Earthlooping at the Zenkov Cathedral
5 days spent in the former Kazakh capital which could have been easily spent in any European city without noticing the change. Almaty has everything a European (or Western) big city has: shopping streets, fancy restaurants and cafés, big avenues, good cars... and expensive prices. Anyway, we have had a taste of Kazakhstan and some fun ice-skating in the highest ice-rink in the world.
We arrived in Almaty after a 5-hour marshrutka ride from Bishkek (Kyrgyzstan). The trip was quite pleasant as the road was good and the border crossing presented no problems at all.
When you get into Kazakhstan you don't notice many changes from Kyrgyzstan in terms of landscape, probably a bit less mountanious, but that's all. but you do notice when you get to Almaty. The city is huge, modern, with tall and new buildings, good cars on the streets... it feels like you are back in Europe instead of deeper into Central Asia.
When you get into Kazakhstan you don't notice many changes from Kyrgyzstan in terms of landscape, probably a bit less mountanious, but that's all. but you do notice when you get to Almaty. The city is huge, modern, with tall and new buildings, good cars on the streets... it feels like you are back in Europe instead of deeper into Central Asia.
The marshrutka dropped us in the main bus station, a big and busy one. First thing we did was to exchange the last Kyrgyz soms we had into Kazakh tenge. once with new and fresh money we went to ask for tickets to Urumqi, the planned destination after Almaty. Kazakhstan is a big country. You can spend a lot of time exploring it but it is also the richest of the Central Asian countries (the stans) and that means the most expensive one. As we have been to all of them now, and as Kazakhstan doesn't have any major unavoidable sights, we have decided to go straight to China to change a bit from the Russian atmosphere to the real Asian one.
Some balloons?
Anyway, we got our ticket to Urumqi for Saturday morning, so it means we had 3 full days to explore the city. Now the thing was to find the hostel and this one was not that easy. Asking around, a woman told us to take bus number 106, so we jumped into it. The problem was that after a few hundred meters the bus started heading somewhere opposite to where the hostel actually is. Got off the bus, took another bus (this one going in the right direction) and get to the metro. At this point we were quite exhausted, not only because of the marshrutka trip from Bishkek but also because of the buses in Almaty, they are like ovens! Once in the metro (a really new and modern one) the security guard asked to open my bag. I didn't agree, he let me in and finally we could get to the hostel. 1,5 hours to get from the bus station to the hostel! And all thanks to that woman who made us jump into bus number 106... it felt like being back in Turkey, with people giving us wrong directions all the time.
General view of Almaty
The hostel was quite ok, and the woman who welcomed us was nice. She showed us around and gave us the room after reminding us several times that it is forbidden to smoke and to drink in the property. Anyway, you can cook, have tea and coffee and the woman seemed really helpful, as she also offered us to go and have some dinner at a nearby restaurant where we got a 25% discount.
Being quite late, we headed to the restaurant with the discount coupon. And here is where we started to realize that Almaty, besides having a totally European look, it also has totally European prices. The restaurant was a kind of self-service one. A new, big and modern one but for sure one of the cheapest options in town. But looking at the prices was quite a shock. We had some chicken cutlet, a small salad and a beer and we payed what we would have payed back home in Barcelona. It was going to be hard to have cheap eats in this city and it also looked it was going to be hard to find some traditional Kazakh places, as all the restaurants we saw around the hostel looked the same: new, modern, fancy, trendy, posh and expensive.
Being quite late, we headed to the restaurant with the discount coupon. And here is where we started to realize that Almaty, besides having a totally European look, it also has totally European prices. The restaurant was a kind of self-service one. A new, big and modern one but for sure one of the cheapest options in town. But looking at the prices was quite a shock. We had some chicken cutlet, a small salad and a beer and we payed what we would have payed back home in Barcelona. It was going to be hard to have cheap eats in this city and it also looked it was going to be hard to find some traditional Kazakh places, as all the restaurants we saw around the hostel looked the same: new, modern, fancy, trendy, posh and expensive.
Almaty's main pedestrian street
After the first experience in Almaty we just went back to the hostel for some rest after the long day and some good sleep in the room, not without finding out a cat laying on the floor, which belonged to the owner of the hostel and who took care of it. So, without cat in the room, we went to sleep.
The following morning we woke up quite late and started exploring the city. The first impression was right: Almaty could easily be in any European country. But actually they are overreacting a bit. I think they want to be that much European that now the city is too European.There are thousands of these trendy restaurants and cafés everywhere, all of them looking the same and overlit at night, so it gives you a feeling of being wherever but not in Central Asia.
We went for a coffee and muffin in one of these places and then headed towards a nearby park. There we could see the University building before going to the next park. This second one is a big one and it has two of the most important sights of Almaty: The Zenkov Cathedral and the WWII Memorial Monument. The Cathedral is especially nice, made totally from wood and beautifully painted, making it look like a birthday cake.
The following morning we woke up quite late and started exploring the city. The first impression was right: Almaty could easily be in any European country. But actually they are overreacting a bit. I think they want to be that much European that now the city is too European.There are thousands of these trendy restaurants and cafés everywhere, all of them looking the same and overlit at night, so it gives you a feeling of being wherever but not in Central Asia.
We went for a coffee and muffin in one of these places and then headed towards a nearby park. There we could see the University building before going to the next park. This second one is a big one and it has two of the most important sights of Almaty: The Zenkov Cathedral and the WWII Memorial Monument. The Cathedral is especially nice, made totally from wood and beautifully painted, making it look like a birthday cake.
The Russian Orthodox Cathedral
There were a lot of people in and outside the church as it was the orthodox Christmas Day (you would not have noticed if it wasn't for the people in church, as all the shops were open and it was a feeling of normal daily life going on everywhere), we got inside and the place is really nice: colorful frescoes, colorful walls... really worth a visit.
We continued our way through the park to reach the WWII Memorial Monument, which is a huge black Soviet monument commemorating the deadth of 28 Almatian soldiers. It is like all Soviet monuments, which means ugly and with no charm, but this one is really big and the faces of the soldiers are scary. There's also an eternal flame nearby and some tombs.
After the park, we headed to the tourist information center, as we wanted to ask for the possibility of seeing some eagle-hunting in the area these days, but being impossible to find the office we continued our tour. First we went to the mosque, which is a huge white building with a golden dome, and then to the main pedestrian street. Again, it felt like being in Europe, this street could easily be Portal de l'Àngel in Barcelona or Stroget in Copenhagen, with the only difference that the Almatian street has nothing really special, just shops, shopping malls, restaurants and a lot of people giving you flyers.
We continued our way through the park to reach the WWII Memorial Monument, which is a huge black Soviet monument commemorating the deadth of 28 Almatian soldiers. It is like all Soviet monuments, which means ugly and with no charm, but this one is really big and the faces of the soldiers are scary. There's also an eternal flame nearby and some tombs.
After the park, we headed to the tourist information center, as we wanted to ask for the possibility of seeing some eagle-hunting in the area these days, but being impossible to find the office we continued our tour. First we went to the mosque, which is a huge white building with a golden dome, and then to the main pedestrian street. Again, it felt like being in Europe, this street could easily be Portal de l'Àngel in Barcelona or Stroget in Copenhagen, with the only difference that the Almatian street has nothing really special, just shops, shopping malls, restaurants and a lot of people giving you flyers.
The most interesting sight of the street is the Green market, a rather small bazar selling everything from household stuff to horse meat. We walked around a bit, checked some souvenirs (they have the same stuff as in Kyrgyzstan but 4 times more expensive) and went to the meat section, the most interesting and special part of the market, as they have separated areas for the different kind of animals. The most special one is the one devoted to horse meat, as you see really big pieces of the animal hanging there on display.
As we were not going to buy anything, we decided to end up the day by having some laghman at a surprisingly not very expensive and not fancy restaurant and some beers at an expensive and fancy place. From there back to the hostel.
As we were not going to buy anything, we decided to end up the day by having some laghman at a surprisingly not very expensive and not fancy restaurant and some beers at an expensive and fancy place. From there back to the hostel.
Medeu ice-skating rink
The only objective of the following day was going to the Medeu Stadium. It is said to be the highest ice-rink in the world, so we wanted to give it a try.
We woke up again quite late and we went to find the bus to get to the Stadium. After a lot of waiting, we finally got to the right bus and up to the stadium. It is an Olympyc stadium surrounded by mountains. Even if it is only half an hour from the city, you feel you are in the middle of the nature: mountains, snow, a river... really nice. What was not as nice was that we got to the stadium exactly when they were closing. They have a break between 3 and 6 and we were there at 3, so that meant we had to wait 3 hours to get in. Great.
To kill the waiting time we went to have some food and to try to get up to Chimbulak, a ski resort reachable by taxi or by ski lift, but after seeing the prices we just decided to get back into the restaurant and order another beer.
We woke up again quite late and we went to find the bus to get to the Stadium. After a lot of waiting, we finally got to the right bus and up to the stadium. It is an Olympyc stadium surrounded by mountains. Even if it is only half an hour from the city, you feel you are in the middle of the nature: mountains, snow, a river... really nice. What was not as nice was that we got to the stadium exactly when they were closing. They have a break between 3 and 6 and we were there at 3, so that meant we had to wait 3 hours to get in. Great.
To kill the waiting time we went to have some food and to try to get up to Chimbulak, a ski resort reachable by taxi or by ski lift, but after seeing the prices we just decided to get back into the restaurant and order another beer.
Skating!
Finally the stadium opened again and after paying the pricey entrance ticket and renting the skates we could enjoy some 2 hours of ice-skating, although with my skills it was more trying to stand on the ice and ending up quite destroyed. But anyway, it was fun skating in such a big stadium at night.
After the skating activity there was only time to go back to town, have some kebab and go to sleep. Next day, waking up late again, was devoted to visit Kok Tobe, a hill from where you have views of Almaty. We went to the foot of the hill by bus and the rest of the way walking uphill, but when we got up there it was quite disappointing as most of the place was undergoing renovations. Just a small zoo with some birds on display, a closed amusement park, a statue of The Beatles (yes, don't ask me why, but there's a statue of the Fab Four there and even their music on the speakers) and a couple of terraces from where to have some views of the city.
After the skating activity there was only time to go back to town, have some kebab and go to sleep. Next day, waking up late again, was devoted to visit Kok Tobe, a hill from where you have views of Almaty. We went to the foot of the hill by bus and the rest of the way walking uphill, but when we got up there it was quite disappointing as most of the place was undergoing renovations. Just a small zoo with some birds on display, a closed amusement park, a statue of The Beatles (yes, don't ask me why, but there's a statue of the Fab Four there and even their music on the speakers) and a couple of terraces from where to have some views of the city.
The Fab Four!
This was the last sightseeing activity in Almaty, now it was just going to eat something, to stock-up on some food for the following days and to go to bed soon. Ahead of us we have now a 24-hour bus trip to Urumqi (China) and from there we'll try to get straight into a train to Chengdu (we want to arrange a trip to Tibet there and we're running out of time as Tibet is going to be closed soon) which takes some 50 hours, so we'll be quite disconnected in the next 3 or 4 days.
The stay in Almaty was all in all nothing special, the same as being in any European city but with not many sights. Anyway, it is ok if you want to go out of the Central Asian atmosphere and spend some days feeling like "back home".
Hope to see you in China! (I know already that, same as in Iran, most of the internet is blocked, but this time we'll try to use a good VPN to be able to update earthlooping as much as possible, otherwise it will be updated after some 3 weeks).
You can now check our Almaty picture gallery as well as the Almaty travel guide!
The stay in Almaty was all in all nothing special, the same as being in any European city but with not many sights. Anyway, it is ok if you want to go out of the Central Asian atmosphere and spend some days feeling like "back home".
Hope to see you in China! (I know already that, same as in Iran, most of the internet is blocked, but this time we'll try to use a good VPN to be able to update earthlooping as much as possible, otherwise it will be updated after some 3 weeks).
You can now check our Almaty picture gallery as well as the Almaty travel guide!
RSS Feed
