To The Edge Of The Earth For Love ... And Bubble Tea

A Silk Road story on the Kazakh / China border.

I met Sergei in the dark confectionery bar of the movie theater in Zharkent — a single screen outlet that shows re-runs of new releases past which has become the de facto beacon of modernity in the dusty border town. This is where the town’s youth gather, munching popcorn and sipping sodas; a little piece of the outside world in a place that’s the prove…