Blogs from Kazakhstan, Asia - page 10

It only takes 2hrs 45mins at the border – that's amazingly fast to get 12 bikes out of Russia and into Kazakhstan. They're friendly too, as soon, as we get the last stamp on our little piece of paper the official shakes our hand and says “ Welcome to Kazakhstan”. From the border the Kazakh steppe stretches off into the distance. In the sunlight the grass seems to be a mix of all shades of green, yellow and brown and the streams are the deepest blue - all very scenic against the clear blue skies. At first glance it looks just the same as the last 20 miles or so of Russia. But its so not the same, as soon as you start riding through it its so totally different – its quite a shock. There ... read more

Prave jsme v oblasti okolo mesta Almaty. Cesta pres Petropavlovsk, Astanu do Almaty nas vedla zajimavou stepi, skalnimi utvary, kolem jezera a poslednich zhruba 700km od jezera Balkas uz byla jen rovna step. Kazakhstan je 9ta nejvetsi zeme sveta a osidleni prakticky zadne. Hlavni mesto Astana je moderni metropole, ktera vsak postrada historii. Spousta modernich budov, vkusna architektura, ale to ja tak asi vse. Almaty je oproti tomu hezke zelene mesto plne zivota na upati vecne zasnezenych hor. Zde je videt, ze mesto zije, spousta obchudku, bazaru, trhu, lide ziji na ulici. Cestou jsme se vykoupali v jezeru Balchas, v nemz je v casti voda sladka, a v druhe casti slana. Lide jsou zde prijemni, ale s ruskou pohostinosti se to neda srovnat. V rusku i cizi clovek byl vic nez pratelsky, zde je uz videt ... read more

As the plane landed I felt genuine trepidation. “Why the hell am I in Kazakhstan?!”. This question with the subject changing from time to time to another “stan” was to become a recurring theme of this trip. As I stepped through the plane doors, away from the safety of the BMI flight, I was confronted with sight of what can only be described as a “North Korea-esque” soldier. I felt like getting right back on the plane. Alas this culture shock was short lived. The streets of Almaty are paved with petro-dollars. Once a Soviet backwater, pre-Borat Kazakhstan was best known as Stalin’s destination of choice for troublesome minorities from Germans to Koreans. A gas fuelled boom has transformed the country. I was arriving at an ungodly hour so I booked accommodation and a transfer from ... read more

This is a story of the peril of potholes and the immense kindness of Kazakh people. Although it is also the tale of my holiday adventures with Joan and Nikki it is the people we met and who helped us that are most important. The stupid cinema stereotypes that have maligned Kazakhstan and its people bear no resemblance to the openness, intelligence, generosity and kindness of Kazakhs in their home country. Almaty to Turkestan by train At last it was time for me to have a short break from work as Nikki and Joan, friends from the UK, came over to join me in Kazakhstan. When they finally woke from their 3am arrival, I took them into Almaty for a breakfast of coffee and pancakes. We were looking forward to exploring some of southern Kazakhstan including ... read more

Hicran Çiğdem Yorgancıoğlu ‘nun Kazakhstan Devr-i Alem Hicri Alem Hicran Çiğdem Seyahatnamesi’nden ..seyahat notlarından alıntılardır . Her hakkı saklıdır .. / Eserin tüm telif hakları H.Çiğdem Yorgancıoğlu’na aittir . Eserin izinsiz kopyalanması çoğaltımı ,yayını ,dağıtımı halinde 5846 sayılı Fikir ve Sanat Eserleri Kanunun hükümleri geçerli olacaktır. Hicran Çiğdem Yorgancıoğlu ‘nun Kazakhstan Devr-i Alem Hicri Alem Hicran Çiğdem Seyahatnamesi’nden ..seyahat notlarından alıntılardır . Her hakkı saklıdır .. / Eserin tüm telif hakları H.Çiğdem Yorgancıoğlu’na aittir . Eserin izinsiz kopyalanması çoğaltımı ,yayını ,dağıtımı halinde 5846 sayılı Fikir ve Sanat Eserleri Kanunun hükümleri geçerli olacaktır. Hicran Çiğdem Yorgancıoğlu ‘nun Kazakhstan Devr-i Alem Hicri Alem Hicran Çiğdem Seyahatnamesi’nden ..seyahat notlarından alıntılardır . Her hakkı saklıdır .. / Eserin tüm telif hakları... read more