Almaty

Evacuation

After living in Russia for two years with a travel ban, I still managed to escape from this kingdom of distorting mirrors. Bishkek, I am grateful to you for this opportunity. Before this, there was an attempt to leave for my homeland in Kazakhstan by train. But for some time there was no railway communication, passenger trains did not run. And after it appeared, I was taken off the train at the border.

I had to change my strategy and try again. In order not to waste time, nerves and money, I decided to fly by plane. Things weren’t going smoothly at the airport either, but I was able to fly to Bishkek. After a couple of hours of flight, the plane landed at Bishkek airport. At the beginning of spring it was already summer in the city, which made me very happy. Horses grazed in meadows along the roads. The grass was already green and the leaves were blooming on the trees.

Almaty

Having reached the bus station, I bought a bus ticket to Almaty. I arrived in Kazakhstan late in the evening. After walking around the city, I caught a taxi and arrived at the train station. Fortunately, it is located close to the city center. Almaty has a cooler climate than Bishkek. Not far from the technical university, I found a normal hostel and stayed there for a couple of nights. Renting a hotel room was expensive for me.

The city is beautiful with developed infrastructure and many higher educational institutions and more. There are many equipped sports grounds. Public transport is in good condition, there are many routes, it is convenient to move around the city. The roads are excellent, there are markings, and drainage is properly done. Many parks. True, I noticed that there are a lot of dry trees in them.

This time I also encountered deception, but I won’t talk about it. I just lost six thousand tenge. And the most important thing in Almaty is the mountains. I have never seen such beauty before. After sorting out some issues, such as receiving notification of arrival, obtaining an identification number, opening a bank account and consultation on the restoration of citizenship, I went to the mountains.

My journey began after breakfast in a cozy cafe, where the food is very tasty. The cafe is located opposite the Green Bazaar. I walked twenty-two kilometers, having traveled only a couple of kilometers by bus. I couldn’t leave my things in the dorm because that was all I had and I couldn’t lose them. On the road I had to take with me a netbook, a camera and things that I didn’t have much of.

Thanks to the walk, I was able to get to know the city better, because when you travel by car or bus, you don’t have time to pay attention to much.

Shymbulak Resort

At sunset I reached the Shymbulak Resort Hotel, which is located at an altitude of two thousand two hundred and sixty meters above sea level. The path was not easy. It’s cold in the mountains in the evening, so I decided to stay here for the night. First I needed to regain my strength.

At the hotel restaurant I ordered hot Solyanka and drank a couple of glasses of warm water. Then I went down to the reception and paid for my hotel room. In the room I changed clothes, put on shorts and a robe and went to the sauna. Having warmed up and enjoying the warmth of the sauna, I returned to my room, took a shower, put on civilian clothes and went to the restaurant. I really liked the restaurant, as well as the hotel as a whole. I ordered roast lamb with potatoes, hot tea and mulled wine. The mulled wine turned out to be especially good after my walk, I was happy.

After my meal, after a while I went out into the fresh air to smoke and remember everything that I did and saw today, it’s cool. A hotel in the mountains with a sauna, an outdoor pool and silence, it’s really cool. I returned to the room, turned on the music channel, and after a while I fell asleep. I slept well, the room was warm, everything was clean, it was comfortable.

Talgar Pass

In the morning I felt great. After having breakfast and examining the location of the resort in daylight, I bought tickets for Combi 1 and Combi 2. Having reached the Talgar Pass, I felt clean air, saw the dark blue sky, you felt the ultraviolet by your skin. The height is three thousand two hundred meters above sea level, beauty. Yes, I love this place, I definitely liked it.

Back to the city

The way back was easy, this time I took the cable car. After I went down to the foot of the mountain, I took a bus and after a while I was in the city center. In one of the shopping centers I came across a good food court, almost like in Southeast Asia, ate and returned to the hostel. During my stay in Almaty, I lived in four hostels.

The next morning I returned to this shopping center again, I wanted to eat. It turned out that the day before I had not paid for lunch and the waitress was very unhappy with me. The reason for this is the management of the food court, which shifted the responsibility in such cases lies with the poor girl. I apologized, paid for yesterday’s lunch and left. But I don’t remember this, I was completely sure that I had paid, and I was waiting for the bill for a long time. In general, it’s a strange situation and they still have a lot to learn, I mean the specifics of how food courts work in Thailand.

The next day I went to Southeast Asia.

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