Urumqi – Talas

Almaz and the lorry

The big boxes go by lorry. The driver is Almaz, a Kyrgyz from Tokmok, three years already. He has a Kyrgyz plate and a Kyrgyz stamp, so the lorry crosses where the Talas ones cannot. He takes 80 dollars a ton and one tea. Last Tuesday his lorry waited 19 hours at the Khorgos side and came to Talas with all my boxes and a puppy, I do not know where the puppy came from.

At the Talas North Terminal the ISEZ customs read my invoice, look at me, write a number on the back. The number depends on who is on the shift. Some officers are kind, some are hungry, some are new. I know them by name and what they like (a sack of walnuts at New Year).