Today I want to share with you info and photos from one of my recent trips to Almaty, Kazakhstan.
I’ve spent 5 days in the country and I absolutely loved it.
Kazakhstan is the world's largest landlocked country, and the ninth largest in the world.
The Kazakh is the official language but Russian language has equal official status.
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.
10 Tenge = 0.02 EUR
Kazakhstan is a perfect country for budget travelers. I found that everything is much cheaper than Europe.
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 us 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
Things to do in Kazakhstan
1. Almaty Big Lake
One of the top places that I would recommend you to see in Kazakhstan is 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.
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. Medeu and Shymbulak
Looking for a great views from over 3000m? Then you should definitely visit Medeu and Shymbulak. It is located in the upper part of the Medeu Valley in the Zaiilisky Alatau mountain range. It is also a great place for skiing in the winter.
3. 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.
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 :)
Image source: @elly-fly
Content is from my personal blog: http://tips-for-your-trips.blogspot.com
This is a very nice post, thanks for sharing!
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Good post! You really encouraged me to visit this country:) I hope that my next goal trip will be Kazachstan.
I'm happy to hear that. It's really nice place to explore.
Whoah! It's so beautiful there. Specially the Almaty Big Lake.
Yes, it is. Have you been there?
Haven't been there but I would like too.
Wow beautiful lake, by the way, i see the rusian language
Yes, people there speak mostly Russian. I'm from Bulgaria and we use the same alphabet so it wasn't so difficult for me to understand. However, I had a few funny situations :)
Wow it looks to be a beautiful country. Have you visited Astana?
Hey @rhyscn I didn't have time to see Astana. I stayed 5 days in Almaty and around. Maybe next time :)
awesome! thanks for sharing! i will start following your exciting posts! Checkout my posts as well
Thank you. I'll follow you and keep an eye on your profile too :)
Excellent photo set!
Thank you @fooblic
Its a nice place to explore
Yes, it is :)
Hola Elly-fly
Debo comenzar, referenciando tu publicación a un paraje venezolano Laguna Negra en el parque Nacional Sierra Nevada, ya que tu foto me hizo recordarla. Esto me provocó detallar tus fotos y la lectura me llevo a profundizar los vagos conocimientos de Kazajistán. Al leer me informe que su economía dependía del petróleo y que era la conjunción de varias tribus nómadas.
Detalle que tienen una variedad de frutas secas en cultura culinaria y que la bebida tiene un alto grado de alcohol, imagino para pasar el frio. Recuerda colocar en tu viajar el país más hermoso que se llama Venezuela.
Post data eres muy bonita para ser una mosca.
Thank you and let's take care of Enrique.
flyHello Elly-fly
I must begin, referencing your publication to a Venezuelan Laguna Negra site in the Sierra Nevada National Park, since your photo reminded me of it. This caused me to detail your photos and the reading led me to deepen the vague knowledge of Kazakhstan. When reading, I was informed that his economy depended on oil and that it was the conjunction of several nomadic tribes.
Detail that have a variety of dried fruits in culinary culture and that the drink has a high degree of alcohol, imagine to pass the cold. Remember to place in your travel the most beautiful country called Venezuela.
Post data you are very beautiful to be a fly.
Thank you and let's take care of Enrique.
Thank you for the nice comment @sfe55 and for the support :) Venezuela is definitely on my list of countries that I want to visit.
Thanks for this report, paka!
Very cool. I lived in Almaty for two years and have very few photos. I wasn't into photography then. I'll do an Almaty post some day with the few shots that I have. I did post one this week for the landscapephotography @photocontests, the view from my balcony.
You inspired me to post about my time in Almaty. It took me all day, but I got it done! It was a wonderful trip down memory lane and I've already reconnected with someone from those days after writing my post, so thank you for the inspiration!
Have a read if you've a mind to. I won't post a link because of all the phishing stuff that's going on right now. You can find it through my profile if you want to.
Cheers!