My last Sunday in Atyrau

So much has been happening to me recently and none of it recorded. Been in Atyrau works, business trip to Finland and Estonia and UK.
Well today Sunday, 17th August, is my last Sunday in Atyrau. Moving back to work in Thailand at the end of next month. Next Sunday early morning sees me leaving on a plane to UK. Spend a week with family over there then off to Seychelles to walk Sarah down the isle for her wedding to Fed on the 20th.  Still to write the speech. Any suggestions welcome.

So today the plan was a walk to the coffee shop followed by a bit of last minute shopping. Only buying stuff to keep me going for the rest of the week !
The walk was hardly a major event but I needed to get out for a while. I walked along the river side from out Apartment to the coffee shop.  Met up with another Alan, incidentally there are about 8 of them working in my office ! Both Alan, (the other Alan and I had a lot of cakes to choose from). Had a fabulous slice of cake and tea. Cake was thousands of calories.... contained blueberrys, cream and lots of lovely sweet stuff.

Then having enjoyed that and prior to feeling guilty about it I wondered off to the market for my last Atyrau shopping and back home. Hardly an earth shattering day but more a cool relaxed time taking in the better parts of Atyrua.  Temperature around 35 Deg... Little wind so a few hours walking in the more shaded parts was enough! Coming back along the river side was excellent. The aircon in the apartment was a very welcome thing indeed !
There were few people around, probably because it was hot and around midday, but I did manager to capture a shot of a local boat taking a few tourists for a ride up river. And given my recent blogging record though I should add in some pictures !

 

Photos

My last post I mentioned I had a few pictures of Atyrau in the sunshine. Well see below. It’s interesting how the place changes. From winter with little light, cold winds and everyone covered up in fur coats etc to summer when everyone is out in T shirts and shorts. Skate boards, roller blades etc being used all along the river banks.  Kids walking around and of course thousands of mobile phones on display as everyone walks along with heads bend down reading!!!

The river is in full flow and the surface indicates a strong current. Bit of debris from further up, few branches and bits of wood, but a noticeable lack of refuse. No plastic bottles and flotsam. In fact walking around the town every where is clear. Dusty yes but clean. Main rubbish seems to be broken bottles and cigarette butts. I understand there is a strongly enforced law regarding littering. And it is taken very seriously. Good thing too. Clearly it works.

We moved apartments last week which seemed like a really good idea at the time. We had been (we being the team in the Ardager Apartments) had been asked to move. I took this implied either  move early and you get a choice of new apartment or later when your told to move you will get whichever apartment is available. We have a view of the river and all the support facilities, maid service laundry etc. No complaints. Except the boiler for hot water, it had not worked for 2 days.  Cold showers are cold here!!!! .  In addition there are several excellent shops around and a small market selling fresh veg. I say seems a good idea at the time. Saturday and Sunday no hot water and a large fridge which makes a lot of noise but does not make anything in it cooler….

Saturday saw us going to an office “family day out” at a local hotel. It was really for the kids and parents but certainly beat going to work.  There was a disco with some “Gangland” style presenter to get the kids up and dancing. For the adults there was a buffet and open bar for a cold beer etc. However it was 36degrees so not a good idea to drink in the sun. Most if not all were very careful in this regard. 

Fishing through the Ice.

Turned into a lovely day. Cold but no wind. So we went off for a walk and got to the river. Loads of people fishing. Yes sitting on the ice  and digging holes in the snow. Then lowering in some line with bait on it. Seems very successful. We stopped out there and asked if we could take a picture. “No !”  But please sit down as we will take a picture of you ! See below.  Made the day.

I will admit it does not make me an expert ice fisherman but I can say “been there, done that!”

This all followed by a good hot meal !!!

Planning a trip to UK

Just some random thoughts on our next trip...

Organized a trip to Uk for the end of the month. So now in count down mode. Should be fun having a few days off and going to see my first Grandchild. Have not really figured it all out yet. We are coming back via Moscow. We had planned a few days there but as we are only going for 10 days total holiday it does not leave enough time. Departing Atyrau on Sunday 2^nd. Few days in Farnborough for work, few in London to see the Grandchild and then it’s back to Atyura. A real flying visit.

Atyrau Down to -28 Deg C

It’s been cold but you know what you adjust. Now find myself wearing legging and an additional vest etc. Also getting used to being well insulated. Makes life comfortable. A Russian chap in the office told me we have an expression “ its not bad weather but bad clothing that makes you feel cold” And he’s 100% right.

It’s been a bit of “groundhog day” day in day out, over the last few weeks. One day same as the next. Having Wanna here has made a major difference. Going home at lunchtime and so forth really breaks up the days. Also having become a Granddad has been a major milestone. 

But day to day stuff seems to consist of work and then sleep followed by the new day and more work and  then….  Well you know the rest..it repeats…

This weekend we plan to have a decent walk round different parts of  town as temperatures are forecast to rise to – 4Deg C. Makes for a comfortable and good temperature if you keep moving. And there is a lot t see if you make the effort. Photos to follow.

The Team L to R, Stephen, Wanna and Peter

Dressed ready for the cold....

Frozen River Middle of Atyrau

Christmas Kazakhstan

Hi,  Had been hoping to at least be back in Atyrau  for the day. As it was the return plane from our construction site was delayed due to back weather. So one more over night stop on site. Not so bad. Relaxed and had a canteen dinner etc. All good. (Hope same delay does not happen on Friday when I go on leave!!!) Not so likely as it will be a lot bigger than the Dash 8 I was on. Up in the air the sun was giving us a beautiful set of colours over the clouds. Difficult to imagine how cold it is below on the ground. (BTW its the propeller looking like bird wings. Slow moving prop!!!!!
I also took a few ariel photos of Atyrau and you can see the rivers starting to freeze up. Looks good from the sky!
When I get back form leave next month I'm sure the town river will be a sheet of ice.

Happy Christmas to you all.

Atyrau, Kazakhstan And Snow

That's right I'm still here. Been a while since I posted and for that apologies. I had so many plans for 2013 including keeping my Blog updated. We've been to UK, Seychelles and Thailand over the last few months. None recorded. SO silly really as I now can't find any of the photos etc.
So back into it. Its -1Degrees C here. No wind so today was OK for a quick trip to the shops. No Christmas here but its hard not to see the festive trees and light severywhere. Also today was the first snow. Shops were full of stuff so stocked up on wine and other essentials !!!! So a trip in the cold, few photos and getting ready to more onto 2014.  Promise more and more interesting Blogs to follow. Has to be as it is one of my new 2014 resolutions, and you can see it's place already!

Merry Christmas to you all.

Sunday 21st July Atyrau

Day I'll remember for a while to come. Peter, Stephen and I went walking to find the famous windmill. We found one, pretty crappy old steel frame. Decided this was not the one we wanted so we carried out. 4 hours walking in 34deg C sun. Hot or waht. Anyway we found it. Took our photo and then a taxi for a well deserved lunch and possible cold beer.
We got the taxi and even got to a lovely little restaurant. Peter first and I followed at the counter. Off we went to sit down and we heard a loud noise, turning round we watched Stephen behind us collapsed to the floor.  Heat stroke/exhaustion. Mad rush to get him some water, check his head as he took quite a bump when landing. Someone ordered the local medics and next we knew, drips appeared and jabs etc etc.
We took him first to local hospital then onwards to the Company one. All in all a busy day. Suffice to say I could write a lot more but me too I'm tired....

Local Ambulance. Note spare wheel in top right hand corner

Lazy Sunday

Been a quiet week.  Seems one day just runs into the next all with a bit of a blur. Not alcohol related I can assure you!!! However at this time, my Sunday morning walking buddies are away on their 2 weeks rotational holiday so less incentive to get up and get going.
And add in the fact that this Sunday it was raining so good excuse to stay home.  Fine for me but limits being able to tell you much about the place.  What exactly did I do? Shopping next door in local supermarket.  That's a 50 meter walk!!!
Then home for lunch and relaxed. Sat about strumming my guitar and read a book. Also caught a rerun of the Lions match so all in all an OK lazy Sunday.
However all is not lost on the reporting front!  I have during the week, been walking to work most days. Its 25 minute walk and generally its cool and not to windy so no dust storms  flying debris or rubbish. I must just say that Atyrua is surprisingly clean and tidy. I was told there are very strict laws against littering.  Whatever the laws are, they are working. Very impressive.
The main road between airport and town is being spruced up for the arrival of the Kazakh President and the UK Prime Minister David Cameron.
A spokesperson for the Kazakh government, said that Mr Cameron would visit the cities of Atyrau, Astana and Almaty during his time in the country. The trip will involve meetings with British oil and gas companies as well as official talks with Mr Nazarbayev, they added. (Independent 25^th June 2013)
Thinking in the office is 'Dave's visiting to secure some UK business deals. Makes sense as Kazakhstan has an abundance of oil and gas, not to mention a lot of minerals in major demand for industry.  (See footnote)  So for that I wish him luck. Hence obviously with this visit the road and siding are getting a lot of loving attention. Cleaning, painting, new pedestrian pavements, an abundance of trees planted and grass laid and watered, complete with some additional statues including some camels and deer's.  Also along the way are brightly coloured new hoardings, and nearly all the apartment blocks along the way have been given a face lift. If he wants to know what it looks like before he can take a small diversion and take a parallel road. It's amazing what a few cans of paint can achieve. Makes and place so much brighter. And obviously his visit is seen as important to all concerned.  Should not complain as it is good to see 'Dave' getting the royal treatment. Just hope it's worth it to the UK tax payer.








Wikipedia extract
Kazakhstan ranks second only to Russia among the countries of the CIS in its quantity of mineral production. It is endowed with large reserves of a wide range of metallic ores, industrial minerals, and fuels, and its metallurgical sector is a major producer of a large number of metals from domestic and imported raw materials. In 2005, its metal mining sector produced bauxite, chromite, copper, iron, lead, manganese, and zinc ores, and its metallurgical sector produced such metals as beryllium, bismuth, cadmium, copper, ferroalloys, lead, magnesium, rhenium, steel, titanium, and zinc. The country produced significant amounts of other nonferrous and industrial mineral products, such as alumina, arsenic, barite, gold, molybdenum, phosphate rock, and tungsten. The country was a large producer of mineral fuels, including coal, natural gas, oil, and uranium.^[1]

Another Sunday in Atyrau.

Well the week has flown by. Time for my, by now, customary Sunday walk about and shopping town. Steven is away so we are down to just Peter and me. No problem there. Off we went at our usual 11.0 am start. Plan was a good walk, lunch and some shopping.

Easy. We walked towards town passing over one of the main bridges and then turned along the side following the river. Lovely wide walkways with over hanging trees for shade, and we had the sun shining, light breeze, with hardly anyone around. Ideal conditions for a walk. 

I’m told the locals come out in the evenings, not the middle of the day. However we did spot three old ladies enjoying their time out in the shade of a few trees and moving on came across a few swimmers and sunbathers on the river side. There was even a sort of beach to sit on. Looked sandy enough but I refrained of getting to close but would love to know the water temperature.

The walk followed by lunch and shopping was it. Then a Taxi home and an early night ready for Monday morning. That’s another Sunday gone.