Almaty
April 26, 2024 in Kazakhstan ⋅ ☁️ 8 °C
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
Almaty II
April 27, 2024 in Kazakhstan ⋅ ☁️ 8 °C
The next morning in Almaty was my first time taking a cold shower in Kazakhstan, and boy, it was freezing. I was glad to experience such a rush of cold again since Japan's showers had been getting a bit not too cold for my taste.
I went outside to get a taste of that fresh morning air and began my walk around the city, seeing it again for the first time in broad daylight. It was a cloudy day today but I didn't mind it at all. I passed through a park where I accidentally ended up in G. Musrepov State Academic Theatre for Children & Youth. It had that classic Soviet architecture but the star of the day here were the tulip flowers, thousands of them right in front of the theatre. A school of kids suddenly came over and I just sat down by the bench admiring the life happening right in front of me.
I continued on to the Central Almaty Mosque, a wonderful place of worship with impeccable design. The inside was empty but the main door leading to it was the highlight here. Not too far was the Green Bazaar, where I was able to see a lot of merchants selling fresh goods and poultry.
I continued on to the Ascension Cathedral, tucked away deep inside a park. A Russian Orthodox church by the looks of it, there were plenty of people here taking pictures at the front. I went around the back to find it empty except for three people roller skating with pretty much the same view. Another famous site is the Memorial of Glory, not too far from the cathedral. It size of the sculpture exceeded my expectations and it was actually quite impressive, a group of soldiers with one up front, perhaps the leader.
I also visited the Museum of Folk Instruments upon the recommendation of my soon-to-be friend, Kama, whom I was going to be meeting later that night for dinner. It was a very good recommendation too! The musical instrument collection was vast and it really made me curious as to how they would really sound when played, some looked very intricate.
It was time to look for lunch so I headed down south, towards where the Central State Museum was. I stopped by the Leo Tolstoi statue and a House Museum named after D. Konaev, who apparently is a famous Soviet politician. The entrance fee was quite expensive all things considered, yet it was an interesting stop nevertheless.
At this point, I was getting hungry so I decided to grab a bite at Trieste, an Italian restaurant, seeing as most of the menus of the Kazakh restaurants were in Russian, I didn't want to risk eating the wrong thing. On the way there, I stopped by the Abay Kazakh State Academic Opera and Ballet Theater, it had a beautiful exterior, and perhaps on a good day, there would have been a fountain show as well.
After a heavy lunch of truffle pasta and chicken, I scuttled closer towards the Central State Museum, but not before stopping by the Independence Monument. Surprisingly, the Central State Museum exceeded all my expectations. It's one of the most beautiful museums I've ever been to so far, it has three floors and each one has multiple halls with a huge collection of artifacts and displays. From dinosaurs to miniature replicas of famous landmarks. I could easily spend the whole day here. I particularly liked the ethnic hall where they had a huge display of a yurt.
With so much time left before the meeting with Kama (we were going to have dinner around 9 PM) I just sat down by the movie display for a bit. But I also didn't like to do nothing so in the end, I went out of the museum and made my way to Kok Tobe Hill. I got to ride cable car up top expecting some sort of natural place but it was more like a theme park up there with a pretty sad zoo too.
I sat by the bench and meditated for a long time until I noticed it was getting a bit too chilly for my taste. I went back down and walked towards Dostyk Plaza where Kama and I were supposed to meet but I still had 2 hours or so. I just played some tunes and let the time fly by, the opportunity to rest and do nothing was not bad at all. Soon enough, I finally got to meet Kama. She seemed like a very cheerful and fun person to be around, we went to Starbucks to grab something to drink and talked the night away. It was so fun to find out that she liked playing Elden Ring so we talked about games a lot and made plans to play in the future.
We took a bus going to Medeu which was where we were going to eat. At Ayul, a fancy restaurant that serves neo-nomadic cuisine. Coincidentally, Medeu is also the place where the world's highest outdoor ice skating ring was. I only got to see the outside of the stadium, unfortunately. Ayul, however, was mighty impressive. The interior design was top-notch it definitely felt like it was out of my price range but it was actually not that bad at all. I ordered some trout and also treated us to some dessert.
It was snowing quite hard here which was strange to see in April, and then back in the lower parts of Almaty, it was raining. Still, it was such a good day and I slept pretty well.Read more
Big Almaty Lake
April 28, 2024 in Kazakhstan ⋅ ☁️ 2 °C
Waking up early to another cold shower, I found myself outside waiting for the bus that would take me to the First President Park where I waited for another bus going to Kokshoky Village.
On the way there, I had met some local teens who were on their way to hike. I tried to pay the driver with a bill but he wouldn't take it. One of the guys gave me some coins to which I offered the driver, he still wouldn't. So I gave up and took a seat. At one point, I was confused if I was going the right way or not so I asked them if I was going to the right direction towards Big Almaty Lake and they confirmed it.
Halfway through the ride, they asked if they could come with me, and I said sure. Also around that time, a ticket inspector went in and the kids covered up for me, they paid again and this time I got the paper ticket. When we got to Kokshoky, I was going to take a cab up to the trailhead and that's when they backed out. I went ahead and paid 2,000 tenge and made it only halfway. I found out the trail was closed to private vehicles now. So what was supposed to be a half-day morning trip became a full day 6 hour hike. Well, I was already here so why not just go for it.
I was a bit worried as the guard told me it would be cold, I wondered if I packed enough for this trip, I had not much food on me and only a bottle of water. While walking, I saw two guys coming out of the side walk to where there was a waterfall. I went up to check it out before catching up with them, asking if they were doing the Big Almaty Lake hike as well. One of the guys, O from Thailand, said yes and invited me to hike with them. I agreed. The other guy, Rahul, was from India.
When we reached a crossroads, we saw two other hikers on the way down and asked them for directions. They pointed out that we do the long winding way up on the left path instead of the harder inclines on the right. They also told us about a restaurant halfway called Alpen Rose which was perfect for me to get some re-energizing. Sounds like a plan.
The hike was cold, foggy, and more or less silent. I had a lot to think about but at the same time, my body was definitely adjusting to the sudden activity. I talked with O for a bit but eventually, I started to gain traction and ended up leaving them both behind. I reached Alpen Rose and had some chicken and garlic bread for lunch and continued on.
Strangely enough, I saw a lot of people climbing on the pipes which seemed like a lot of fun and I wanted to give that a go as well but didn't have the opportunity as it seemed a bit hard to get on it from where I was at the moment. As I ascended higher, the clouds seemed to have parted and finally revealed the treasures of Almaty. Glacial mountains and clouds passing through pine forests. It was an amazing sight, one that suddenly made all my worries disappear and I realized, wow this hike was so worth it.
With much fervor, I continued up until I finally made it to Big Almaty Lake, which was frozen but still beautiful. It was only me here, sitting down admiring such a great view, what an honor. As the clouds started to roll in again, I decided it was time to head back. This time around, I wanted to take the pipes.
The pipes were definitely interesting. The clouds made everything so eerie as I couldn't see what was in front of me. Only the metallic sounds of my footsteps hitting the pipes accompanied me for a long time. The pipes were also a good shortcut as I got to cut through all the long zigzags I did in the other path. As I got closer to the bottom, I slipped because the clouds were making the pipes a bit wet. After one slip, I opted out on the pipes and started going down soil-side which was also quite difficult and I found myself losing my balance a couple of times as well. The rocks and soil were a bit loose.
After I made it back to the trailhead, there were some taxi drivers there ready to take me back. I paid one 5,000 tenge to drop me back at First President's Park, and we picked up some hitchhikers along the way.
The day was far from over however, today I was meeting with Askhat's family again for dinner. I took a bus to their neighborhood where his mom had prepared another Kazakh feast for me. This time it was Chicken Beshbarmak, an unusual dish according to them as it is usually done with either horse or beef. But I just couldn't bring myself to eat red meat, even though I had already crossed that boundary once the first night when they offered me lamb. Still, it was always fun to be with Askhat's family.
We ate until sundown and even then, the day wasn't over. Askhat wanted to show me around the city during night time so off we went in his car for a night drive. We first stopped by a nice park for a short walk before he took me to a secret spot to watch the airplanes fly up close. We then picked up Aizada and went to chill by a river and walk around before dropping her back at her place. Askhat and I then went to a sort of night district to walk around and back before I finally caved in and told him that I really can't do any more walking today, I had just finished a hike after all.
We drove around for a bit more before he dropped me back at my hotel where we said our final farewells.Read more
Moon Canyon
April 28, 2024 in Kazakhstan ⋅ ☁️ 11 °C
Today's the day I finally explore the Kazakh steppes. I had joined a 2D1N tour because I really wanted a chance to sleep in a yurt, just like the old days in Mongolia.
My meeting place was at Ibis which was super convenient as it was only a minute away from the capsule hotel. I soon found myself inside a huge van with unfamiliar people, and as usual I wasn't really in a very social mood when put in these sort of situations so I put on my Sennheiser's and just let the tunes take me away.
Our first stop was a place called the Moon Canyon, which was aptly given its name due to its lunar-looking landscape. On the way, we stopped by an endless flower field of white and yellow poppies, it was my first time seeing this many flowers in one place which stretched as far as the eye could see. The smell was intoxicatingly resplendent.
When we arrived at the Moon Canyon, we did a short hike going deeper into the valley. According to our tour guide, this area, or the whole of Charyn used to be the bottom of the ocean as far as the Mesozoic era. Meaning where we're standing now was once a prehistoric sea bed which explains all the really unique rock formations and patterns.Read more
Black Canyon
April 29, 2024 in Kazakhstan ⋅ ☁️ 14 °C
Our next stop was the Black Canyon, still part of Charyn Canyon National Park. This time around the canyon cliffsides were indeed black, with the river coursing through in the middle.
This particular spot had fewer tourists and only a few viewing points but it was nothing short of stellar. Our tour guide took us to a secret spot beyond the fence where we could go up a spire for an awesome photo. Even I couldn't resist getting a photo of that caliber.
I bought some snacks for the long road ahead as the final destination of the day, Kolsai Lake, was still a few hours away.Read more
Kolsay Lake
April 29, 2024 in Kazakhstan ⋅ ☁️ 8 °C
After the Black Canyon, we stopped by our yurt camp and had a late lunch before continuing on.
Our last stop for the day was the beautiful Kolsay Lake, tucked in between mountains with glacial summits. Unfortunately, it was pretty cloudy so there wasn't going to be any sunsets happening here but the clouds added a lot of drama to the scenery.
There was a long hike down toward the lake area and there were several boardwalks going around the perimeter of the lake. I took the one on the left side which was the longer one. After reaching the end, I started to turn back and ran into my other tour mates. I then went to the other side of the lake just to see what it's like on the other side.
Still, the views from the center and the top were the best. It seems like everyone else was still busy exploring so I went up and spent some time just sitting and admiring the view. Letting the time pass by, letting the chill settle in.
At night, we had a bonfire back at the camp where we all sang merry tunes and enjoyed each other's company. There were these two ladies from Poland while the rest of the group seemed to hail from India. The hot showers were also not working, so I had a nice cold shower in the cold, cold night. The inside of the yurt was very warm and I actually slept pretty well thanks to my noise-cancelling earbuds.Read more
Kaindy Lake
April 30, 2024 in Kazakhstan ⋅ ☁️ 9 °C
The next morning, I woke myself up with another cold shower. The morning chill definitely didn't help in giving me enough courage to go through with it but hey, I did it!
We had some breakfast before going on an off-road trip using a very familiar Russian van that we had once used in Mongolia. Our ride took us to the trailhead of Kaindy Lake. We had a choice to either ride a horse or do the trek on foot. It was a short one and I could use the exercise so why not?
Off we went, and no sooner than later when I looked back, I realized that I was already ahead of everyone by a long shot. I guess all that hiking back in Japan was showing up. The trail was a bit muddy but nothing too bad, I eventually made it to the top and was relieved that it was now time for a descent towards Kaindy Lake, the flooded forest.
The main draw here are the trees half submerged in its turquoise waters. Surrounded by the mountains, it made for a very picturesque site. I wanted to explore more and went up the observatory and down towards the lake, following it's edge until I made it to the furthest reachable point which showed me the shore on the other side as well as a new perspective of the floating tree trunks. Following the perimeter back, I saw some tiny waterfalls that were feeding the lake.
I rested a while on the bench before our guide told us it was time to head back. Now we had to do the trek again but at least this time it was going down so it wasn't that bad.
After the off-road trip back, we got on our original van and went to a nearby hostel to have lunch. This time around, the lunch was phenomenal. Some of our tour mates had complained about the food as it was not that good in the previous camp so our guide brought us here for a feast. It was a good meal.Read more
Charyn Canyon
April 30, 2024 in Kazakhstan ⋅ ☀️ 16 °C
After a hefty lunch, we had a long ride ahead of us towards the actual Charyn Canyon.
Here, we were able to do a long trek down towards the canyon. It was highly impressive seeing all the layers of the past in grand display on the rocks of the surrounding cliffs. We walked towards the Valley of Castles, where there were amazing rock formations. Really solid shapes reminiscent of castle ramparts.
As we progressed, the landscape kept on becoming even more rugged and ancient. All these colors of past bed rocks, all these strange shapes, it felt like we were on another planet.
At the end of the trail was the Charyn River, where we were able to dip our feet in which was so refreshing after a long walk under the sun. I explored a bit more before finding some shade and talking with the rest of the group. Tia and Erewan from Indonesia and Malaysia, and Mennon and another dude from India.
Going back, we used a van which was a very welcome option. I asked our tour guide if we could stop by somewhere on the way back to watch the sunset as I haven't seen a sunset yet in Kazakhstan.
He did make do of his promise as we did stop by somewhere on the open fields to watch the last bit of sun dip over the horizon. Another long road ahead until we finally got back to Almaty where we all went our separate ways.
Back at my capsule hotel, I was surprised to see Mennon again who was literally staying on the room beside mine. I went for one last hammam before going to bed. Mennon tried to invite me for dinner but I was going to wake up early tomorrow to catch a flight to Shymkent. My Kazakhstan adventure was far from over.Read more
Shymkent
May 1, 2024 in Kazakhstan ⋅ ☀️ 19 °C
I was able to make it to my flight just in the nick of time, as in, when I arrived, everyone was already boarding the flight.
The flight itself was spectacular as I had views of the Tian Shan mountains all the way through. I didn't realize just how majestic the formations were.
It was only a short 1 hour flight to Shymkent and from there I took a taxi to my hotel, BnB Hotel Shymkent. When I arrived, they had upgraded me to a deluxe room which was one of the biggest flats I have ever seen. A huge bathroom, a private bedroom, a giant living room, and a kitchen too. Like dang. The place was simply too big for me.
I left my stuff and set out for Sayram, an ancient 3,000 year old city, just a short bus ride away from Shymkent.
First order of business was to get some food, I ended up in a fast-food chain for chicken. I got a chicken burger and chicken shawarma which I regret getting because the burger was already enough. I tucked the shawarma in my bag thinking that it could be for dinner.
I went mausoleum-hopping around Sayram. It seems most of the sites here were burial grounds for Sufi saints. I went to Mirali Bobo Mausoleum first which was just standing there unassuming on the corner of an intersection. The Central Mosque was also quite impressive. I went to Karashashana Mausoleum next and the view of the Central Mosque was much better there as it seemed to protrude out of the bushes that stood as a wall around the mausoleum.
My last stop was Abdil-Aziz Baba Mausoleum, where I saw some pilgrims stopping by. I tried going to Mavzoley Ibgragim Ata as well but I realized that the public transportation here was too unreliable and I might be stuck here for a long time. I opted to take a ride back to Shymkent instead.
Back in Shymkent, I went through the Ordabassy Mosque and ended up giving my shawarma to a beggar there instead. Better her than me I guess.
I walked over to the Citadel of Shymkent but it was still under excavation. I got to take a peek when they opened the main gates. I was sitting down relaxing until a guy started to beg me for money so I just took off from there. I tried to go to the Koshkar Ata Canal because they were saying that it was a sacred and healing spring but when I got there, after a long bus ride to boot, it was really dirty. Turns out I was in the wrong area, but since I was nearer to Akmeshit Mosque, I just pushed on forward.
Akmeshit Mosque was particularly impressive with its giant white facade. It had this post-modern look to it as well. I waited for my bus there for a long time but after it seemed like it wasn't coming, I booked a Yandex. Even after that, the driver failed to show up so I ended up talking to some taxi drivers and asked them to take me to Jami Mosque.
Which was also under construction when I arrived! Bummer. I walked back to Ordabassy square and found the actual Koshkar Ata Canal here. I washed my face after all the exploring today. It seemed like during summer, the people would swim here.
I ate dinner at a nearby historic restaurant, and by dinner, I meant a huge platter of fruits! I was so tired of eating meat the whole time and just having the opportunity to eat lots of fruits was certainly a blessing for me. I took a bus back towards my hotel and on the way, a dog with a collar started to play with me. It was sunset and it was a moment.
I was so happy to be back at the hotel though. The huge space was a welcome respite after a hectic day.Read more
Turkistan
May 2, 2024 in Kazakhstan ⋅ ☀️ 20 °C
Going back to Akmeshit Mosque to catch a local bus heading towards Turkistan, I found myself in for a long ride and a long day.
We had to wait until the car was full before we set forth for a 2-hour ride or so. I was dropped by near the Mausoleum of Khoja Ahmed Yasawi and even from afar I can already see the magnificence of the structure. With azure royal blues coating its domes, it stood out prominently even against the backdrop of clear skies.
As I slowly approached it, I started to get a sense of just how massive the entire mausoleum was. This was a pilgrimage site for Sufi Muslims and Ahmed Yasawi himself was a famous Sufi Saint. I went a lap around the building and also took a peek inside which was much more humble. I walked around the premises and visited the bath-house and the underground mosque as well.
On the way to the Mosque of Khoja Yasawi, I was approached by a random dude who started to make some small talk. I was a bit on guard but ran into him again later. He was from Astana and I somehow just ended up talking with him as we walked towards the mosque, which actually was one of the most beautiful pieces of architecture I have seen so far. Highly geometric, symmetrical, and the color scheme of white and blue made it look like a celestial structure. We went inside which had a much simpler thing going on, except the dome. The Muslims just had a way with geometry and symmetry that is almost unrivaled.
I left the guy after that and went on to explore Karavan Saray. After seeing some pics online, I just knew I had to check this place out. The giant golden egg on a nest was what really drew me in. It seemed to be a theatre so that was really interesting. The area around here had a very futuristic and modern take on Muslim architecture. It was like being in Abu Dhabi or Dubai. Everything looked modern, chic, and clean. I lapped around here before having some lunch at a restaurant. Ordered some chicken and tomatoes and an oreo milkshake before talking with the staff about finding a taxi to take me to Sauran and other spots around Turkistan. However, I was quoted a really high price so I ended up just booking a taxi on my own through Yandex and decided to wing it from there.Read more
Sauran
May 2, 2024 in Kazakhstan ⋅ ☀️ 23 °C
The taxi driver and I got along pretty swell despite the language barrier. It was an hour-long ride to Sauran and we were negotiating quite a bit on what I wanted to do and what was feasible. I had wanted to visit Aryslan Bab Mausoleum and Otrar as well but it seems like only Arsylan Bab was doable after Sauran.
Sauran was an ancient silk road city, probably one of the highlights of the day because I literally had this whole expanse of land all to myself with naught another soul in sight. It was huge and there were all these jumping critters everywhere but not a single one got on me as they tended to jump away. It was fascinating to see just how large the area was, signified by the walls encompassing the entire space. There were only ruins left of what was once was, I circled around and climbed up every structure I could to get a better view.Read more
Almaty III
May 3, 2024 in Kazakhstan ⋅ ☁️ 17 °C
Waking up before sunrise was difficult but not impossible. I got my cold shower to wake myself up and went down to check out. I was able to get my change from the clerk but in a rush, I had forgotten to get my fifty dollar security deposit.
I had ordered a Yandex taxi which was taking some time to arrive, it seemed to be stuck for a while. I was getting a bit nervous because I only had a small leeway to get to the airport for my boarding. Well, as it turns out he cancelled on me so now I had to book another one, this time I could feel a tinge of panic already starting to arise but I tried to stay calm and breathe.
The taxi finally arrived and we sped off just as the sun was beginning to rise. We got to the airport just in the nick of time so I gave him my thanks. The flight was over in about an hour or so, so now I found myself back in Almaty.
I started to head to Sayran, got on the first bus, and switched to another. Here's where things get a bit dicey. Back in Shymkent it was alright to pay the bus as you went down but I guess in Almaty this wasn't the case. I got caught by one of the "inspectors" and was pulled off outside. He threatened to call the police and the usual stuff but I already knew what he wanted. He wanted an exorbitant fee of like 20,000 tenge or something like that but I literally only had like 3,000 tenge left on me. He took everything though and even shook my hand like dang. Anyways, I got on another bus and finally got to Sayran. Withdrawing some more money just to buy a bus ticket and some lunch.
It was a long day but at least I could finally get to Kyrgyzstan next.Read more
