I am planning to go to Kazakhstan this June/July. The plan is to enter Kaz from Astrachan, Russia, and then to spend up to 20 days there, as I am limited by a 30 day Russian visa, before I leave Russia back to Ukraine. So I have 30 days from Ukraine and back to Ukraine at most. Kaz is a huge country, so I don't know how much of it can I cover within the available two and a half, maybe three weeks. The most interesting part, south-east, seems to me out of reach. Is it better to enter from the north, Mamylutka-Petropavlovsk for instance, I expect roads to be better there. Maybe then I can go to Astana, Balkash lake, Almaty, Sharyn NP, maybe Turkistan? Baykonur nad Aral sea would also be nice. Can it be done in such a short time, and still see something? The info available on the net is not enough. The bike is BMW R1200R with two people. I have over 30 years riding experience. We'we been in every European country, North Africa and Turkey, but I have my doubts about Kaz. Should we leave Kaz for the next life, and just stay in Russia? I do not enjoy riding off road. I can live with a bad road for a reasonable distance, but not for thousands of kilometers. By bad I mean bad, sticky, dusty, muddy first-second gear kind of road. Anything over 60 km/h is good. How about distances between fuel pumps? Can I expect to find a place to sleep every night. Not necessarily a hotel, but a bed with a roof? We are too old to camp. Stopped doing that fifteen years ago. A lot of questions. Every answer is appreciated.

Thanks