beds weren’t great, but clean, and you are so tired you can sleep anywhere at that point. It truly was what you would picture a “soviet train” to look and feel like.