Thursday, October 05, 2006

K-Stan: Ever Wonder?

I think someone slipped something in my Cheerios this morning while I was watching CNN.

Soledad segued to commercial and then the hallucination began. A vast plain fades into a festival, the festival fades into white slopes, the white slopes fade into two men worshipping at the foot of a mosque, etc, etc. This all hints at a place full of culture and begging to be explored.

“Huh, looks nice I wouldn’t mind going there. Where is there?”

Then the TV reads- Kazakhstan: Ever wonder?

My spoon stops just short of my lips. Milk funnels down the butt of my chin.

I can honestly say I’ve never wondered about Kazakhstan. But now I kinda am.

Some Kazakh Facts courtesy of wikipedia and wikitravel:

* K is the 9th largest country and is roughly the same size as all of W. Europe.

* Kazakhstan possesses the Soviet equivalent to the United States' Cape Canaveral, where the Soviet Union launched its version of the space shuttle and the well-known space station Mir.

And you couldn’t even spell the countries name. Shame on you.

Wait, before you book that ticket to the Kazakh capital of…(hold on let me look it up)…Astana. Hold that thought. Astana? Am I the only one that has never heard of Astana? Anyhow, before you book that flight to Astana you may want to consider Wikitravels intro to K-stan:

Its lack of significant historical sites and endless featureless steppe have put many off Kazakhstan, but many are captivated by the emptiness and mystery of this goliath state.

Sounds magical doesn’t it? A regular land of wonder. I think K-stan may want to rethink their motto. I’m thinking…

Kazakhstan: Where the hell am I?

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