I couldn't shake off the thought of how slim the chance was to find a car that would take me directly to the city I needed, which was off the beaten path and inaccessible by transit. Zhitikara was 80 km away from the main road.
More than half of the journey was accompanied by rain, and time was nearing midnight while the road still stretched ahead. At three o'clock in the morning, we finally approached Zhitikara, and it started snowing. By the way, it was only September 30th! Eventually, I was dropped off right at the entrance only by 4 o'clock in the morning.
Andrei hadn't really slept during this time and was waiting for me, for which I'm truly grateful. It turned out that apart from me, another guest from Russia had arrived that night. He was already asleep, so our introduction was postponed until morning. Andrei prepared a mattress for me on the floor in the same room where the stranger was sleeping. So, I quickly freshened up and collapsed into sleep after an incredibly long journey.
In the morning, I got acquainted with a stranger named Vitya. He is 25 years old and slightly taller than me. He doesn't drink or smoke and has never used anything like that, a sporty guy. We bonded over this topic since I myself am not interested in such things. The only thing I occasionally allow myself is to have one or two cans of beer, and I used to smoke a hookah occasionally, once or twice a month, but it already feels like a past life to me.
Neither Vitya nor I have ever used any form of drugs. Mainly because I knew myself and understood that what I like would be very difficult to quit. So I decided not to start that game.
Vitya and I took on the responsibility of cooking and buying groceries since we were staying with the guys for free. Thank goodness, I knew how to cook and enjoyed it. After breakfast, Vitya and I went to the Centralized Service Center (CSC) to obtain Individual Identification Numbers (IIN), and I hoped that I would succeed on my second attempt.
After we finished submitting the documents, we walked around the city with the guys during the day, and in the evening, we watched a movie together and smoked a hookah, everyone except Vitya, of course.
After the movie, we discussed our future actions. I shared my thoughts on where and how I planned to travel and asked Masha and Andrei about a hundred questions regarding hitchhiking since they had been doing it for a while. The guys told us about how they communicate with drivers, where they look for accommodation, and which mobile services they use.