Blogs from Almaty, East Kazakhstan, Kazakhstan, Asia - page 2

Oh it’s been an uphill battle to get here. Much more difficult that I expected. Sure there are lthe ong flights and language barriers and such, but the biggest reason for the extra effort? I wanted to go alone. Not alone with a tour group. Not alone and then meet with friends. Alone. Solo. No one else. Apparently, this is frowned upon in my family. Why would someone with loving friends and family choose to travel to a foreign country alone? I figure we might as well get this discussion out of the way, so we can get on to much more interesting things, like say, the beauty of Kazakhstan! Last year I decided I wanted the challenge, freedom and uniqueness of solo travel. I am not sure why, but it washed over me like a ... read more

5-9-16 Our flight from Guangzhou crossed most of China before changing planes in Urumqi to arrive at Almaty in Kazakhstan at 8.30pm. Officially called the republic of Kazakhstan, it is the world's largest land locked country, with a land area larger than Western Europe. Our hotel the Rixos was more luxurious than we expected and we enjoyed a late supper in the beautiful lounge chatting with one of our fellow travellers. 6-9-16 in the morning we discovered Almaty has a great views of the Tian Shan Mountains, our guide told us Almaty is known as the cultural and commercial hub of Kazakhstan. Literally meaning 'rich with apples' the former capital is known as the 'Garden City' for its large parks and the alpine vistas of the Tian Shan Mountains that surround it. Our first stop was ... read more

Day 107 Wednesday 4th May 2016 – Tashkent to Turkestan Last day in Uzbekistan, and we both have mixed feelings about leaving. Had a few more days left on our visa and was going to travel to some more regions but in the end decided to head off. Today we are once again crossing a land border and as usual we are apprehensive about what we might get. Hotel staff weren’t really a lot of help in giving us advice but they organised a taxi to take us to the border for 35,000 Som ($7 AUD). Tashkent almost sits on the border so it was only a 25 minute ride from our hotel to where the taxi dropped us off. Had to walk about 200 metres down the road to the Uzbekistan border control ... read more

Almaty under blue skies and autumn sunshine. In the wide tree-lined boulevards, the leaves are turning orange and gold. To the north the city has an impressive backdrop, the Tian Shan mountains, rising to about 5,000 metres and already snow covered. It is our first Silk Road city and interestingly mixed. Many buildings date from the Soviet era, some are neo-classical and hugely imposing but others are grey and falling apart. Shinier are the new glass high rises, built with gold tops or points that make them look like little upright pencils. There is oil money here in this huge country, the 9th biggest in the world And there are, also, beautiful old buildings - churches and mosques mainly. Gaily painted or gilt domed, their beauty and craftsmanship are stunning and all the more impressive when ... read more

Restful night's sleep. We will be sleeping better tonight. Since we arrived in Almaty we have been so grateful for all the things the school has provided except... our mattress. It is the hardest bed we have ever slept on! We finally got a mattress topper. We asked around at the famous Almaty Green Market but we were misunderstood. One lady selling blankets and pillows got her son on the phone, who spoke great English and she wrote down on a piece of paper in Cyrillic what we were looking for. So a few stalls later we met Achmed. He was a doctor in Afghanistan and studied in Canada. He was more than helpful. In fact, before we knew it we were walking to his car and he drove us to a store - walked in ... read more