Traveller takes longboard trip from Pavlodar to Almaty

Traveling on a longboard from Pavlodar to Almaty - Rishat Shaikhitdinov has traveled 1,500 kilometers using an unconventional mode of transport, and in just two weeks. He says that he did not experience any particular difficulties on the road as he has a long history of hitchhiking.

“We have a small selection of longboards in Kazakhstan. I chose the most expensive one in Pavlodar, which costs 35,000 tenge (US$82). I already knew what to take with me on the trip and what things would be superfluous. So I just packed warm clothes, water, some fruit and that’s it,” Shaikhitdinov said.

Although travelling from one city to another on a four-wheeled board seemed insane, for Shaikhitdinov it is a way of life. He left at five in the morning, and in half a day traveled 100 kilometers. In the evening, he was staying in roadside hotels. However, not everything went according to plan, the traveler shares.

“Many times there was a situation where there was no road or highway and I had to walk. And when you go on foot, the speed drops immediately and you get more tired. So sometimes I had to walk during very late hours, or I even had to sleep outside or walk all night,” the traveller added.

In the near future, Shaikhitdinov plans to travel on his longboard to Kyrgyzstan, Uzbekistan and even Afghanistan.

 

Translation by Assem Zhanmukhanova

Editing by Galiya Khassenkhanova