Adventures in Kazakhstan

Just got back from a long weekend in Kazakhstan. It was a ton of fun, and a land of contradictions- very little was as I expected, and it delivered in every way possible, from the green & European city of Almaty, to the stunning lakes, mountains, & gorges and the great nightlife & restaurants... I can't say enough wonderful things about my fabulous hosts Katya & Joel, who vacated their apartment for me, loaned me their driver, hosted a fabulous dinner with their lovely friends, and organized my Kazakh adventures to the second! ; )

You can check out the photos from this trip here.

When Katya asked if I would be OK to go hiking after arriving on a red-eye with only two hours sleep, I thought nothing of it (most readers wouldn't find this surprising). My first inkling that I might be a little over my head is when my new friend Dima turned up in his heavy duty 4WD loaded with technical climbing gear and we proceeded into the Tien Shan mountain range (remember "Spies Like Us"?). After powering up the first 2600m above sea level in thick cloud (aparently there are gorgeous views), we abandoned the vehicle and started hiking upwards. After passing some stunning lakes, an old Soviet observatory, and some strange godforsaken astronomic facility, we passed the snowline and started climbing...

As we passed 3500m (11,000ft), I wasn't sure whether it was my lack of sleep, lack of fitness, the altitude or my lack of anything to eat or drink since noon the previous day, but I was definitely feeling it! Eventually we topped out at about 3,800m (12,500ft) on top of a local peak, and the views indeed were spectacular. After 7 hours we finally made it back to the car...

That evening Katya invited a number of great people around for a delicious dinner, and then I ventured out to see what Almaty had to offer in terms of nightlife! As it turns out- quite a lot... ; ) While not quite Moscow in opulence, variety or talent- Almaty rocks pretty hard!

After crawling home at 7.30, Joel picked me up at 8 and took me to a corner where I was supposed to board a bus to the countryside. Problem was, since I was still drunk, and there were 15 buses there, and I wasn't exactly sure who Katya had called nor exactly where I was going, I avoided the buses with livestock and instead found myself bundled onto a bus with a load of Kazakh university students (and most of their parents) on a school trip to Charyn Canyon with only a Kazakh & Russian speaking guide...

4 hours later (and no clear idea where we were going, except that I now understood that Charyn Canyon is billed as Central Asia's "Grand Canyon" (it's definitely better I wasn't aware of this supposed comparison before arrival)), and a couple of stops (which I belatedly realized were intended for us to purchase a goat or two to sacrifice for lunch (or at least something to eat and drink for the five hours in a smouldering desert canyon)), we arrived at the canyon. The canyon was delightful, although one of my highlights was chuckling to see that Kazakh devushki (girls) behave just like (some of) their Russian compatriots, as ~6 of these girls loaded up their poor male companion like a pack mule while they clambered unencumbered up and down the canyon (predictably, a couple were in heels), complaining vociferously about pretty much any effort required... 5 hours later one of them noticed that I was strangely quiet (maybe it was the circling vultures) and offered me some water, after which a vociferous (and culturally enlightening) discussion ensued as to life in Western Kazakhstan vs. Moscow, NY & Australia, and KGB-style interrogation as to exactly why I didn't have a girlfriend or wife, after which, apparently satisfied I wasn't a circus freak (fooled her!), one of their number (approved by her mother) decided we would make a great couple... Thankfully I dashed from the bus at an early stop before I found myself writing my next travel report from the (distant) shores of the Aral Sea...

Monday started a little late, as I caught up on some sleep, and then Sergei (Katya's driver) took me to the fascinating Medau ice rink (largest in Central Asia! & Shymbulak ski resort (closed for the season)- as you can see, I hit all the Almaty hotspots!

As the evening before a public holiday, Monday night was a big night out. I had a great dinner with a new mate Stefan, and then met up with Sameer, Duke & Stephanie (an adventuresome Wharton 03 classmate and two Princeton in Asia interns), and we hit the nightlife and the rest of Almaty's hotspots...

On my final day, with spectacular weather and an amazing view of the mountains from Almaty, I had a leisurely Kazakh/Uzbek lunch w/ Joel, Katya & Dasha (it's always demoralizing when a 2-year-old speaks better Russian than me), then wandered the city before heading to the airport...
For those of you with a Borat fetish, there was little to be rewarding for you, although I did get a great photo of Pamela Anderson on the cover of a local paper... ; )

Next weekend- Ukraine!