We knew the Kazakhstan to Uzbekistan border crossing was going to be a difficult: Two countries that share a very long common border but only two major places to cross. It makes us put Europe in a different perspective, where the free flow of people and goods across borders are as common as driving from Amsterdam to Rotterdam. Not here!
Leaving Kazakhstan didn’t go without hassle. First twice the police stopped us. You might think that’s our own fault – speeding, traffic violation, etc – but even if we drive as a saint the police will pull us over. Sometimes out of curiosity, our car looks rather different, but many times to get some extra pocket money. This goes like this: I did something wrong, I need ‘straff’ (pay), and the journey can continue. The amount of ‘straff’ is negotiable. At one checkpoint our ‘straff’ was USD 1,000 for overtaking another car. A rather hefty amount, I’d say. So in return I answer how much I’m willing to pay. In general the rule is to pay in local currency; it helps to be a little more ‘local’ than to wave with your shiny US Dollars. Unfortunately our car doesn’t work in our favor, with all the sponsor stickers we do not come across as two hippies that travel on a shoestring without pocket money…
Our BYD friends in Almaty gave us a hint of how much we should pay the police once we get stopped. ‘1000 to 2000 Tenge (RMB 35-70) should be enough’ they said. ‘It’s like paying toll in China’ they continued. I thought that was a rather smart way of seeing it. In China you pay toll on highways, just like in France, and we’ve experienced no police, bribes or any kind of hassle in thousands of kilometers of expressway in China. Quite impressive, for a country that’s battling corruption. In Kazakhstan the road conditions might not be as good, but sometimes they are, but still no toll is charged. At least not in an official way…
Just when I thought about sleeping in the car, movement in the distance happened
We arrived at the Kazak-Uzbek border, where the paperwork was done quickly. Due to a large amount of trucks and reasons we could not get a grip on, we got stuck between Kazakhstan and Uzbekistan in the no-man’s land that separates them. The waiting began… we chatted a bit with the truck drivers and people from the other passenger cars. Whereby chatting is an overstatement, it’s mostly using hand signals and using the words Shanghai, China, Hollandia, BYD, Gullit, Van Basten, Cruijff, Van Persie, Robben, tulips and cheese. After we killed hours doing just that, there is the occasional ‘start the engine, drive 2 meters ahead and wait again’.
Just when I thought about sleeping in the car, movement in the distance happened. Some chatter through walkie-talkies and the gate opened! Going through the formalities on Uzbek side was relatively straight-forward. Mostly due to a guy that hassled us on the Kazakh side about the customs exit papers for the car. I thought it was just a lower-rank guy on a summer-job, but when I arrived at the customs of Uzbekistan he gave me a big smile and a firm handshake while saying ‘Welcome to Uzbekistan!’ Who would have guessed I would see him again on the Uzbek side, this time in higher-ranking uniform? Always be friendly to anyone, anywhere, is the rule on this journey. You never know when people you’ve met before might come in handy.
The man gave me his signature to show at the next gate. ‘Boss’ he said and showed with his hands that he was higher in rank than the people at the checkpoints ahead of us. Full of confidence we drove to the next checkpoint, handed over our papers for the millionth time, and the gate opened instantly. ‘Yes, we made it! Finally! After 8 hours!’ we shouted together.
Only to being brought back to reality 500 meters ahead… ‘Damn it’, I thought, ‘I gave away his signature too soon’. And yes, a sizable guard, with a smell of vodka around him, asked me to join to his office for ‘registration’ and obviously wanted money. By this time it was 23:00 and Rogier and I both wanted to get to our guesthouse in Tashkent. So I slipped him some US dollars and the gate opened. After 9 hours we finally drove into pitch-dark Uzbekistan. We made it!