Our trip.


We Marina ( 45 ) and Henk ( 53 ) years young, we travel many times to Kazakhstan and in the Fed. Russia and other former CIS countries, for family visit and special to Shymkent South Kazakhstan where the roots from Marina are.

Whe love the city off Shimkent and the area ( Oblast ), it is a city with potential and the people are nice friendly and charming.

Marina is born in Shymkent South east Kazakhstan and I in The Netherlands, we like it in Shymkent, and the area around it, special the Mountens, and the long trips in it, we like to give people info about the living and traditions from Kazakhstan, with movies and pictures.

Our last trip was in summer 2009 for two months, my wife visit her family and old schoolfriends, this is every year the same I joined my wife the last month.

First you need a visum for Kazakhstan, in Holland you have a visumdienst, they pick up your passport and arrange the visum for you and send it by courrier back, and in Germany LB travel in Beerse near Dusseldorf ask for Freu Smith she speak German and Russina, just visit the website and order your visum, they have a pick up and bring service.

There is a strait flights from Amsterdam Holland ore Dusseldorf Germany to Almaty Kazakhstan and good rail transport to Shymkent, with a very good night train, it is clean, food and thea you can buy in the train, clain and a good bed is in your cabin, advice is try to get a cabin for you alone , and there are domestic flight to Shymkent every day from Almaty, or you just order a private taxi.

New now from Trans Aero is strait flights from Moscow to Shymkent several time the week, good prices and via Trans Aero website you can order your transit or as well Lufthansa/KLM connections with Trans Aero flights are good in combination, 700/800 USD from Holland/Germany to Shymkente return flights economic class, and some times cheaper.

But I advice ass well a trip Shymkent to Almaty, and by train it is nice and good and clean, very good service and free thea, maybe you sit with a view young people and can discus or ask about something you like to know, please not always political.

Distance is around 720 km from Almaty, the Old capital city, Astana is the New capital city, we will also give travel info, and info about our trips in Kazakhstan to other areas, like Semye (Semipalatin) and Otar/ Taraz / Turkstan area etc.

Shymkent is a nice city near the border Uzbekistan with highway to Tazkent capital city of Uzbekistan.
Near Shimkent you will find the mountens between the two countries, with snow and other facilities, like mounten climbing - dirt drive - horse drive - skying - cycling - para glyding and many more outdoor sports, it is not the same as in Almaty but it will be in the future better, and special when there are more tourists from arround the world.

Shymkent area is a area for BBQ, and in every street you will find restaurants with a BBQ, and the Kazak Shaslik and Plof, from Cow meat ore Barran ( sheep ) meat, also chicken, and with com of Kazak chicken soup + bread and a local Shimkent beer you are in haven ( a Dutch beer is also possible like a Grolsh beugel 0.5 ltr), the people are nice and friendly and want all the time explane to you the traditions, and what you can eat ore not.

Shymkent is working very hard to be the third city of Kazakhstan, Logistic a good choose, and they work very hard to get that name, new traffic lights and new roads in the city, the flowers and trees are wonderful.

The Police is friendly and helpful, even if they not speak English they try to help you, young students like to sit in the nice parks in Shymkent and discus the day, and also they like to know from where you are, they speak a little English, but I see that more and more Kazakhstan is a country for holiday and travel, they try to do there best, to get the Int. standards Almaty and Astana have the standards in the large Int.hotels.

But you can also use a hotel apartment, it is bigger and for a group it is lower in price ( Sapar Appartments ), you can cook for your own, the supermarkets in Shymkent are good and you can buy evrything you need.

Taxi rental is today around 200 tenge one way, ore 1000 tenge our, 1 euro = 162 tenge 1 USD = 130 tenge, you can stop the cars on the road, but for that you need to talk a little Russian ore Kazak, for womens alone it is better to order a radio taxi, local womens can stop a car and do it, but mostly with two of them, for men there is no problem, but remember you are always in a other country.

Local public transport is good and not expensive, ask and wait for the bus, people will help you if you not understood the driver, also first ask the price before you go inside a bus, ask the people who wait together with you.

We will show you our Shymkent people and the local soccer club, and a trip to a soccer match in Taraz city.

Great news is that Shymkent will be the third city in Kazakhstan, the infrastucture in Shymkent is now as well better, new sewage/drinking water systems and new asphalt roads, and as well a new shopping center, please send us photos if you have to " info@sitm.nl " thanks in advance, all help is welcome to promote Shymkent.

Business we will not talk about, this is a private business between companies, but if you have a good apartment for rent or a new hotel or other for for holiday rentals just give a idea in our mailbox, as well we like to know if there are new flight info, airport info and taxi services, translators maybe or private guides, travelers can see it.

New restaurants are welcome, Shymkent piva is the best beer, advice is check the date and if the bottle is close if you buy, draught beer, Shymkent is modern but sometimes it is better to ask the second beer from the pipe, or check if they use it before, sometimes it is the same as in France or Spain, that the beer stay the whole night and day in the pipeline from the barrel, the daily temp in Kaz is a little higher than in Europe/US.

And Yes E tickets you can use in Kazakhstan and as well in Shymkent, ATF work with all International cards, Kazkommerz bank is a good bank in Shymkent, people stay sometimes near you when you want to take money from a ATF, ask friendly for a little distance, it is normal before, but slowly all understood now that people need a little more private, if it is about money.

Women and Girls we not talk about, this you have to find out by your self, and private, my wife is from Shymkent and the best, but this is all for others different, do not think you are from a other country and you can do what you want, and all love me (money) wrong thinking, give respect and you will get respect back.

Give us some time meanwhile if you have questions please add.

Also for companies who want have more info please do not hesitate to contact us, we can and will help you if you need it.





Questions obout a trip to Shimkent ore Kazakhstan please write us, and we try to answer your questions.

Henk and Marina

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