31. Kazakhstan

This post, from October 2015, features: Nur-Sultan (formerly Astana), Kyzylorda, Baikonur, Turkestan, Bayaldyr, Shymkent, Sayram, Taraz, Almaty and the Charyn Canyon

Heathrow

Astana (Nur-Sultan)

Astana is an intriguing city – easy to wander round & explore the “new” city – it is quite spread out, so I did a lot of walking on my free day – but it was very enjoyable.  It is quite a breezy place – so the wind-chill can bring the temperature down. 

Nazerke was my guide for the introductory tour. She was very nice and friendly, giving me a good introduction to the city.  Bizarrely she didn’t join me for the “welcome lunch”, though – she ordered & then disappeared.  Lunch was at Kishlak – an Uzbek themed restaurant where the food was very good – just a shame that Nazerke didn’t join me. Nothing says “welcome” like it…

I stayed at the King Hotel, which is ok but 4.7km from the Bayterek monument and/or 4.9km from the Khan Shatyr Centre. I have to accept that I should have researched it more thoroughly before accepting the itinerary. A disappointment was that the Kazakhstan History Museum closes on Mondays (like lots of museums everywhere) – shame as it is an impressive looking place from the outside…

An Introduction:

The Triumph of Astana (aka Hogwarts):

The Kahn Shatyr:

KazMunayGas:

The Bayterek Monument:

Mosques:

Other Interesting Buildings:

Walkabout in the City:

Statues and Monuments:

The River Ishim (Esil):

The River Ishim (Esil in Kazakh) rises in the Niyaz Hills in the north of the Kazakh uplands, then flows west through Astana, and then flows north through Petropavl and the flat Ishim Steppe before entering the Irtysh at Ust-Ishim. Its total length is 1,522 miles (2,450 km), and is mainly snow-fed. It overflows its banks in spring and becomes shallow in summer… 

Au Revoir Astana:

Kyzylorda

Kyzylorda: the transfer to the airport & checking-in for the flight to Kyzylorda was easy – Astana airport is quite easy to navigate.  I was met at the chaotic little terminal in Kyzylorda by Nurgul and Kamilla who whisked me off in blazing sunshine for a tour of the city – which was the capital of Kazakhstan from 1925 – 1929, which seems a bit cruel (Almaty became the capital after that). 

There isn’t a great deal to see here & sadly the museum was closed for renovation – but I did get to see the legendary Syr-Daria.  Nurgul saw me on to the train to Baykonur – which was very decent of her – and even cleared out the people who were sitting in my compartment.  The journey to Baikonur is only 3½ hours – so not too bad but, having said that, it is only 235km so the average speed was around 67kmh (67kmh sounds better than 42mph)….

Baikonur

At Baikonur I was met by a lovely guide with an American accent – she’d spent a year studying in Texas. A quick drive to the Central Hotel where I was told the staff had stayed on to provide dinner – it was after 11pm by this time & I’d had a meal with Nurgul and Kamilla just before leaving Kyzylorda so wasn’t hungry but didn’t argue and did as I was told… 

Next morning I was met by Yelena, a Russian guide who got me to sign what I assumed was the Russian equivalent of the Official Secrets Act (I wonder if there’s an Unofficial Secrets Act) & stressed that I couldn’t take any pictures on the way to the Cosmodrome (on pain of exile to Siberia, presumably).  But as there’s nothing to take pictures of it didn’t turn out to be any hardship – I think it was just part of a tourist act to make you feel you’re going somewhere terribly secret & hush-hush.  I did ask Yelena if I had to wear a blindfold & she actually laughed (which was lucky) – we then joined Nadia – another Russian guide for the 30 minute drive to the Cosmodrome. 

Getting to the station requires going through a military checkpoint – which I hadn’t appreciated on my arrival – and to get to the Cosmodrome you go past the station – Yelena just flashed her FSB pass and we were waved through. In fairness it could have been her Blockbuster card – I wouldn’t have known & was all part of the game – still, she was very good at it.  We then drove through scrubland until another checkpoint where the same procedure occurred. I did think that whatever credentials Yelena has would be jolly useful – just to flash a pass & get waved on in anywhere…

Now: Baikonur, & the land around the Cosmodrome, has been leased to the Russians until 2050 – so that makes it a de-facto Russian state.  The Tenge isn’t currency here – the Rouble is.  This doesn’t get a mention in Lonely Planet nor is it mentioned in the Regent Holidays itinerary, either…

So I couldn’t pay the 110 roubles demanded in order to take photographs at the Cosmodrome – and no, they wouldn’t take Tenge.  Anyway, I was escorted by Nadia for the trip around the Cosmodrome itself – with Yelena disappearing to do something under cover & top secret, no doubt.

Both Nadia & Yelena are Russian-Russians – neither particularly like being in Baikonur – it’s just a job for them & their husbands.  As always it was just nice getting them to talk about themselves & their lives – away from the spiel of the tour.  It is a great place to visit and Yelena with her tongue in cheek “Cold War” act and the glamorous Nadia brought the place to life – its history and its place in current space exploration and satellite launches.

In the afternoon I had another guide – Yana, a Kazakh Russian as opposed to a Russian-Russian.  Yana spoke flawless English and was very friendly.  She and her husband are big “gamers” – so presumably that’s why her English is so good.  We went to the museum – a fantastic museum where – guess what – it cost 110 roubles to take photographs and no, they wouldn’t take tenge.  We had an excellent guide to take us around the museum with Yana translating for the guide & for me whenever I asked questions – just terrific.  Nearby is the university that Yana went to – it is a faculty of a Moscow university and specialises in – you guessed it: rocket science.  How could you not love this place?

Later I found a shop that would take tenge and gave me change in roubles – but that was ok as it enabled me to go to the friendly Axtamar Café, sit outside in their courtyard & have a couple of beers while watching the good citizens of Baikonur…

The Central Hotel is very Soviet in style – and while not friendly exactly – it is efficient and well-run (no WiFi, though) and I quite enjoyed staying there…

Yana took me to the station for the 9½ hour train journey to Turkistan – 3½ hours back to Kyzylorda & then another 6 hours on to Turkistan.  Where Regent Holidays get the idea it “typically takes around 5½ hours” I have no idea (as shown on my itinerary).  The train ran to time, too.  This is a journey of 559km – so you might reasonably expect it to take 5½ hours if the train were to move at greater than walking pace.  The average speed is about 60kmh – although, in fairness, the travelling time is “only” 8½ hours as just after Kyzylorda there’s a 15 minute stop; followed about an hour later by a 30 minute stop and then, for good measure & in case you are getting dizzy from the velocity, another 15 minute stop.  These stops are to allow on-coming trains to pass as much of the line is single-track – thereby taking the average speed up to around 67kmh…

At Baikonur the carriage attendant had to eject a surly man out of my compartment – he was asleep & didn’t take kindly to being woken up…

Turkestan

I was met at the station & taken to the Turkestan Hotel – getting there about 22.30 – where a stroppy teenage girl gave me a sheet & showed me to my room & disappeared.  The driver also went off – he had a wedding to go to.  He didn’t know what would happen or who would contact me in the morning or when.  In fairness to him that wasn’t really his job (although it would have been useful to get some kind of instruction) and he did invite me to come along to the wedding (for this he had to phone his sister as he didn’t speak much English) – which was sweet & very kind…

So – how do you make a bed with one sheet?  Do you cover the mattress & grubby pillow with it & use the equally grubby bedspread as a blanket – or do you sleep on the mattress (admittedly with a thin mattress cover) and use the sheet as a cover between you & the bedspread? Luckily I was able to push the broken window back into place – so no worries there.  No restaurant & no bar.  No staff.  There seemed to be quite a lot of people staying in the hotel – all wandering about aimlessly and wondering if this is the kind of thing that awaits them in hell…

Next morning, however, I was met in reception by Meruert – very friendly, flawless English and everything was back on track & I cursed myself for getting in a tizzy over nothing.  Meruert then took me around the Khoja Ahmed Yasawi Mausoleum complex.  Nice though it is – there isn’t much else to see in Turkestan – but I am grateful to Timur (Tamerlane) for having had it built – that he died before its completion is sad but gives an idea of how it was constructed as the southern entrance remains unfinished. There is a good museum & a beautiful new mosque – Turkish designed & built – the huge windows make it very light & airy inside.  Meruert took me for lunch (and stayed) at the Edem Hotel – noted by Lonely Planet as “the best sleeping option” & “has the town’s best restaurant” – so I am irritated with myself for not getting my hotel reservation changed but I hadn’t anticipated the Turkestan Hotel being quite so dismal…   

In the afternoon I asked the hotel staff for a second sheet (my Russian phrasebook coming in handy here) – yes there were some staff – they only appear during daylight hours, though.  Anyway – two ladies appeared to, I assumed, make-up my room.  One fixed the window while the other changed my towels.  Perversely the towels were nice, clean & fluffy.  Perversely they didn’t make my bed nor did I get a second sheet.

Bayaldyr

Next morning I was met by Rustem – who bears an uncanny resemblance to Leonard Hofstadter, a character from The Big Bang Theory.  Anyway – I checked-out of the Turkistan Hotel – the lady on reception clearly pleased to see me go – I did wonder if they suspected me of having broken the window in my room – and off we went to Shymkent.

Shymkent: We drove out to the Otrar region & saw the Arystan-Bab Mausoleum and the Karashash-Ana Mausoleum.  Rustem said that the hotel in Shymkent was very nice.  He wasn’t kidding.  The Canvas Hotel – built with money from Abu Dhabi – is superb.  Two nights of luxury with a nice in-house restaurant, a good bar and free Wi-Fi.

Shymkent is quite a nice city – lots of tree lined avenues and several parks – easy to wander around.  The park opposite the hotel has the Alleya Slavy – a stark memorial to those from the region killed during WW2.  Sadly the Museum of Victims of Repression closes on Sundays – at odds with every other museum in the country, which close on Mondays.  I didn’t have a tour of Shymkent itself so missed out on seeing what looked like a museum & big memorial that are situated on the road to Taraz – just past the zoo & on the edge of the city..

Otrar

Shymkent

Sayram

Taraz

Almaty

Fortunately I was able to change my overnight rail ticket (why I didn’t do it before I have no idea) & so flew from Taraz to Almaty – albeit via Astana – which is a bit like flying from Cardiff to London via Manchester.  But Air Astana are great – comfortable new planes & great cabin crew.  Changing planes at Astana is a breeze.  The current airport at Taraz dates from the 1950’s & is quite sweet – although I was deposited at the gates at midday and had to sit on a wooden bench under the trees until it opened at 1.15.  Sweet, as I say.  Only 200 metres away is a brand new terminal just waiting to open…

Almaty: Met at the airport by Zhadra who was to be my guide while I was in Almaty.  What a nice city Almaty is – and how different from the other cities I had visited.  It feels “grown-up” – a city that would be at home in Eastern Europe…

The Kazzhol Hotel is nice – quirky with very much its own style – comfortable, friendly & efficient (free Wi-Fi).  It is in a good location, too, and Almaty is a nice easy city to wander around & explore. 

Charyn Canyon was great – a long old drive out there but worth it.  Sadly Mr Sunshine was on a day-off but even so the canyon is beautiful – we met a local park ranger – Beken – who had represented Kazakhstan at an international falconry competition in 2007 near Reading (of all places) – Beken did Kazakhstan & himself proud by coming first: http://www.eaglehunter.co.uk/Falconry_Festival/Festival_of_Falconry.html

Did you know that only Kazakhs & Kyrgyz hunt with Golden Eagles – all other nations use Falcons when hunting – not the most useful bit of trivia admittedly but it might get you a zero on Pointless…

The Big Almaty Lake is in a beautiful setting and the falconry display on the way back to the city was interesting & distressing by turns.  Seeing the Saker Falcon; the Eagle Owl; the Golden Eagle; the Buzzard & the Lammergeyer (what a terrific bird) fly & swoop was fabulous.  Seeing the cages of Saker & Gyr Falcons and Buzzards was distressing – one cage had 6 buzzards in it………

Zhadra was very sweet & made sure I had enough food to feed a family of 4 at each lunch stop & was a very good guide….

The Big City:

The Kazzhol Hotel:

The Zenkov Cathedral:

Panfilov Park War Memorial:

The Central State Museum:

Seyfullin Avenue:

Independence Monument:

Old Almaty:

Street Scenes:

Shymbulak Ski Resort:

Charyn Canyon

Big Almaty Lake:

Sunkar Falconry Centre:

Goodbye Almaty:

Goodbye Kazakhstan:

So! An edited highlights of my amazing trip to Kazakhstan……

Everything worked well – flights, transfers, sight-seeing – all went like clockwork. I found Kazakhstan fascinating and am really glad I went as it was as enjoyable as it was instructive.  All the guides were friendly & knowledgeable with excellent English – several gave me contact details in case I had any problems during my trip – which says a lot.

Air Astana: the 2 international flights were excellent as were the 4 domestic flights.  Smart new Airbus A320’s & Embraer E190’s on the domestic routes & recently upgraded Boeing 757’s on the international flights.  Crews were great on all flights. Checking-in was a breeze (even in Taraz); security was easy; they do check boarding passes a lot, though…

Regent Holidays:

please advise customers visiting Baikonur that they will need roubles if they wish to buy anything or take photos in the Cosmodrome & city museum

please advise customers travelling by train that they will probably need the carriage attendant to remove interlopers from their compartments or seats – the 2 carriage attendants I had were great – no English but friendly & helpful & let me know when I had arrived at my destinations; also note that there is a western-style lavatory at one end of the carriage and a “traditional” type at the other end

either don’t use the Turkestan Hotel or at least alert customers to its shortcomings

please consider using a better located hotel in Astana

Overall, though – what a great holiday!  I was really lucky with the guides; the food was good throughout; after the dry & dusty Kyzylorda; Baikonur & Turkistan the fresh air of Shymkent is welcoming; people were friendly everywhere (the Turkistan Hotel being the curious exception) – the people at the Central Hotel were just Russian – had I stayed on another couple of nights we’d all be Facebook friends by now – they just take their time…