#86: Kazakhstan

My week-long journey to Kazakhstan was full of mixed impressions. It started with the traffic jams in Almaty, where four lines of cars crammed on two-lane roads; we stood for two hours on a hot day with an old Kamaz near us puffing out smoke right into our van. (If you decide to fly to Astana, do so from Taraz. Don't go near Almaty!) Because of the traffic jams, we missed our lunch and barely made to the flight. To my surprise, Air Astana had a full course meal on a 1.5-hour-flight to Astana, which saved me from starvation.

Astana is... well, is a BRAND NEW city. Bishkek's construction "boom" is nothing compared to that of Astana. Bayterek (tower with a ball on top in the picture above) presents a view over a futuristic city - though tawdry in many places - in the middle of the Kazakh steppes. I can imagine a Kazakh standing on top of Bayterek and being proud of seeing surreal buildings springing up on a barren land. Billions of petrodollars is being poured into it. And it is only half ready.

Prices in Astana are a bit steep for a Kyrgyz guy like me. Everything is expensive. But some things never change. Our hotel, Abay, an old Soviet hotel Intourist, still had Soviet smell in the halls and bathrooms, a system of turning keys to an administrator, whose only job is to manage keys on the floor, and a horrible cafeteria with pale scrampled eggs and kompot for breakfast. And they charged $80 per night. However, if you had $350 you could stay at other better hotels.

Water, rather the smell of sulfur in the water as in Teplie Klyuchi, is the only thing that I remember from Karaganda. While trying to brush my teeth with the water at the hotel, I realized how much I miss Bishkek.

On the election, I have nothing else to add to what has already been written.
P.S. Photo courtesy of Kondor Tour. I did not have my camera.