Magic Wand & Marriage Proposal

Unlike the police in America who, for the most part, legitimately stop people for an infraction...the police here I think do it for entertainment and to earn a little extra cash. The other interesting thing about the police here are the lighted "red sticks" they use to pull people over. They resemble a chopped off "light saber" out of Star Wars.

In Almaty recently I was being driven in a taxi to the train station when a car zoomed by and a red magic wand popped out the window to pull over another driver who from my assessment...had done nothing wrong.

During a recent trip to Shymkent I was talking some guests to the airport when a policeman pulled me over..."just to check my documents". That same day as Heather and I were driving back to Taraz on an open country road I noticed several cars parked off to the side. I saw the sign that said "50" and saw the "gravel pit" ahead in the road which is a remnant from a harsh winter and poor construction. I guess I didn't slow down fast enough as the policeman quickly got out of his car and hailed me with his magic wand. I handed him my documents and he told me to get in the car on the passenger side and proceeded to show me the picture of my car speeding along at 70 on his high tech radar. He threatened to take my license and give me a ticket which if worse came to worse he could have since I had two more in my purse (the advantages of having an international license).

In these situations there is always an "exchange of information"...."what do you do?", "where are you from?", "do you have children?" and of course, "are you married?". He went on to tell me that he had 4 children and his partner went on to boast about his 9 children and 3 wives at which point he asked if I would be his 4th wife. I told him that I thought he had enough already while chuckling and shaking my head. Since I didn't want to stick around much longer and it was clear he was looking for some pocket change or something else I told him he could keep my license. He laughed, handed it back and sent me on my way. Guess I still have three licenses for the next time I am stopped!