How about Kazakhstan?

Kazakhstan was definitely the biggest surprise of 2017. Here I’m going to give you my tips about this great country.

Getting there

My trip to Kazakhstan was quite spontaneous and I didn’t have much time to plan anything in advance. In fact I wanted to visit Uganda but since the flights were full (for those of you who don’t follow my blog I work as a cabin crew and I often use standby tickets) I changed my mind just 2 days before my vacation started.

I booked a flight to Almaty with FlyDubai. Even this flight was full so I had to buy a full fare ticket which isn’t that expensive (around 150 EUR).

Almaty used to be Kazakhstan’s capital until 1997. Nowadays the capital is Astana, but Almaty stays as one of the most vibrant and interesting cities in the country.

When to go?

It really depends what are you planning to do. If you are a fan of winter sports and you like snow and cold weather I think visiting Almaty in the winter would be a great choice. You can go in the mountains for skiing and snowboarding (scroll down and you’ll find my tips of how to get to Medeu) or you could just enjoying breathtaking views.

I went to Kazakhstan in June and I’ve spent 5 days (11-15 June) in Almaty and around. It’s hot but summer also has its charm. I had a chance to meet amazing people and make new friends.

Currency:  Kazakhstani tenge it’s not some kind of local dish as I thought at the beginning. That’s the name of the local currency here :D

10 Tenge = 0.02 EUR

Kazakhstan is a perfect country for budget travelers. I found that everything is much cheaper than Europe.


Getting out of the Airport

There’s always 2 ways to get out of an airport:
taxi or public transport. Guess which one I chose? :D

A taxi to the centre of Almaty will cost you between 2000 - 3000 Kazakhstani tenge. You won’t find a taxi meter inside the taxi, so it’s important that you agree on a price beforehand.

If you want to try the public transport straight away, you just go out of the terminal and you will see a bus stop. From there you can catch bus #92. 

Price for a single ticket: 80 tenge (0.21 EUR, no joke).

I guess you have no doubt that  I chose the bus and I get off at Zharokov bus stop. From there I took bus # 66 which stops 3 min away from my hostel. This wasn’t an easy task since most people in Kazakhstan don’t speak English so thanks to those Air Astana cabin crew who were in the bus with me :)
Tip: If you decide to catch the bus from the airport and you see local cabin crew, ask them for directions. We are nice people, sometimes we act even nicer than in the aircraft :D

Accommodation 

During my trip I chose to stay in Hostel “Loco” and I have no words to describe how happy I was from my choice.
The address is: Radostovets str. 152D/1, 050060 Almaty, Kazakhstan
You can easily find them in booking.com.

Price for 1 night (now that’s the best part) is only 7 EUR.

Peculiarities of the National Fishing

Kazakhstan has its own specifics that you’ll find out during your stay so let me give you just a bit of a heads-up:

Respect the elderly people. If you’re riding the bus and if you see an old lady approaching, you better give her your seat before you get kicked out. Respect for elderly people is something that apparently everyone is following in Kazakhstan.

In Kazakhstan you quickly learn how to stop an unofficial taxi on the street. You just stand by the road, slightly lift your hand (no need to raise it high or do something like hitchhiking sign) and 10 sec later a random car will stop.  And I'm not kidding.
You better be prepared to exercise your "русский язык" and bargain the price ;)

Most people in Kazakhstan don’t speak English but this doesn’t mean that they’re not willing to help you. Hand drawn maps and all kind of tips are most welcome!

I’ve found that in places where most people don’t speak English I always have hilarious moments. A guy from my hostel wanted to buy a souvenir t-shirt from Kazakhstan and I decided to help him find it.
Every time when the vendors where telling as the word “futbolka” (“футболка”)
we thought they think that we’re looking for a football T-shirt until at the end we realized that “futbolka” actually means “T-shirt” in Russian. lol

I found out that for some unknown reasons Almaty has one of the best coffee shops (let me clarify, I’m talking just about coffee) I’ve ever seen.

My favorite cafeterias in Almaty were:
“Nedelka” (there’s many of them but my favorite is the one on Abay Ave). It’s located in a really nice green area in the heart of the city.

“Urban Coffee” located at Satpaev St has an amazing interior. Mulled wine and strawberry tea is a must!

“Sensilyo” coffee, located at Gogol St, offers a wide variety of high quality blends from Africa.

“Sova” which offers delicious deserts and fluffy caffeine temptations. The address is Abylai Khan Ave 113

Things to do in Kazakhstan 

1. Almaty Big Lake

This beautiful lake is located only 15-20km from Almaty. It’s surrounded by beautiful mountains, close to the border with Kyrgyzstan. It’s easily accessible by car and a lot of companies are offering tours to the lake.

Things to know before you go:

You’re not allowed to swim or even touch the lake! The government decided to take serious precautions to keep the area clean after an attempt had been made to poison the water. You can’t even go in proximity to the lake unless you have a special permission. We learned it the hard way. We wanted to take pictures close to the lake and a security guard stopped us trying to make a problem. A small bribe and a conversation between my local friends and the guard fixed the situation but you can get into a serious trouble.

Tip: if you are already at the lake and you're with car or you want to do some hike you can visit "Космо станция" (Cosmo Station).

2. Charyn Canyon 

It’s located 200km east of Almaty and considering the fact that I only had 5 days I decided to skip it but if you have the time - I heard it’s definitely worth a visit!

3. Medeu and Shymbulak 

Looking for a great views from over 3000m? Then you should definitely visit Medeu. It is located in the upper part of the Medeu Valley in the Zaiilisky Alatau mountain range.

Good news is that you can go there using public transportation. It will take you more time but only 80-160 tenge depends of how many buses you need to change. The staff in hostel “Loco” was super nice and they gave me a detailed information of how to do this. 

I have to admit that I experienced some difficulties finding that "остановка" (bus stop) but I made it! 

Buy the ticket for kombi 1 and kombi 2 (price for the return ticket: 3500 KZT). Have in mind that kombi 2 is closing at 16:30. I arrived at the afternoon so I took the lift straight to Shymbulak and I had enough time to make stops at the lower-leveled stations on the way back.

Take your time when you reach the last station and if you’re feeling cold get a warm drink at bar 3200.

 4. Green Bazaar (Зеленый базар)

The Green Bazaar is an impressive market where you can find absolutely everything - from clothes to fresh vegetables and fruits.
The spacious hall  is full of stalls that are competing to attract buyers. The prices are slightly higher than the regular markets but the quality is superior. The market offers great variety of fruits, vegetables, nuts, herbs, honey, cheese, meat and other products that are coming straight from the farmers.

Tip: You’re not allowed to take photos but if you buy something just ask the vendors if you can take a snapshot. They wouldn’t say “No”.

5. Zenkov’s Cathedral

Not far away from The Green Bazar you have the chance to visit - Zenkov Cathedral. I think that every post-communist country (including mine) has one "Russian church" there. The Cathedral is beautiful and it’s worth a visit.

6. Museum of Folk Musical Instruments

Located in the same area is The Museum of Folk Musical Instruments. Visiting the museum was a big surprise to me. I didn’t expect such a huge collection of traditional Kazakh instruments. You can learn a lot about the culture and traditions of Kazakhstan. It was definitely an interesting experience.
The entry is only 500 tenge.
Tip: Museum is closed on Monday.

I hope that my basic tips about Kazakhstan were helpful.
Have you already booked your ticket to Almaty?
If not, hurry up! Life is short and world is too big to stay at one place :)