Aral, Kazakhstan

AralBaykonurLine 02 (cont'd from previous frame) Also we got busted for public drinking in the railcar's aisle - yes that's forbidden in Kazakhstan - and were summoned to a seperate compartment where the opening bid was 100 USD. After a lengthy chat with some in depth examination of exhibit A (a bottle filled with clear liquid) the 'shtraf' was down to a more modest USD 0.--. We finally got away with a 10 minute lecture about all the bad things alcohol can do to your health and sanity, which we didn't understand very much of for lack of vocabulary. They even let us keep exhibit A (a half full bottle of vodka), exhibit B (a full bottle of vodka) and exhibit C (several large coffeemugs filled with a 'kokteil' of exhibit A and an an excellent variety of Russian cranberry juice).