Almaty is home to a plethora of decent restaurants, some specializing in more Asian delicacies, some others serving European cuisines. It is difficult to put an exact border as to where Asian cuisines come to an end, and European ones begin. I opted to include the following restaurants under the ever so vague “occidental” cuisine […]
This will be one of the more delicate articles I have ever written due to its core subject, Soviet art in an ex-USSR town where a part of its population demands that art to be dismissed from the public sphere post haste, while another group in return does all that they can to make sure
Soviet Almaty: A Journey Through Mosaics and Reliefs Read More »
There is a lot to love about Almaty. For a self-declared urban explorer, its city center alone is reason enough for me to fall in love with it. However, that is hardly the reason why it receives a ton of tourist. Almaty’s natural treasures is what keeps attracting so many adventurers to it every year,
Shymbulak and Tian Shan Mountains: Experience Almaty at its Peak Read More »
Almaty is known for its nature, after all, it is known as the birthplace of apples. Even its name means something akin to “forefather of apple,” referring to this interesting fun fact. Thankfully, it is not only the mountains, which surround the city, that are green, but also the city itself with its numerous wonderful
Almaty is a very well urbanized city. Its metro acts as its spine and connects its two faraway sides together, its grid layout enables you to not get lost easily as you walk around town, and its tree lined pavements turn every simple walk into an enjoyable urban adventure. In this article, I will first
Urban Almaty: A City of Wonky Architecture and Intriguing Museums Read More »
Visiting Pavlodar was a last-minute decision for me. Temperatures were going down, things were becoming a bit tougher back in the university day by day, and our “free time” until some “real work” began was coming to an end. I knew I had to do one more trip, but I did not know where to
An Oasis in the Steppes for Foodies: Dining Scene in Pavlodar Read More »
An almost unexpected (and thus poorly planned) trip turning into a remarkable adventure is a rare occurrence. Thankfully, that is exactly what I can say about my trip to Pavlodar during the first weekend of last September. It was an exceptionally enjoyable journey, full to the brim with very lucky details that made it all
Good food does not immediately come to one’s mind when one thinks about Karaganda. In fact, it is often the images of chimneys blasting toxic fumes that come to mind, which is, in a manner of speaking, the opposite of good food… Good news is, the food scene in Karaganda will surprise you for the
It is no secret that Karaganda, despite its cheerfulness today, had a rather murky past. Soviet Gulags made their way to this remote part of the Union, as they often did. This radically changed the landscape and the demographics of the region. All sorts of people ended up here, some who shared the worst fates
KarLag Museum: Brilliant Curatorship Meets a Dark Past Read More »
Anyone that has heard of the Soviet Union likely also heard about Gulags. They are the bread and butter of all anti-communist/Soviet propaganda for many generations now, and frankly, they deserve their notoriety as one of the worst parts of the whole Soviet experiment… These were extremely scary penal colonies (of sorts) that contained the