The Belle Vie in Kaz

Remember that one time I went to Kazakhstan? It still seems so unreal that I actually went - that I actually found myself wandering the streets of this crazy central Asian country. And in this relatively unknown place (think about it, when did people in the US even know Kazakhstan existed before Borat?) I found myself thinking how intriguing this ancient culture was.

I tried (read: gagged on) kumis, or fermented mare's milk. My question was, who has the nasty job of actually getting the milk from the mare?

I learned about the incredible Kazakh hospitality from these lovely ladies, Marissa's host-sisters.

I breathed deep the spicy fragrance of a central Asian market.

I was schooled in the latest sparkly scrunchi/hair-clip trends of Kazakhstan.

 We found out that palm Sunday in this part of the world is actually pussy willow Sunday.

We ventured into the mountains with this Kazakh taxi-driver-mineral-water-tester (and his orange shoes!)

 And, very best of all, I got to spend time with this lovely lady!

My camera actually died on day two of this little excursion. The other (picture-less) adventure included dusty, crowded bus rides to neighboring villages, bargaining with a Kazakh taxi-driver (in Russian...alone...), and the glorious banya, or Russian steam room (babushka scolding included).

..so, so, SO very blessed.....