Mongolia Chowd to Kazakhstan

In Mongolia, I then drove northwest towards the Russian border. Past the Altai Mountains, which actually resemble the European Alps. One last overnight stay, because of the rainy weather, in a hotel and I'm back in Russia.

What remains as a memory? Herdsmen on motorcycles or horses, dressed in traditional coats and boots; cities without sewer systems; cheap but one-sided food. Meat dishes that make use of all parts of the cattle; dried milk/yogurt/cottage cheese, which I personally liked very much. Breathtaking landscapes; washboard roads that feel like riding an unsprung bicycle on cobblestones all day long; mountains, canyons, mountain rivers so cold and clear. A variety of flowers and blossoms that I didn't know before; meadows full of edelweiss. Interested and open-minded people; multi-lane homemade roads across vast plains. I remember a car that I encountered on such a road and the passengers asked about the village we had departed from 85 km and several hours ago. You drive there according to the compass and hope to have taken the right path. Camels and huge herds of cattle. Isolated yurts and clusters of yurts in the rainier areas. I feel like I've seen everything and I'm looking forward to the next country: Kazakhstan. To get there, I have to re-enter Russia first. I have given up my wish to also drive in the Russian part of the Altai Mountains because of the weather. Initially, there was another overnight stay by a river in Altai. Here I was 'attacked' by tiger butterflies at night. There were thousands of them, rummaging around like little snowballs (the car lights were on). Also, the city of Barnaul has remained particularly memorable to me. A Russian city with beautiful parks and gardens, it is clean, the people here are generally very open and friendly. By now, I differentiate between people's behavior towards strangers (me). And could that already be due to the proximity to Kazakhstan?