Horse riding and eating horse 'four ways' - Wales fans do Kazakhstan

The Football Association of Wales say more than 1,100 members of the 'Red Wall' will be travelling to Astana

Some have been horse riding, others have been eating horse "four ways".

Even for the most seasoned 'Wales Away' veterans, Kazakhstan has been a destination with a difference.

When the draw was made for 2026 World Cup qualifying in Europe, there was a collective sigh from Welsh supporters when it dawned on them that this campaign would include an 11th match with Belgium in 13 years.

But at least there was a first trip to Kazakhstan – new opposition and a 7,000-mile round trip, the furthest Wales' men would ever have travelled for a qualifier.

"We've been waiting a long time to come here," Gwilym Boore, who has been following Wales for three decades, says in the Astana sunshine.

"Our trip is on to Almaty, which is meant to be a different beast to Astana, and then we're going on to Uzbekistan, we're going to Tashkent.

"We're hoping to see the final of the Central Asian Republic tournament that's going on at the moment, and then we're going to Bukara, Kiva, and Samaran. We've got some travelling ahead of us. I'm not sure if we've finalised how we're getting to these places yet. It might be trains, it might be flights and it might well be automobiles."

Boore is one of more than 1,000 Wales fans who have made the long journey to Astana.

Kazakhstan is a huge country, the world's ninth largest by land area and spanning two continents.

Astana is an unusual place, a shiny – somewhat soulless – concrete metropolis purpose built in 1997 as the new capital city of the country.

This might be the furthest Wales' men have ever travelled for a qualifying match, but that distance only appears to have enhanced the appeal of this trip for the Red Wall.

"It's just been absolutely amazing," says Amanda Jones. "Coming from mid Wales, we stayed overnight in Bristol, very early flight to Istanbul, four hours in Istanbul, and then we arrived in the very small hours of Monday morning.

"The people have been so welcoming. It's been lovely from the minute we arrived. With the bucket hats, there's been a real interest, people have stopped to chat and the locals have welcomed us to the city.

"This is what being part of the Red Wall is. It's meeting up with everyone, it's coming to places that you would never, ever dream about coming to and to support the boys as well. It's great."

Race Across the World

Wales supporters - dubbed the 'Red Wall' - are famous for their red, yellow and green bucket hats

Getting here by plane is arduous enough – try doing it by train and bus.

That is what another supporter, John McAllister, has been doing over the past five weeks.

"I've been through around 12 countries. I passed through Western Europe, all the way across to the Balkans, Slovenia, Croatia, Serbia, and then across Bulgaria and into Turkey," he says.

"I thought Kazakhstan, it's as far and as exotic as we can get for a qualification game here in Wales. I thought that it'd be a really good excuse to do something a little bit mental.

"And obviously Race Across the World is such a big show now. I'd be lying if I said something like that hadn't given me a little idea."

McAllister has clearly enjoyed his time in Kazakhstan, even if the food does not compare favourably to the other countries he has visited along the way.

"The food everywhere I've been has been absolutely unbelievable," he says. "Turkish food is incredible. Same goes for Georgia. The breads, the cheeses is like heaven if you're into food.

"And I don't want to be mean but I had quite a horsey dinner in Kazakhstan. The only way I can describe it is kind of horse four ways.

"There was some that was sliced up, some in chunks, some in bacon. And then there was what I can only describe as a horse lollipop. Yeah, it's as bad as you're imagining. I don't think I'll be eating that one again."

Focusing on victory

Wales squad for the game has been hit by a number of high-profile absentees

Horse lollipops are unlikely to feature on the menu for Craig Bellamy and his players this week.

Neither will the sightseeing in Kazakhstan and neighbouring countries that the Red Wall have been enjoying in recent days – such is the life of an international footballer.

As is the case for almost all their foreign assignments, other than a pre-match stroll on matchday, all Wales' players and staff will see of this country is a hotel, a stadium and an airport.

For them, this is business. With their hopes of qualifying automatically for the 2026 World Cup in the balance, all Wales are focusing on is victory on Thursday.

They can leave the tourism to their legion of loyal supporters who are fortunately more than happy to oblige.

"It's pretty impressive that we've taken the numbers that we're taking," says McAllister.

"I think it says a lot about us as a supportive football nation. We get behind our team, we travel really well. And I would say that everywhere that we travel to receives us really happily as well.

"We don't go around causing trouble or anything. So I think locals are very keen for us to visit and have a good time basically."

The warm welcome from the locals in Astana is a recurring theme among the travelling Welsh supporters in the Kazakh capital city.

"We went horseback riding in the national park three hours away," says Dave Fornell. "It was a great day."

There are different ways of enjoying horses in Kazakhstan, different ways of experiencing Wales away trips.