Fjällbonäs-FarAwayistan: 070617 Lukas’ big chance! Today we drove through empty spaces. It was 730kms between Almaty and Ayaguz and I think we passed three villages big enough to have a name but none big enough to muster a football team We drove along a mountain chain on our eastern side. On the other side we had open spaces that were endless. If anybody feels that my home village Fjällbonäs lacks features, I’d maintain that a Sunday there, in spite of no mail being delivered, has something of a traffic problem down at the mail boxes (downtown) compared to the northern parts of Kazakstan. Myself, coming from empty spaces, like the feeling in these areas We drove longer than planned and when we reached this service station, it was time to fill up. After filling up, I asked about a hotel. With the help of body language, putting my hand against my leaning head to simulate resting on a pillow. I don’t know if my body language was misinterpreted, although I think I made myself perfectly clear. The attendant nodded, pointed at a house across the road and made rotating movements with his hips, like the early Elvis. At first, I didn’t get his meaning but then I realised that services could include what is known as the world’s oldest profession, if we chose the Grand Luxe choice. So far, so good and I shot a glance at Lukas to see if this was to his taste. To my surprise the self-confessed Casanova ? said that we’d better drive on. For the first time in my life I had the chance of spending the night where physical contact was for sale. And the one who prefers 78 pros to 78 virgins, says no. Sometimes, we move in mysterious ways. When I saw this shepherd on horseback I thought if there is one place on Earth where motorcycles are tax deductible, it would be in Kazakstan, if you’re a shepherd. Talk about wide open spaces Shelina probably wanted porcelain to do it, but the tourist’s bladder is never big enough. When cities remained a glimmering hope, the situation was bad.. Before it burst, the only solution was to be flexible. Here in the outbacks it’s like in Arabian countries, just a hole in the ground. Newcomers will have problems hitting the target. << Previous All chronicles Next >> High Performance Riding www.pgdakar.com Per-Gunnar Lundmark Fjällbonäs 15 933 91 Arvidsjaur Per-Gunnar Lundmark Eva.PG.Lundmark@swipnet.se Updated 2007-06-19