Avoiding war zones, immersing horse brains and braving arctic conditions: a day away in Kazakhstan is like no other.
Chelsea will take on Astana in the Conference League tomorrow, as die-hard fans embark on a grueling 6,000 kilometer journey towards the Chinese border.
Blues supporters are seasoned European travelers and have seen their side achieve continental success before – yet this trip offers an equally unforgettable and unique experience for the 500 attendees.
Three flights are needed because direct trips from London to the city of Almaty only take place once on Sunday and Tuesday.
Chelsea fans have therefore been forced to be inventive, with the 24-hour journey starting on Wednesday with a plane to Ankara, Turkey from London's Stansted Airport.
A seven-hour layover in an eerily quiet terminal until 2am local time awaits before boarding a second flight between two war zones to Astana.
The route followed crosses the Black and Caspian Seas and uses a so-called “Middle Corridor”, to avoid the conflict between Russia and Ukraine in the north and the raging tensions in the Middle East in the south.
That would normally be far enough away, but Astana's usual home ground is being renovated and instead they are playing 770 miles away in Almaty's central stadium.
Landing just 375 miles away from China, the Chelsea faithful will be greeted by bitterly cold temperatures.
Weather forecasts say it will drop to -11 at the time of the match.
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But it hasn't deterred Londoner George Higgins, who said it was the allure of visiting a new country that attracted him to the trip.
His adventure was pushed beyond the 24-hour mark by a three-hour delay at Heathrow before he finally boarded a flight to Kazakhstan via Istanbul and the Uzbek capital Tashkent.
In a region five hours before British times, Almaty is a city somewhere between gentrification and post-Soviet greyness.
Battered Mercedes estates from a bygone era fill the roads, but there are also modern shopping centers full of well-known brands.
The back alleys are home to a surprising number of English-inspired pubs for fans to enjoy once they've shaken off the jet lag.
While enjoying a pint of Russian beer, Norwegian Chelsea fans Knut, Lars, Sven and Anders discuss a week in which they swapped the usual pre-match cake for a plate of horse brains.
Speaking about what drew them to this unique challenge, they said: “The journey, mate, the journey.
“We said, 'We have to go to Kazakhstan.' If Chelsea goes, why not us?
“I actually hoped that I would qualify for the Conference League, precisely because of these kinds of outings.
“You see teams you've never heard of, but you still want the excuse to go somewhere you normally wouldn't go.
“It was a very beautiful, but long journey.”
The last time Chelsea played a match near Asia was when they defeated Arsenal in the 2018 Europa League final in Baku, Azerbaijan.
Enzo Maresca and the traveling Blues fans will be hoping the miles on the clock are worth it come May 28 next year for the Conference League final in Wroclaw, Poland.
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