Holiday destination - Kazakhstan
"The plane from Riga landed in the land with a trees only next to some few rivers", was the first idea that came to my head. First strict bargains for the price of taxi from the airport managed by our new friend Audronė (who currently lives in Almaty) brought us to central Asia life. "We're not going to master this art of bargain during our trip", was my second idea that struck my head that early morning.
We've spent a day in Almaty - a city that starts in steppes, and ends at the foothills on Tian-shan mountains. We've hurried to the mountains of gods (as we were told by the mountain guard Isa) to break the rules of a national park, to try ourselves in difficult situations, to enjoy a good company, to see the Zailyisky Alatau, to travel... We didn't climb the highest mountain in the Northern Tian-shan, but we enjoyed our trip. We didn't reached our main goal, but we discovered something new in ourselves and each other. We didn't see the rainbow, but we were followed by a good weather. We didn't see the famous lake Issyk-kul, but we've spent 13 wonderful days in the place, where we wanted to be. We've properly spend the winter in this summer.
It was strange to see so many people, when we came down the mountains. It was so wet in Chymbulak, when we went for sightseeing there. It was really hot and dry in the Charyn valley, when we organized a small out-of-city tour. It was raining in Riga, when we came back. It was cold in Vilnius, when they brought our lost baggage. It is so good to remember, when I tell the stories for my friends.
Would you like to see something more? Look here. It's called "nowhere". Thank you, Arūnas.
Some interesting facts about Kazakhstan:
- By it's size Kazakhstan is bigger than western Europe
- There is no official religion, nevertheless the majority of people are Muslim
- This is one of the richest countries in world in a sense of minerals found
- The capital of Kazakhstan is Astana (from 1994), which translated from Kazakh language means simple "Capital city". It's a brand new name for a village in the middle of nowhere.
- Almaty, which name means "Grandfather of apples", remains as the southern capital. This historical capital and the largest city in Kazakhstan is still the destination number one. From the steppes in the northwest to the mountains in the southeast.
- The national museum has a whole floor dedicated for the president
