Almaty meant applying for Iranian and Uzbek visas. Two very different experiences - the smooth and easy process at the Iranian embassy while the Uzbek embassy was busy and chaotic. Hundreds of people pushing, crying and shouting to get into the embassy like the last days of the Vietnam war at the American embassy in Saigon. Against my belief, I had to use my "foreigner priviledge" twice to skip the line - otherwise I might still have been stuck at the gate...