When A Mint Is Not a Mint

Almaty: what's in a mint?
 

Today’s driver is taking me 200km down to the border with Kyrgyzstan a journey that despite the clear roads is reduced to a speed of 20km per hour to navigate the extensive checkpoints and police speed traps. In a country where the police know how to hustle a fine the driver refuses a mint saying ‘if I have a mint they will assume I’ve been drinking’.

And so it is with everything that can be taken out of context.