Ahhh...After a few days of bouncing off a few countries I've finally landed back home. Arrived 10PM on the 9th. After leaving the camp on the 4th, spent a night at the Hotel Selena Star in Kyzlorda. A little town 3hrs south of the camp, it says on the card that the hotel is a 4-star...which I don't know how they rate it but the waited service at the restaurant was excellent, better than a lot back home.
Then next morning we headed out to the airport for our flight to Almaty. Final destination in Kazakhstan. Got put up in the Otrar Hotel which is at the old part of the city. The hotel faces a park, sort of like a central park in New York but way smaller. One thing about Almaty is that the city is FILLED with trees, there's either an oak tree or some other tree every 7-9 feet apart...on EVERY road there is. Tsk...wish Malaysian would adopt this kind of city landscaping. We went to a nice little place called the American Bar & Grill to have some REAL food after 5 weeks of "confinement". Sank my teeth into a juicy succulent burger and fries. SWEET!!!
Went to the office the next day to drop off some stuff and to collect my flight tickets, met with the ever helpful Yuliya and Maria, without them I think I would still be stuck in somewhere in Kyzlorda. We got the driver to drop us off at the MegaMall in Almaty, their biggest shopping mall. Not bad actually, they have a nice food court which serves food I wish our Malaysian mall food court would.
At Dubai, met up with my brother and my uncle. Haven't seen them in months. It was nice to have a little gathering. Good thing that my flight plans were changed and I got bounced off Dubai before KL. Stayed with my brother in his apartment in Abu Dhabi. His apartment have a view overlooking the sea and the naval base. I got some pictures of a naval transport and a destroyer. In the night, we brothers went out to a bar to unwind and share some working tales. He brought me to a nice bar called Rock Bottom, which has a live band playing. And this live band isn't the ordinary ones we have back home...which is kinda lame. But this band in Rock Bottom really rocked the place. What a night. Sadly, I can only stay for 2 nights, the last night we spent having quality time...and BBQ time with my uncle and his family. My uncle setup his BBQ grill and grilled some nice grub. Awesome food! Good thing is, I get to spend some time with my cousins...Melanie and little Max. Max was teething and drooling all over the place...and Melanie is starting to talk...a lot. LOL.
The next morning, I had to drag myself off the bed and pack up. I was kinda heavy hearted at the airport. Feeling hard to leave my brother. Well at least I would get to see him again on my next trip back to Kazakhstan. It was a long but comfortable flight in the 777. The flight was full but there was an empty seat next to me, which gives me more space to relax.
When the plane landed, my heart started to race. So excited to be back home...actually excited to see my family. Randi was there waiting for me...what an awesome sight. Mom and Dad was waiting at home. We went out for late dinner at Kayu's nearby.
