LilMouse

scruffy Ewan is really nice, but so is non-scruffy Ewan.

VerbalKint

Extreme Ewan
Written by Danil Shemratov
Translated and adapted by Igor and Claude
Photos: Danil Shemratov (Shymkent)
14/05/2004

Hollywood star Ewan McGregor is riding on across Kazakhstan

The escort team of McGregor had to be really concerned and nervous about the star's life and health somewhere in the middle of the trip across Kazakhstan. A sort of blood-sucking insect stung the "Moulin Rouge" and "Star Wars" actor on the forehead.

The species of the insect had never been clearly identified. So, the English and Kazakhstan doctors had been conducting a true conference over mobile phones and Internet; the most dangerous variant was considered as well - the sting of the encephalitic tick.

Close Encounters of the Third Kind

That close encounter with the fauna of Kazakhstan took place before McGregor's visit to Turkestan. Together with his friend and companion Charley Boorman, Ewan made up his mind to experience the utmost romantice and sleep in a double tent right in the middle of the Kazakh steppe. While the decision confused the English organizers' plans, no one dared contradict the stars. That's how the Jedi appeared face to face with the creatures, which were unaware of the world popularity of their victim or traditional Kazakh hospitality.

In the morning the famous traveler woke up with a red, substantial swelling on his forehead. The people in charge of McGregor's safety were really anxious and searched through the whole tent trying to find the blood-sucker, but not a trace of it was found, of course.

The team's doctor made calls to the British and American Toxicology Centers to get a detailed consultation. The English toxicologists requested special charts of the natural habitats of blood-sucking and stinging insects of Kazakhstan, which were provided immediately by their colleagues from Kazakhstan.

When the British found out that McGregor got stung by an unknown insect living in the habitat of the encephalitic tick (which is considered to be one of the most dangerous insects, since the antidotes available for it are less than effective), the project appeared to be under the threat of failure. The foreign toxicologists didn't wish to make default conclusions and recommended McGregor urgently fly to the UK for a thorough medical examination.

However by that time McGregor was on his way to entering Turkestan, and he was examined by the Kazakh doctors. According to the doctors from South Kazakhstan, the very fact that McGregor was able to get up and then ride for hundreds of kilometers proved that an encephalitic tick bite could be excluded.

Ewan McGregor went through the incident calmly, as he reasoned that various parasites had already bitten him.

Real Jedi

They had been waiting for Ewan McGregor in Shymkent since the second of May. Two weeks earlier the regional press-center had advised the local journalists, in particular, that the actor tries to avoid contact with the representatives of the media. Moreover, all the filming rights are reserved for the British organizers of the project, who are working on a documentary about McGregor's and Boorman's travels. So, all video and photo materials can be presented and published in the local media only.

That was also the reason why their visit in the South Kazakhstan Region was considered to be a private compared to a formal one. That is why no official meetings with the authorities had been planned. Nevertheless, due to their pre-planned program, the Shymkent guests were supposed to attend the Kazakh national equestrian competitions.

The team had reached Shymkent only by the evening of May 7. It was raining, but in spite of the wet weather, Ewan McGregor, Charley Boorman and the their cameraman were riding at average 120 km/h.

At the "gates" to the city of Shymkent the guests were welcomed by the representatives of sports popular in South Kazakhstan and Shymkent. The guests were treated to traditional courses including koumiss (fermented mare's milk) around improvised "dastarkhan" ("dastarkhan" is a traditional Kazakh, very low table; people are usually sitting on the floor, on a carpet. Also "dastarkhan" is referred to the dining ritual in general). When Ewan started to taste the drink, the accompanying people were nervous (they were afraid of everything, including the drinks... Well, they might be poisoned, or could make McGregor sick for whatever reason) as the recent incident with the sting was still vivid in their minds. But McGregor and Boorman drained their Kazakh keses ("kese" is a special drinking bowl used in Central Asia, see photo above), and they seemed to like koumiss very much.

The citizens of Shymkent were not able to see the Hollywood star, or even to cast a cursory glance at the bikes. Right away McGregor and Co. headed to the country hippodrome by the circuit road. At the hippodrome they were shown all kinds of national equestrian sports, including kokpar (when horse-riders are fighting for a goat carcass, you could've seen the game in the Rambo movie) and baiga (long-distance horse-race). McGregor and Boorman especially liked "the kiss of a Dzhigit" ("dzhigit" is a skillful horseman). The Englishmen appeared to be enthusiastic supporters of the horsemen.

After the end of the official sports program, McGregor and Boorman walked down to the riding arena and tried to ride the Shymkent horses. They just switched their bikes for the horses, and showed their excellent riding skills, galloping almost during the entire loop. The horse riders of Shymkent cheered up McGregor, exclaiming "The real Jedi!"

McGregor shook hands with all the horsemen from Shymkent, and was especially happy to shake hands with the female riders (most of them were 14-16 years old), and had memorable pictures taken.

Generally, Ivan Makarov-Grigoryev, as Ewan McGregor was nicknamed by both Kazakhs and Russians, in spite of the language barrier, was eager to communicate with all the locals. He was willingly photographed with them, and gave out autographs. As a farewell he said "rakhmet" (goodbye) in the Kazakh language, which caused storm of applause and cheers from the crowd at the Shymkent hippodrome.

After the horse-races, the guests were brought to one of the local restaurants where they tasted national dishes and then went to a private hotel. In the morning the riders headed to the former capital of Kazakhstan - Almaty.


Source




Oh man. I think I'm going to start calling him Ivan Makarov-Grigoryev.... if I can pronounce it

In other news, Ewan is in Siberia now. Going crazily fast! They still have, what, Mongolia to go through before they're to Alaska?

Rach

LilMouse

Oh God, I hope he doesn't get infected with a terrible disease. *shakes head*. I wonder if Eve is having a heart attack right about now. If I was her I wouldn't be able to sleep. And the poor camera man. He must be just as crazy as Ewan and Charlie to go along.

Lazy

Thank God he's alright! Sounds scary, I hope it doesn't cause any complications later.

Ivan Makarov-Grigoryev?

VerbalKint

Yes, Ivan. That just had me in stitches. I want to hear someone call him that in the documentary.

Rach

LilMouse

VerbalKint

Heh, thanks, I love that quote I really want to use it at the Jedi Council Forums sometime because it would be more ironic as some people reading would definitely be sci-fi nerds

Yeah, I've heard that Ewan is a Celtic name for 'young' but also that it was kind of the Scottish equivallent of John. I think every language has a 'John' Though to be perfectly fair, if we're actually going to talk about another language in Scots Gaelic it's Eóghann (yoe-wun).

Mine, for a random sidenote, is Raonaid (REUN-eetch).

Rach

LilMouse

irony is the best literary element. Okay, now I sound like a dork. Anyway...I love finding out meanings to names and how each country has their own way of spelling/saying the same name. In my baby name book they have Ewan as meaning "young warrior" and "gracious gift of God".

LilMouse

McGregor Stressed Back To Smoking
Moulin Rouge star Ewan McGregor has taken up smoking again - after his bike trek across the world turned dangerous. The Scottish hunk is attempting to cycle 20,000 miles alongside biking partner Charlie Boorman, but has already encountered gun- toting military men and poisonous insects. And although McGregor quit smoking in January, in a bid to be fit enough for the endurance challenge, his nerves are now so shredded he has reverted to the bad habit. McGregor blames delays on the trip - caused by Boorman needing urgent medical treatment after accidentally splashing petrol on his face and then being attacked by poisonous insects - for the relapse. Another stressful incident, where he was also detained by Ukranian armed guards who finally released him after a local businessman recognized him and persuaded the militia-men to free him, also sent him back on the nicotine. But McGregor is trying to remain upbeat, saying, "Kazakhstan and Russia have been the most interesting countries on our route. We have been treated to koumiss, fermented horses' milk and meat."

I don't know how much I believe this since it is from imdb. But if it is true I am very very very disappointed with him. I was so proud when he finally quit and now that he may have gone back to smoking upsets me.

P Y R O

Odd (maybe not really) that the thing which drove him to quit smoking is also what brought him back to smoking.

Lazy

Is IMDB the only place that reported this? I'm not sure how reliable they are or if this info is even true.

Btw, we need a new news thread