Saturday 27th of February was the big day. My flight would take off ad 5.40 pm. First I would fly to Almaty that’s in the east of Kazakhstan. There I would have 1,5 hours to get on the plane to Aktau.

I packed my suitcase and did a last check: Passport, visa, money, cell phone. Ok let’s go. My parents, brother and Rob went with me.
Perfectly on time we arrived at the airport. I checked in and dropped my suitcase. We took something to eat and had a nice view on the airplanes that came and left. ‘Maybe this would be the last time I eat normal food’ I thought.
Around 5 o’clock it was time to say goodbye. After a big hug for everyone I went to the gate to board. In the airplane 99% of the people were Asian. My intention was to study Russian in the weeks before but unfortunately it didn’t work out that way. So I started to learn Russian in the aircraft. Russian use a total different alphabet. Some letters are the same. There are also letters who are the same but have another pronunciation. After a few lunch breaks (you won’t get hungry in an airplane) I landed safely in Almaty. A little bit earlier than was planed and I was very glad about that. I was afraid that I wouldn’t catch the next flight because of problems with my visa, suitcase ore something else.
In the aircraft the stewardesses smile and wish you all the best. In the tunnel the Kazakh police is waiting for you and they don’t smile. In the hall, where you have to line up for a check on your visa, it was really quiet. It didn’t make you feel comfortable. Fortunately my visa and passport where ok and my suitcase came very quick. After I passed the sliding the hall was filled with taxi drivers who offer you a ride for a very special price. Don’t you need that? Well there is always something they can help you with. Best thing you can do is ignore them and so I walked on to the departure hall. Thanks for the advice Arjan!
I checked in again. My place was changed because the airplane had been changed. Sure no problem, as long as I get in to that airplane. I had some spare time so I got a cup of thee. To order thee, that was no problem. To pay, it was. I had only euros and dollars and they only accepted tenge (Kazakh money). After the unfriendly look of the Kazakh police, I met the Kazakh hospitality. I got thee for free. Thank you!
There was a call for boarding for my flight. So I went to the gate and boarded. In the airplane I didn’t have to seek for my place. I could take place in the first row. Very nice!
After a flight of three ours I landed safely in Aktau. There I met Henk. He is one of the Dutch collogues who work in Aktau.