Alex was working as an aviation journalist when he first visited Kazakhstan in October 2011, to interview the head of the country’s national airline. “Originally, I was planning to stay longer, to explore, but I was so tired that I decided to return to the UK early,” he says. At Almaty airport, he spotted a woman reading a Stephen Fry book. “She was very attractive. Because of the book, I realised she must speak English and might be going to London.” To his delight, she sat down next to him when they boarded.
“I wasn’t meant to be on that flight, either,” says Aizhan, 34. “But I was travelling to London, to study for my master’s degree in HR, and had lots of admin to do, so I decided to go early.” Alex, 43, helped her with her luggage and they got chatting during the meal. “It felt like a first date,” she says. “He’s half French and he told me how to make frogs’ legs. I remember writing about it in my diary later. I even wrote a joke about people who meet in random places and end up getting married.” They exchanged email addresses at the end of the flight and he wrote to her soon after, but didn’t hear back. “I assumed that was it and I’d never see her again,” he says.
