20th to 22nd of October, 2022.
Hitchhiking in Russia: Kazan – Kurgan – Kazakhstan border.
The first person to stop for me is a priest. Sergei is going to his home, not so far from here, and he offers me a lift. When we arrive by his house, he also invites me to come over, for a meal or a coffee, but I explain to him about my situation, and how I want to get as far as possible today, and he understands.
The next man is Andrei. He is driving a small truck and he tells me he is going to Kazan. He is not as nice as my other lifts, but perhaps he is just shy. And there is also the fact that he cannot speak English at all. He drops me off somewhere outside Kazan but still at the entrance of the city. It is not a great spot but there is some people working on the road, and for that reason, only one line of cars is passing. Plus, there is a service station just ahead, so the cars can park there.
I am not sure if I should take lorries or not. Yeah, they drive long distances but in a much longer time. When this big lorry stops, I am not sure if I should go with him or not. But it is getting late and he tells me he is going to Ufa, so I decide to take it.
Munrat is a nice man. His lorry is impeccably clean and tidy. He is Muslin and offers me some coffee as soon as get in. I know if I accept, he will want to stop the lorry, and prepare the coffee, which will take some time… but I don’t want to be rude either. After the coffee we carry on.
We use his phone for translating and have a bit of a conversation. When I tell him about my travels and future plans, he tells me that, by the time I finish, I will be too old to have kids. Laugh. When I tell him I don’t want kids, do you know what he says? That even if I don’t want them now, perhaps in the future I change my mind, but then it will be too late, so I better have them now. Really? Is that what people really think? How wrong is that? What if I don’t change my mind? Why innocent children should pay the price for being “unwanted”, just so the parents can have a shot of being parents? That’s why so many people are unhappy and so many children are traumatized. Being a parent is a huge responsibility! Don’t do it because you are thinking about your future and your concerns only. Do it only if you want this child 110%. Do it for them and not for yourself!
But I do like Munrat and I think he is a good father and a good person. He is proud of his children and their achievements. I just disagree with him regarding his conservative thoughts.
Munrat is not really going to Ufa, but he is taking another way just before the city. But he shows me on the map where it is and we come up with a plan of finding another lorry going to Ufa or Kurgan. When we stop in a service station, he starts calling on the radio, asking about anyone going to Ufa or Kurgan. We wait for a few minutes and have another coffee, this time with a lovely chocolate cake. Someone answers and in a few minutes he arrives. Munrat talks with him first and it seems he approve the guy, so I change lorries and start travelling with Sergei.
Sergei is also Muslin and his lorry is also super tidy and clean. But although he is a nice man and does not disrespect me or even suggest anything during the two days we were travelling together, I do feel as he would like for something else. I might be wrong, but that is how I felt.
We drive for some hours and then stop to eat something. He then tells me we will sleep for a few hours because early morning he must start driving again. Before we go to bed (the lorry has two and I am sleeping on the top one), I write in his phone a polite message, saying that even though he seems like a trustful man and I appreciate his help, I must tell him, due to some not so good past experiences, that I am a serious woman and I wish him to be respectful. He understands that and we go to bed. But for some reason, I cannot sleep at all.
Around 5 a.m. we get up and go to have some breakfast. We keep driving all day, only stopping for lunch. When we are about to arrive in Kurgan, he starts using his radio trying to find someone going to Kazakhstan.
When we stop for the night, just outside Kurgan, he insists that I take a shower and use the sauna. I tell him I don’t need to, that I am fine and clean. But he insists. I tell him I am OK with the shower but I will not do the sauna because I don’t like it and end of story. I take a shower, which is nice, and he enjoys the sauna for some minutes. Outside is freezing cold.
He doesn’t manage to find a lorry going to Kazakhstan but I tell him I will be fine. I get a piece of cardboard from the shop and write “Astana” on it. After eating something we go to sleep and this night I finally manage to rest a bit.
Next morning, we start around 6 a.m. We have some breakfast in the lorry, he gives me some food, and then he has to leave. It is still dark when I start hitchhiking and the temperature outside is – 3.5 Celsius.
There is a restaurant across the street and I come over there and ask for some water. Unfortunately, the water it tastes really bad so I don’t feel like drinking it.
I keep hitchhiking for some minutes when one of the ladies from the restaurant comes to the window and call me in. She then asks me if I eat borscht. I say yes, I do, but I cannot pay for it. But she tells me they want to give me some. Uhul! How sweet of them! I am almost freezing outside and inside is so warm. She gives me a bowl with borscht, bread, and a cup of tea. Honestly, the borscht is the best one I have ever had. It is really tasty! After saying many thanks, I go back to the road.
Igor stops his car and tells me his is going only about 50 Km but because the border is about 100 Km from here, I decide to accept. My main goal is crossing the border! He is a nice man and can speak some English. But unfortunately, I do not remember more about him right now… He drops me off in a bus stop.
Natasha and her cat stop. She is so cute and she tells me she is going just before the border, to her home. Although she is cute, she is actually a soldier in the army. Nice! I write on her phone about my story and she says it is really cool. Then she writes a text apologizing for not speaking English but that she would like to have talked with me. How sweet!
Alexander is going about 230 Km into Kazakhstan but not to Astana. It is OK, I take it! He is a very pleasant Russian guy, sports man, who likes skiing. He is actually going to Kazakhstan for training. He has this delicious small cake bears in the car and also some nice nuts candies. In a few minutes we are in the border.
Unfortunately, immigration police officers are not prepared for their jobs at all. Or for life! I mean, even that they don’t know about Visas and which countries need it or not, how come they don’t have a quick access to this information? Why they have to keep calling 100 people and asking for it? This is ridiculous! I have to wait for several minutes until someone finally find the information and let me go. How outrageous!
In the Kazakhstan border is a completely different story. The young police woman working there, even though she didn’t know about Brazilian Passport, she did a quick search, two clicks, got the information and welcomed me to Kazakhstan. Thank you!
10 Years Around the World 