Kazakhaphiles - Simon's perspective on Kazakhstan

Kazakhstan, oh how we adored you.

Biggest surprise on the trip so far, by a clear golden eagle's wing span (which by the way is massive - we saw hundreds of them in Kazakhstan - did I mention how rad this place is?).

The people - incredible. Unbelievably friendly and helpful, often going well out of their way to make sure we were looked after with massive smiles on their faces. Beautiful people in every sense of the word, I know it sounds cliche but I really do think they're the friendliest nation in the world.

The roads - not that bad. Granted we came in with low expectations as all everyone talks about in reference to Kazakhstan is how awful the 'roads' are; people have taken great delight in telling us the average Kazakh pothole is roughly the size of a semi-detached house - not so these days apparently. The country's new found oil and mineral wealth is changing everything, and now that they've got their new and ultra-modern capital up and running they've turned their attention to their attention to their infamous highways. I'd say we had about 300km total of awful driving, but everything else was pristine, gorgeous, brand-new tarmac.

The landscapes - huge. This country is big. Largest landlocked country in the world, we saw thousands of miles of big rolling openness. Nothing little Ka-put couldn't take in her stride though, she whisked us across the length of the country in 4 days flat.

The food - obviously quite difficult to figure out what you're ordering, but I'd say we ate pretty good during our stay. Lots of mystery meat, but all really good. And very tasty and very very cheap vodka.

The high points - rolling into Uralsk 100 bumpy and remote km's from the border not knowing what to expect and being greeted by a beautiful warm and friendly city. Going on a mission to get new tyres and car supplies and coming back with a full overhaul and repair work all paid for by some Chechnyans who really wanted to help out and wouldn't let us pay a single tenge.

The low points - Astana was okay, but when we tried to register with the migration police as required by law in the country's capital we were sent on a massive wild goose chase of bureaucracy and confusing messages. We were told on a number of occasions that there is nothing someone could do to help, we would have to go speak to another official, only to be met with confused shrugs when we told them that they had actually sent us to you. Our solution - bust out of town! We gave up after hours of this and decided instead to make a run for the border, crossing over into Russia as the sun went down a few hours before the $400 fine would kick in for not registering with the authorities, wherever they were hidding.

What made Meghan the happiest - camping girl came into her element in Kazakhstan, as it was really easy every night to find a side track off the highway that tucked behind some trees and pitch the tent. We all felt super safe and comfortable and had some really good nights sleep.

The surprises - the cities we went through that were all very developed, modern and full of construction; and the friendliness of the the border guards, who were helpful and joked around with us lots. And, according to the ladies, the attractiveness of the border guards.

The stories - I think my pick of the bunch has to be Kassie spilling powdered sugar all over the inside of the car just before we left the country - the border guard did ask me (I think jokingly) if we had any cocaine hidden anywhere in the car, he obviously missed the white powder all over the dash. The same guard asked me too if I was leaving with any guns, and laughed out loud when he saw that the girls reacted to this question by running around the car shooting each other with finger pistols behind him.

A mention also has to go to the two teams we bumped into - one from Hartleypool that we convoyed with for a wehile and another that we had an awesome night with at a gorgeous restaurant - 'Pizza Hot'. No joke, this place was amazing. We were treated to our own curtained outdoor booth, drank fancy Kazakh liquor while a local toasted our trip with a good luck speech, an we were told we were surrounded by some of the country's finest and most famous - Matt nearly got into trouble for accidentally catching the head of their FBI on camra. Pizza was good too.

So, all in all, two thumbs up for Kazakstan. Didn't think I'd be saying this, but go see this place, get in and seet it all before they fully tap into their natural resource wealth and take over the world. We love you Kazakhstan and miss you already!

PS - I tried to avoid it but I know someone's going to comment if I don't - we didn't see Borat or unsurprisingly anyone that resembled anyone from that film. Great success!