Flashback 7: Kazakhstan (Almaty)

After 7 hours or so of hiking yesterday, high up in the mountain ranges of Kazbegi Georgia, Dianne and I are taking things easy today.

We find ourselves stuck in and around our guesthouse, which is more of a modest home than a hotel. We are paralyzed by more than just sore muscles.

Morning in Kazbegi

The scenery here is outstanding, and waking up to a view like this in the morning is something I highly recommend.

The mountains that surround us here are impressive, and I can’t help but feel compelled to draw comparison with some of the other mountainous regions we visited in the last few months.

One of the more noteworthy mentions, as i take this slow and lazy jog down memory lane, were the alps of Almaty.

Perhaps the main attraction of this former capital of Kazakhstan is its famous Mount Shymbulak, home to Kazakhstan’s recent and famous winter olympics stadium.

In today’s Flashback post, we take you back to our first stint in Almaty, where we got to experience Shymbulak first hand, and much else that the city had to offer.

Sunset at Kok Tobe

Almaty was a city that took Dianne and I largely by surprise. Fresh out of China, we didn’t know what to expect from our first stop in Central Asia.

Like many of you out there, the only unfortunate and clearly nonsensical point of reference i’d had prior to visiting Kazakhstan were of the misadventures of fictional Kazakh ambassador, Borat.

What we got served up instead was something lightyears away from what many of us saw in the movie.

I’ll leave you now with pictures of sprawling Almaty and its beautiful surroundings, and as always, I hope you enjoy them!

This is Clyde, signing off.

Our ride from Urumqi China to Almaty Kazakhstan…check ot flashback 6 for the proce…it’s in there somewhere!

The bus is pretty cozy with its comfortable beds

Rest stop in China

Goodbye, People’s Republic…it’s been real!

Leaving China with Lola, a friend we made on the bus…one of the few English speakers on board

First look at Kazakhstan

Heres something you get used to traveling through Kazakhstan…lotsa flat empty dusty land

More friends made during our bus ride..Saniya (far right), with her friend…

And Norjan..thanks Saniya and Norjan..not sure how we woulda found our way in Kz that first night without your help!

Walking a dog…? What’s going on here..?

That’s Chuda…she belong to our couchsurfer host, Kristin..this is her lovely place…she’s out at work, so we’re helping with the doggy chores

With doggy chores taken care off, we take ourselves out for a walk

Our mission: Train tickets to the new Kazakh capital, Astana

But first..a side mission to the tourist police to register our passport stamps..when entering Kazakhstan, youre given a piece of paper thats supposed to have two green stamps on it..sometimes you only get one, and if thats the case, a trip to the tourist police for a second stamp is required…check at the border and ask for a second stamp if necessary to save yourself the hassle…and DON’T lose the paper!

The train station…this is almaty 1..theres also an almaty 2 further north

We couldnt speak any russian or kazakh and so couldnt really communicate with the cashier…this young man named Didar helped rescue us! Learn a little Russian if you ever plan on visiting central Asia

We go for lunch with Didar, who then volunteers to show us around..here we are at the green bazaar

Is is Arbat..famous for street artists and performers

Kazakhstan chocolate..these make excellent souvenirs, and the taste pretty good and cost little too!

We make our kazakh host pose with the Kazakh chocolate

Didar insists this hotel is one of the pride and joys of Almaty

My first real good look at a Lada..the russian lada was something id only seen in the movies up until then

There she goes…these babies are everrywhere in central asia!

We head for Kok Tobe, or Green Hill in English

Didar’s called his friend Taco along

Kok Tobe’s prominent tower reaches for the clouds

Half way up to the top…The suns setting

Snow capped mountains off in the distance…one of them is probably shymbulak..Didar and Taco offer to bring us tomorrow!

Taco posing in traditional Kazakh headgear..with the shades on, he reminds me of Psy of Gangnam style fame in this pic for some reason!

Fotunately fo me, not so fortunately for the wolf, this canine critter is stuffed

The top of Kok Tobe is full of rides and tourist attractions and stuff

It’s pretty late but the sun refuses to completely go away..sunsets in central asia, in Summer at least, happen late, at around 9

We end the night with an awesome kazakh dinner at student prices

It’s tomorrow! Super shiny buildings on our way to meet Taco and Didar

This is medeo, at the bottom of shymbulak

This is Almaty’s winter olympics stadium

No ice in summer, but plenty of people rollerblading

Dandelions! Dont get these in Singapore

Climbing Shymbulak..thats the medeo stadium from a little bit up the mount

Cable cars take you to near the top if you’re less keen on a climb

Rest stop…i tell the gang ive never seen snow before, and that i really want to make it to the snow capped parts of th mount..the peaks about 3000m up though, and nobodys in the mood for the full climb..we take a taxi up to near the cable car station..turns out to be cheaper than the cable car

Snow! We stop the cab and throw snowballs

This is somewhere near the cable car station…we climb the rest of the way

Didar shows us a slug

A little picnic before cntinuing

Didar points out Wild onions

I have a nibble

We cross a stream to the other side

And hike through the meadows…this is how Dianne and I imagine mountains in Europe look like

Wild horses stand between us and our waterfall

We brave our way through the herd

Snow!!

First tentative steps

Before fully embracing the white icy cold!

A short climb before we reach our goal

Group photo as we picnic by the waterfall

A block of naturally occuring ice…bout the size of a football…trippy for a guy like me whos never experienced a winter

Time to head back down

One final goodbye to the snow

Back down through the meadows

Pretty flowers of purple and yellow pepper the fields…

Back across the stream

Taxis brought us back down…we find a blindfolded hunting falcon waitin for us..these birdies are used for hunting all through central asia and mongolia

Falcon strikes a swaggy pose with dianne and her fur hat

Didar and Taco invite us back to their place for dinner

CranberriesLotsa flora everywhere on the way there

Including this strange leaf, which you see everywhere in Kazakhstan if you keep your eyes open

Pears…

Apples…

Our hosts buy us ice cream…one of the great thing about central asia is the really cheap ice cream

At Didar and Tacos place…an old vintage car..brands pronounced Bolga

Dinner is served

Taco and Didar and friends..truly epic story here…about ten people live in this house..all are childhood friends who decided to become pilots together..the reason they all speak english is because pilot training requires a working knowledge of the language…had a really really awesome time with Didar and Taco and gang..the number one thing about kazakhstan and kyrgyzstan too for me was the people..super friendly and warm and helpful…this gang was our first taste of this niceness, but def not our last as you’ll see in future posts..thanks Taco and Didar…miss you guys!

Here’s Kristin, our couchsurfer host..thanks so much for all the hospitality, and we really enjoyed the late night conversations too..pity we couldnt spend more time together, but lets hope our paths cross again some time in the future!

Here are our train tickets to Astana, which you’ll read about in the next flashback post, so stay tuned…cheers!