Despite it often being joked about as being mostly populated by Uzbeks, Shymkent stood out in my travels around Kazakhstan as the city with most Kazakh speakers. This is not to say that there are not any Uzbeks in town, in fact, there are quite a lot of them. But what really grabbed my attention […]
Astana, being the capital of Kazakhstan, is home to a surprisingly few number of museums. There are certainly a few good ones, but the numbers are certainly not on Astana’s side, especially if you are interested in museums with a more historical focus. I am more in favour of the museum scene in Almaty, and
With almost 1.3 million people living in it, Astana is by no means a small city. This combined with the fact that it is a recently planned capital city means that there is a lot of “stuff” to see in it for travellers of all kinds. In this article, we will be covering the best
Astana has a few things to offer to its visitors. I would not necessarily call it a tourist destination, planes that fly here are often full of suits not holidaymakers, but I suppose it does have its advantages for that reason alone. For example, being able to see pretty much anything I list in this
Almaty is in a good position to be a foodie’s dream destination in Central Asia. Unsurprisingly, it is home to a decent Asian dining scene. The city does not only offer some proper sushi options to pick from, but also even has a few fusion restaurants of its own making. Join me as I go
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 »