We arrived at Tashkent airport at an ungodly hour to make our flight on Uzbek Air to Almaty, Kazakhstan. The airport had reasonable stringent security assessments but was manageable and before we knew it we were through immigration and into a waiting area for our flight. We bused to the aircraft and while still in a daze we took off. I woke early in the flight for the breakfast service which consisted of a juice and inedible rock hard roll with something resembling ham. The flight was rather uneventful and we traveled safely
On landing in Almaty I withdrew some Tenge and hopped on the bus towards the city centre. On first impressions I felt Kazakhstan was a world away from Turkmenistan and Uzbekistan. The Russian influence is far stronger with the language being spoken and written extensively. It was also far more developed with western chains, malls and European influence far more prevalent. Of course outside of main cities this is less evident however compared to the other stans it's a world apart.
Astana is by far the most European city in Kazakstan. Cafes, bars and trees line the long streets under the shadow of the beautiful mountains above. It isn't blessed by the history and cultural attractions of it's neighbours but it has some stunning scenery and it's a city I loved relaxing for a few days enjoying good food, some decent coffee and some overdue craft beer at some wonderful establishments such as Hopers bar and Kraftwerk. We met some friendly locals and found the nights to be incredibly entertaining. Ubers are dirt cheap and there is also a somewhat handy metro that can be of use depending on your destination.
Due to the heavy snowfall and cold weather we passed up on various hikes and day trips settling for enjoying the town and spending half a day at the nearby ski resort of Shymbulak which included the famous skating rink of Medeu at the base of the Gondola.
Anyway some shots of our time in Almaty.
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