Sunday May 8, 2005 - Almaty

Body clock is still not accustomed to Kaz time, so I was up at 5am this morning. Read a little bit, then we had a really good breakfast here at the hotel. Came back and packed for the train ride tonite, and napped from 10-12. Forgot to mention that yesterday, after we spent the day seeing Almaty, we napped from 5-7!

This morning, after breakfast, it was a small celebration, but today we were able to celebrate Mother's day for the first time. A few tears, and a solid realization that, yes, this really is going to happen! Our boys are going to have a great Mama in Angel.

To all the mommies who are reading this: Happy Mother's Day!!

Marina and Sam picked us up at 1pm, and we went to the Kazakhstan Historical Museum, which covers the region from Paleolithic time up to the present. Very interesting, even though every sign for every item in the museum is in Russian and Kazakh. You can still figure out what's going on. The ancient nomadic culture of the Kazakhs is very interesting, and not unlike Jethro, the father-in-law of Moses, or even the native American Indian tribes. The Kazakhs lived in slighly larger, circular structures that were totally decorated with the beautiful Kazakh rugs that you see here.

Also, much preparation for Victory Day 60th Anniversary, so there was a huge WWII display, as well as many displays for current day cultures and influences.

After that, Marina took us to what we have learned is the best Chinese restaurant in the world, well, at least according to those who have eaten there. Now that includes us. It's going to be very hard to order Chinese delivery after eating there.

So we're all packed and ready for the train ride. Marina picks us up at 8. We leave at 840, and arrive in Taraz at 4am. Angel couldn't fight off her nap, so we'll see how well we sleep on the train tonite.

Blessings,
Kevin