Road Trip in Kazakhstan

From Ust-Kamenogorsk to Semey and Pavlodar, covering over 600 kilometers. Starting from Ust-Kamenogorsk and heading west, the landscape is entirely vast, endless grasslands, reminiscent of the savannas of East Africa. We stopped for lunch in Semey, a former secret nuclear test site of the Soviet Union and the place where Dostoevsky was exiled. It feels like the further west you go in Kazakhstan, the more developed the economy becomes, with noticeably better housing. Suddenly, a storm broke out on the road, followed by a beautiful rainbow. We arrived in Pavlodar at sunset. Pavlodar, the capital of Pavlodar Region, was an industrial hub during the Soviet era and still retains its historic tram system. We also spotted shared scooters and food delivery riders. By the time we reached the Irtysh River, we were just in time for a perfect sunset—a truly breathtaking crimson sky.