09-09 Day 61 (A day in Almaty)

More amazing people of Kazakhstan

Mileage

BMW Service Day

The BMW dealer

The ride to the dealer started in rain, but the rain had mostly subsided as we arrived. Our arrival time was about 9:00, and once there, we immediately began preparing the bikes for service, and also buying stuff.

In my case, I can’t pass a BMW shop without buying something, so I purchased a bottle of the anti-fog solution that Feroz let me try out yesterday.

The dealership was immaculate, and they were very helpful, as usual, and as we’ve come to expect. Yet another BMW Mottorrad dealer that is exceptional. That’s 5 for 5, including my boys back home in Charlotte.

The Partner service desk

Freerider is the name of the company that we traveled to after we left the BMW service location. Certainly, not covered in gleaming chrome, like the BMW dealer, but we know that these mechanics will get the job done, and we’ll come back tomorrow afternoon to pick up the bikes after the service is completed.

The kindness of strangers

Each day of this trip, I am amazed more and more with how the various peoples of the world treat each other, and how they treat Americans, and also all of my fellow European and Asian travelers. Today, was another example of how some people extend a hand to help, and then go above and beyond, helping make your day easier, and better.

When we finished at the Motorcycle Service center, we needed to get a ride back to the hotel. So, the owner of Freerider, the service company, called a cab for us. He helped us find the cab, and off we went, heading back to the hotel.

As it turned out, our cab driver spoke English, and after butchering his name with my first few attempts, I learned that his name is Rinat, and that he knows an awful lot about the US. More on that later.

Rinat took us to the hotel, and then he and I headed to a local mobile phone store to see if I could purchase a 256 GB SD card, for the camera on my bike. I lost the last card, and it still lives somewhere inside my bike, unless it’s rattled free by now.

As we arrived, Rinat also offered to come in and help me, as it was possible, and maybe likely that the vendors would not speak English. And so, he helped me use the ATM to get cash, helped me find a 256 GB card, negotiated a discount on the card, and on a cable for my iPhone. We ended up spending 26,000 Tenge for all of the stuff, which comes to about $68 USD, a fair price indeed.

I was really impressed by the warmth of Rinat, and by his willingness to help me. So, I asked if he would kindly consent to a video. He said he’d be glad to, so I turned on the camera, and captured a little bit of his warm smile, and helpful ways.

Laundry Day

Riding a motorcycle is a dirty job. You’re always getting pelted with rain, dust, dirt, mud, and sometimes birds, and who knows what else. In addition, we’re always in transition from one hotel to the next, only infrequently spending more than a single day in a hotel. And so, when you’re staying at a hotel for 3 nights, its a great opportunity to do laundry. Today, was such a day.

After getting back to the hotel, I washed my riding pants, which were covered in mud, and because they are mesh pants, the dirt had gotten inside and out. Washing them in the shower was interesting, and as I hosed them down, I could see huge amounts of sediment in the bottom of the shower, But, it took about 30 minutes to wash the pants, some shirts, and a few other things. As soon as these are dry, I’ll do the next load…

Look at this mess…

What will tomorrow bring

Well, with any luck, we’ll have some nice weather, and be able to do alittle sightseeing. We need to meet back in the lobby at 2:30 to arrange cab fair back to Freerider, after which time we’ll come back to the hotel.

We’ll meet in the lobby at 6:30 for a briefing, followed by dinner, and then it’s off to bed, in preparation for departure to our next city, which will be Shonzhy. The day after, we’ll travel into Kyrgyzstan.