After hearing that Nursultan Nazarbayev himself wanted to be buried in Turkistan, I knew that I had to visit that little yet famous town no matter what. It was already a rather big destination among Turkish visitors of Kazakhstan, and as they introduce more and more flights to its small local airport, I can already […]
Turkistan: The Heart of the Turkic World? Read More »
As the third biggest city in Kazakhstan, I had some high hopes for the food scene in Shymkent. Though I know that as a pescetarian choices would be limited for me, its sheer size could help me overcome some such limitations with my diet. This turned out to be true, but compared to the likes
Restaurants of Shymkent: Which to Frequent and Which to Avoid? Read More »
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
Shymkent: The Kazakh Capital of Kazakhstan Read More »
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
A Small Guide to the Museums of Astana Read More »
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
A Tale of Two Astanas: The Eastern Bank Read More »
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
A Tale of Two Astanas: The Western Bank Read More »
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
Top Spots for Asian Food in Almaty Read More »
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
Best Restaurants for Western Cuisines in Almaty Read More »
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 »