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Published: November 17th 2014
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On Air Astana to Delhi November 16 2014
I am beginning to understand what the Queen feels like since we have been treated like royalty in Almaty for the last three days. This is entirely due to Samat and Mira who had looked after us with fantastic Kazakhstan hospitality.
I had asked Ilmir, who had been a key contact at Merck when I was managing the account at Aesica and was a native of Kazakhstan, if he knew anyone in Almaty we could meet to learn about the city. He contacted an old school friend who suggested his wife's cousin, Samat. Little did we realise how well this meant we would be looked after.
Samat works at the Ministry of Finance and had just moved to Almaty from Astana six months previously. His family, his wife and three lovely daughters, had moved down before school started in September. Samat had travelled quite extensively and had visited England (Basingstoke!) on business in 2007. More recently their oldest daughter, who was 11 years old, had spent 10 days in Bournemouth to learn English. She had gone to Legoland on her birthday which was a
highlight.
The Bishkek marshrutka had dropped us at the main bus station in the West of the city. We avoided the taxi drivers and found the local bus stop outside on the main road. The Estate 2 hostel, our destination, had given us clear instructions. The bus ride quickly showed Almaty to be a modern bustling city. It is the commercial hub of Kazakhstan which after the initial turmoil of independence has grown rapidly over the last 15 years with its vast wealth of natural resources. There were bright malls, many restaurants and high class shops and the preferred mode of transport seemed to be Toyota Land Cruisers.
The Estate 2 hostel was excellent. It was on the 9th floor of a nice apartment block in the South East corner of the main city. We had a large double room (OK it was a little sparse on decoration) and there was a large common area and kitchen. We certainly increased the average age and were the only non Russian speaking foreigners. The other residents were all very friendly and seemed to be using the hostel as a student residence.
We had
The war memorial
With the unknown soldier flame in the foreground planned to cook meals and then with Samat's hospitality we did not have to. On our first evening he picked us and took us to an Uzbek/Central Asian restaurant. We had high class versions of traditional dishes including Besjbarmak, a Kazakh dish with horse meat and horse sausage. All very tasty (if you eat it). Samat just didn't let me pay. I tried twice and then realised I might be offending him. We needed another solution.
On this first evening we mentioned to Samat that we were thinking about going to the ballet or opera as the quality was reviewed as being excellent and affordable. We discussed the problem of dress because men should be jacket and ties and ladies in dresses. We doubted if walking boats, our only shoes, were suitable. The next morning there was a message from Samat that he was trying to get ballet tickets!
Our first challenge of the day was to post my 2.2kg Uzbek chapan back to England. It was 28C in Delhi and I would not be needing it. We then headed for the main Central Park. In the centre is a Russian orthodox cathedral, restored
since independence to a kaleidoscope of colours. We were lucky to see a bride and groom preparing to wear the traditional crowns used in the Russian marriage ceremony. At the back of the church is a war memorial designed in the grandest Soviet style I have ever seen - a hulk soldier and supporters running arms out stretched towards a flame of the unknown soldier.
Opposite the memorial is a neat museum of traditional musical instruments. We paid for an English guide which was well worth it as she was very knowledgable. There were a lot of examples of dobbra, a kind of small two stringed mandolin. An excellent exhibit showed dobbras owned by famous musicians from the past which also told you about the owners.
We then headed to the Green Market, the main central bazaar, and it did not take long to find Jane a pair of slip on shoes and matching black socks. So now she at least had slippers fit for the ballet. We also toured the food section with its multiple butchers stalls laid out by animal: beef, pork, horse, lamb, chicken. In another section we found some roses
With Samat and Mira at the theatre
This was as smart as we could get. I was not really making the grade! for Samat's wife.
When we got back to the hostel there was another message from Samat. His friend Urner (call me Eric) would pick us up and take us to the theatre where we would meet Samat and Mira. It turned out not to be the ballet which I probably was not dressed for. Instead we were at the National Theatre where there was a production of a classical Kazakh tragic love story. Of course we could not understand a word of the dialog and this did not matter. The acting was excellent and the clothes spectacular. The traditional Kazakh music was easier to interpret following our education in the museum in the afternoon. As the heroine died in her lover's arms at the end everyone was in tears! After the performance we retired to a shashlik (kebab) restaurant which had an excellent selection.
The next day Samat and Mira and their youngest daughter picked us up and took us to see the Medeo sports complex. This is an open air ice rink stadium in the nearby mountains that in its heyday was the site of more world records for winter sports than any
other venue. It is spectacular and remains open air. We walked up on the road passed it and then took the cable car which went above it and on to a ski resort up the mountain only 15km from the Kyrgyzstan border. The resort is at 2500m, the temperature was -4C and there was still not quite enough snow for the runs to be open.
The elder daughters had been at school so we picked them up and went to a Kazakh restaurant. I was impressed when I asked their 8 years old daughter what she wanted to be when she grew up. "President or a doctor", came the quick reply. We spoke to the eldest daughter about her trip to England and she replied in beautifully soft clear words. I played chess again with their youngest daughter who had just started lessons. It was a super evening. I was glad we had found a good bottle of Port for Samat, something he had discovered when he went the UK.
Samat and his family really made our stay in Almaty special. It was a heart felt goodbye and we hope we can repay them
one day in England. It was an amasing end to our time in Central Asia. We were up early for the plane to Delhi the following morning.
The Central Asian part of our trip has been memorable: Turkmenistan for being so bizarre, Uzbeks for being so friendly, Kyrgyzstan for its awesome beauty and Kazakhstan for Samat's hospitality and generosity.
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Ilmir
non-member comment
Bon Voyage
He Jem and Jane! Glad your Central Asian tour went well. After reading about your adventures in Almaty, I now plan to spend a few days in Almaty next time I go back to visit my family in Astana. Many thanks for sharing your stories and good luck with your trip.