Travelling in Kazakhstan – Part 4

First, let me tell you that I’m not a person who would be scared of flight; I actually love flying. But luckily, it wasn’t a propeller plane because it had two jet engines, but as soon as they turned on, I heard some weird noise that I hadn’t heard in an airplane or airplane engines before. The plane looked like it could be from the 1970s or 1980s. “Ok,” I said to myself. “If it hasn’t crashed by now, why would it happen today?” But I have to admit, it was one of the worst flights I’ve ever experienced. We flew relatively low, so you could see everything underneath – the steppes, horses grazing there, lakes, cities, villages. We were shaken by turbulence every five minutes and we felt like we were on a rollercoaster. It was a low-cost airline, so the only free thing we got on the plane was a glass of water and that was it. Well, what more could one expect on a 40-dollar flight (which, by the way, cost the same as a two-day train journey). The landing was quite painful and rough, and I thought the wheels were going to come off. Luckily, they didn’t and all was well. I left the plane and was really eager to visit Kazakhstan’s former capital – Almaty.

The taxi driver

One of the hardest things to do at an airport, train station and the likes is always finding a cheap and reliable transfer to your accommodation. That’s why I usually try to find a taxi outside the airport, on a nearby street. And I did go past all the “illegal” taxi drivers, who offered their services at the airport, and met an old man at the parking lot who offered me to take me to the city. I didn’t have to haggle much and we settled on a price of five euros, which guaranteed me a ride. We talked along the way and when he asked me where I came from, I told him I was from Slovenia. “Ah, former Yugoslavia, Tito, friendly country.” The man was highly educated and I was surprised at all the things he knew about our country. He told me he used to work as a professor back in the Soviet times, and that he was now a taxi driver because he couldn’t survive with such a low pension (about 50 euros). I heard many such stories again and again in all the cities I visited in Kazakhstan, and somehow it always makes your heart sink hearing these kinds of stories.

The former capital of Alma-Ata or Almaty and the Big Almaty Lake (BAO – Bol’shoye Almatinskoye Ozero)

The old name of the city, Alma-Ata, means “apple” and “mountain” in Kazakh, so “Apple mountain”. It’s no wonder it got that name, since the city is nestled below magnificent mountains that reach as high as 3,000 metres. And despite it being the beginning of summer, you could feel the cold mountain wind that blew across the city, giving it special freshness and providing a wonderful clear view of the surrounding mountain tops.

The city was fairly modern and tall skyscrapers could be seen everywhere around. I set off on foot to explore the city, but soon realised it was too big to be explored on foot. That’s why, the next day, I used an app that works like some kind of Kazakhstani Uber and drove from one sight to another.

There’s a street called Arbat in the city, just like in Moscow, where people stroll and spend their free time while street performers sing and play various instruments, mostly guitars and accordions, and painters make paintings, and there are all other kinds of artists. There’s also an interesting fountain set in the middle of the street that produces high jets, which is especially interesting for children and youth that play there, even in rainy weather.

In the mountains above the city is the Big Almaty Lake, specifically a 30-minute drive from the city centre. The lake is only accessible with a rented car (there’s no public transport that would take you to the lake), and a round trip will cost you about 30 euros per car. The road is fairly narrow and a bit dangerous with its hairpin turns and precipices.

It was early June, but there was still snow there because the lake lies at an altitude of about 3,000 metres.

Higher up in the mountains, almost at the top, is an old Soviet observatory that’s still in operation, so I decided to visit it as well. The driver and I were on our way and arrived to the Kazakhstani military checkpoint (due to Kyrgyzstan being on the other side of the mountains) where the military carded us and checked our passports.

It started snowing heavily in the next couple of minutes and there was an off-road vehicle stuck on the road ahead, so I decided to not continue my trip to the observatory because the car didn’t have winter tyres or a four-wheel drive. So, we drove back to Almaty. We picked up a Russian mountaineer who had spent two weeks up in the mountains, but decided to return to the city just then because of the bad weather. He said he’d go to the Kazakhstani mountains each year because the nature there is really breath-taking.

When we got back to the city, I bought myself some lunch – shashlik (something like a mutton barbecue skewer) – and then headed out to visit another ski resort in the low mountains that’s located right outside the city and is known as Shymbulak. It also has a cable car that takes you right up to the heart of the mountains in half an hour – one could call the mountains Switzerland of Kazakhstan.

There’s also a viewpoint called Kok Tobe Park above the city which, in translation, means “How Are You” park. It has a tall tower and a children’s amusement park as well as a mini zoo. It’s also great for sleigh riding into the valley. It’s accessible by ski-lift and cable car from the city.

Grand Canyon of Kazakhstan – Charyn Canyon – the world’s 2nd largest canyon

The next day, I made an arrangement with my taxi driver to take me to the world’s second largest canyon that looks very similar to Grand Canyon in the USA. A full-tank rented car with a driver cost me 100 euros for one full day – for an about 500-kilometre journey. The road leads through picturesque steppes and canyons. Every now and then, a horse wanders onto the road, which kind of reminded me of the Wild West, but a Russian-Asian version of it.

You’re surrounded by nature and one really feels small. Horses freely graze in the endless steppes, surrounded by mountains, and I felt like I was in completely different times, ones when humans were still deeply connected with nature and the environment.

We stopped in a village by the road on our way back and treated ourselves to some shashlik. The next morning, I left Almaty and headed to Kyrgyzstan, concluding my trip in Kazakhstan.