Kazakhstan conjures the image of large and cold barren country next to Russia. The country spreads from Caspian sea to Altai mountains and has long borders with Russia and China. I will not waste my time telling you about the country as my friend Suman Srivastava has described it beautifully and I am sharing his article link at the end of this blog.

When I had proposed a trip to Almaty, not many of those who finally travelled in our group had heard of the place. In a matter of a few months it seems to have become a hot destination. It is just a 3 hour direct flight to this Kazakh city and is known as most happening city of the region so more and more Indians are travelling there. The flight was packed and as you walked down the aisle of the aircraft you cannot help noticing that the crowd was predominantly male. It appears that some countries are going to give serious competition to Thailand, and Kazakhstan has been off the blocks pretty fast.

We were a group of 15. It turned out to be a swell group. When 15 men travel together without their spouses it’s amazing how quickly they regress into mischievous boys when there is no one around to keep them in check. Many a times their overconfidence about their prowess adds to the adventure… or at least makes for some hilarious stories afterwards!

The trip had started with the ‘Omerta Oath’ at Delhi Airport. It was clear to everyone that whatever happened in Almaty would have to stay in Almaty. The rule book said that photographs were allowed and they could be shared on social media but only after passing through the censor board. So we had a lot of photographs of mountains, greenery, food and the boys having fun with each other. What I am intending to write in this blog is the activities we undertook from 10 AM to 10 PM. What each one did after 10 PM will perhaps stay buried in Almaty.

As I stepped out on the balcony of the hotel on the first evening upon arrival– I was greeted by a very charming building which happens to be the Opera house. It is surrounded by a park giving it a very serene look. You can easily make out that you have arrived in a city of parks and greenery. What was actually breathtaking was the view of the snow covered Altai mountain range. As the sun started setting, the colors of the mountains changed with each passing minute. It was so very mesmerising.

We stayed at Almaty Hotel which was next to Tole Bi Street. The surrounding vicinity was full of cafes, bars and restaurants. It was a great place for walking as well. With people sitting out on pavements and having a drink and food – the place had European feel to it. Our hotel itself had an excellent restaurant called Zina which seemed to be very popular. From the time we had arrived it were the mountains that were inciting us so each day we ended up going to the mountains for lunch and the drive wasn’t too long.

The trip also was a landmark occasion for 6 of us who were together in Shri Ram College of Commerce but were all together for the first time after almost 40 years. A picture depicting ‘then and now’ has become very precious.

Our plan for day 2 was straightforward: Visit Medeu, take the cable car or gondola to the Shymbulak mountaintop (Ski Reort) for some snow fun, and then enjoy beer and lunch. Medeu is renowned for its speed skating rink. However, our plans hit a snag when we discovered that the cable car wasn’t operational, leaving us in a bit of a predicament. Undeterred, some of us decided to brave the journey on foot, scaling the steep stairs until we reached a certain view point. Despite the strenuous climb up countless stairs we were nowhere near the snow-covered peaks and the restaurants. Nonetheless, we found solace in enjoying a refreshing beer at Medeu’s restaurant upon descending, followed by a delightful lunch experience at the nearby top-notch restaurant, Auyl.

AUYL – A restaurant one must visit

They describe themselves as a neo-nomad experimental restaurant, boasting a stunning view, impressive architecture, and an exceptional ambiance. The design project is a collaborative effort between the architectural studio NAAW and the design studio DUNIE. The interiors, including the handcrafted chairs, exuded charm and sophistication, creating a spacious and opulent atmosphere. One article aptly describes it as ‘Auyl offers its patrons an immersive experience through lighting, sound, ambiance, textures, and aromas.’ The dining experience here became a highlight of our trip, as we savored Kazakh delicacies and other Central Asian dishes while seated on the ground, with the kitchen bustling in full view. We had been turned away initially as the restaurant was packed but dear friend Amit Gupta put on his charm and persuasive skills forcing them to give us the coveted space in this lovely restaurant. I am happy that we could experience the ambience and the food here as everything was excellent. It was nice and cozy inside while outdoors it had become misty and cold.

The Great Almaty lake is one of the prettiest places in Almaty but unfortunately that was also inaccessible at this time as the government had shut down the route due to major anti erosion work going on. One could go there clandestinely but we were a large group so it didn’t make sense to go there illegally through some rogue travel company. We now have an incentive to go back to Almaty as we need to visit Shymbulak and Great Almati lake.

Tau Dastarkhan & Gornyy Restaurant

Next day again we were on the way to mountains. The drive was good and it seemed as if we were driving to a hill station as both sides of the roads had forest areas and the weather changed with every few km’s. This was in a different direction from Shymbulak. Interestingly, despite traveling in separate cars, each vehicle was charged a different toll amount, with no receipts provided by the toll officials and the cab drivers playing ignorant. On the way we saw huge parks and it appears each of the parks have several good restaurants inside. We reached a resort called Tau Dastarkhan which seemed very pretty. It has an open spa called the Tau spa centre which has saunas, open pools, massages etc. We had intended to spend some time here but eventually after a few beers and some amazing food at Gornyy restaurant we wanted to go back and get refreshed for the evening.

Party time in Almaty

Just because I haven’t written about the evenings doesn’t mean that the evenings are dull in Almaty. It is actually for evening fun that people (men) from India are visiting Almaty. What all can you do ? You can party of course and they can be in different forms (based on our experiences) :

• Hire a place and have a private party. If you know the right people then you can get the right crowd to make the evening sizzle.
• Go to a nightclub for drinks, music and grooving – make sure that you are attired like a gentleman otherwise you will be turned away.
• Go to a strip club and buy the girls a few drinks and enjoy their dances. Just make sure that you don’t pick up their phone and bring back to hotel by mistake unless you want her to follow you back. (Top strip clubs : Kazanova, Office Club, Matrioshka, Pappilon, Babylon and 50 shades of Grey)
• Visit a casino and come back with a lighter wallet. (Casino Altyn Alma).
• Or you can just be a goody goody and identify a restaurant at Tole Bi street or Arbat street and have drinks and dinner there.
• Those who are compulsive shoppers can go and buy Kazakh pastries at 3 AM also from supermarket as someone from our group would do.

We all would have drinks and dinner together each evening and this was fun time full of banter and then each one had his own idea about spending the post dinner evening. Some did look more groggy than the others in the morning.

Touristy things to do in the city

Within the city there is Panfilov park (28 Panfilov guardsmen park) which has the famous Zenkov cathedral. Zenkov cathedral is a Russian orthodox church and is very pretty from outside or inside. Panfilov actually is a war memorial for the warriors of the second world war. As mentioned earlier- Almaty is a city of parks and some friends did venture into a few for their walks. On one occasion one group got caught in rain and a very charming cafe came to their rescue with cognac and warm blankets.

A cable car from near the Novotel hotel takes you up the mountain to Koktobe which has some great views of the snow peaked mountains and the city. It also has a lot to do for tourists and locals. Near the Green bazar One can visit the shop of Rahat chocolate factory and buy from there or just roam around the green bazar and buy handicrafts and dry fruits. For the Golf lovers – They have 2 or 3 golf courses with Zhailjau Golf course being spectacular as it is flanked by snow mountain peaks.

Arbat street is a pedestrian street and this was also around 20 minutes walk from our hotel. It is also known as the silk route and has many fancy shops and is a good place for souvenir shopping. There are many buskers who are singing or playing instruments, all of which are lovely to listen to while you walk the pedestrian street admiring the myriad sculptures which adorn this street.

The Trip Ends

Well, let me tell you, that boys’ trip was off the charts! We’re already buzzing about planning the next one. It was a bunch of guys who just clicked, even though half of us were strangers before we hit the road. But let’s be real, we probably won’t get that much leash from the wives next time. We’ve got to savor the freedom while we can and reminisce about the madness of those four glorious days!

Travel info for Almaty :

• Visas are not required for Indian tourists so things become simple to plan.
• Air Astana turned out to be a good airline with new aircrafts both ways. Indigo is also flying there now.
• The currency is Tenge and you can roughly calculate Tenge 10,000 as Rs 2000. It is best to change some money at the Airport itself and then later one can do it in town.
• I didn’t have a roaming package in mobile so I bought a local SIM at the airport. It worked well.
• Yandex Go is the taxi app which one must download if one has intention of using cabs.
• Language can be a problem but now you have apps on mobiles which scans even the menus/labels and translates them into English – so all this is very helpful.

I had written that the pre-trip impression I had about Kazakhstan was that it was a cold and barren country. Almaty was cold but certainly not barren. A city with so many trees, parks and pretty girls can never be called barren.

Suman’s article about Kazakhstan : https://open.substack.com/pub/sumansrivastava/p/kazakhstan-was-named-by-baburs-mausis?r=1sa5o&utm_campaign=post&utm_medium=web&showWelcomeOnShare=true