Almaty

After a long flight from Tokyo with a layover in South Korea, I found myself in the distant lands of Kazakhstan. Having not much idea about the country except for the fact that it has a similar culture and landscape to Mongolia, I quickly moved forward and passed through immigration seamlessly, withdrew some money, and went out to see Askhat.

Askhat was a mutual friend from Ryo, whom I met while traveling the Gobi Desert in Mongolia. Askhat didn't know much English but he was with his girlfriend Aizada and both were waiting for me outside the airport. It was 10PM and I was quite touched as they were there to meet up with me. I had thought Askhat was going to drive me to my hotel but actually we were stopping by his home first. I was already quite tired and sleepy but of course, I wasn't one to turn down such an opportunity.

Askhat's mom had prepared a Kazakh feast for me back at their home, it was already late but they had made some lamb stew and plenty of Kazakh sweets were on display. I didn't hesitate to stuff myself while having Aizada be the translator to much of our conversations. It was a great time, during our goodbyes Askhat's mom gave me a kiss on my cheek which made me really giggle.

Askhat then drove me to AQ Capsule Hotel where I was staying which provided me with a room whole to myself, contrary to it being a capsule. I took a nice shower before drifting off to sleep.Read more