I left Chopan Alta, Kyrgyzstan at 8am this morning and arrived in Almaty, Kazakhstan at nearly 6pm. If there wasn’t a mountain range between these two points, a line of site drive would probably be a few hours at most – but the route around these mountains through the main border crossing is much longer.
Kazakhstan recently opened the border as visa free for citizens of the USA as well as select other countries on a trial basis and supposedly for just a 10 day stay. I was a bit worried about crossing the border since this was a fairly recent change. But as it were, the crossing went quickly and smoothly – other than a slight scare when the security officer asked why I didn’t have a visa. But he just laughed and then immediately placed a stamp in the passport. While standing in line one lady also in line wanted to hold and look through my passport. Odd but I satisfied her request.
I am staying with a father (Isa) and his son (Aziz) in their flat in Almatay Kazakhstan. I was introduced to them by someone I had met through Couch Surfing for a few minutes at a pre arranged location on the streets of Almaty! Isa is a boxer and trainer and Aziz is an Electrical Engineer who is enjoying practicing his English with me. He hopes to come to Texas and find work in Electrical Engineering (he has a friend who lives in Texas). Both father and son live in a one bedroom flat in one of the many high rises that dot this rather large and spread out city.
These are the nicest people you will ever meet – they are genuinely interested in what I do for work, why I am in Kazakhstan and are interested in hearing about my family. They even wrote down on paper a little speech they wanted to give me – “do good in the world, trust no one and believe in God” – were among the several anecdotes of wisdom provided. I told them after a lifetime of travel you have to trust most people – most people are good and it is more rare when you meet the “bad apples” while on the road.
I offered to sleep in their tiny broom closet – but they refused and gave me their bed that they share. We compromised and I took the floor!
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- Memorial statue close to the center of the city
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- Author staying dry at Big Almaty Lake
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- Aziz and friend at Big Almaty Lake
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- Trenkov Cathedral
awesome and beautifullll.liked it very much…
What generosity from total strangers. This is a “feels good” story. Thanks.
Great post Dave! Love the pictures! What restaurant have you had the best food? Remember to add it to your Besty List!
Thanks Julia – on way to Bahrain now. We ate at a number of small local restaurants that my hosts recommended. This trip provided a diverse cuisine 🙂
Yes, I feel fortunate to have ,met them both 🙂
Kazakhstan looks like such a lovely travel destination, it is one of my travel wishlist countries. Thanks for sharing Dave.
Central Asia is so intriguing … jealous that you get to enjoy the mountain views in Almaty. Haven’t been there, but the pics look so beautiful!
Tim – yes it is a part of the world little visited by ‘western’ tourists – slowly tourism is increasing in both Kazakhstan and Kyrgyzstan. My next trip will be to some of the other neighboring stans’ – I met a number of travelers who especially enjoyed Uzbekistan.
Aly – yes, I wish I had more time in Kazakhstan – Almaty is really spread out and there is lots more to explore 🙂