GHOST TRAIN TO KYRGYZSTAN - Shymkent and Taraz, Kazakhstan

.....previously, meanderings around Samarkand and Tashkent in Uzbekistan.......

Tekturmas mausoleum, Taraz

For something different we had a rather unexpectedly posh seat on the train from Tashkent in Uzbekistan to Shymkent over the border into Kazakhstan. Our position near a rowdy family with three little kids was a bit unfortunate, but it was still comfortable, and we were glad for the AC when the train stopped for two lengthy periods on either side of the border. The immigration and customs was carried out onboard, without any trouble- the officials typically friendly and inquisitive. 

The longest train we've ever seen, Tashkent - Shymkent train

Chaotic, but comfortable, Tashkent to Shymkent train

It was with slight trepidation that we checked into the hostel we had chosen in Shymkent. The reviews were generally good, but someone had written that they had been threatened with a knife in the male dorm and nearly killed! But for the price, we decided it was worth a go. As it turned out it was a cheap and basic room in a quiet and central setting, mostly full of single Kazak men in the dorms. They were all perfectly nice and polite- one man even said via Google translate that we were a beautiful couple! And no sign of knife violence!

We weren't particularly taken with Shymkent, a rather shabby town with a lot of rubbish, and mad drivers. Prices were slightly higher here than in Uzbekistan for basic items, but the worst part for us was the lack of much historical interest. Shymkent was once on the ancient Silk Route, but practically all evidence of that has been erased by now. Apparently, the attractions lay outside the city in some national parks, but we were keen to move on to Kyrgyzstan and didn't allocate any time to exploring further. 

Roses galore in a lush park, Shymkent, Kazakhstan

Funny old Soviet drinking mural, Skymkent

We spent a couple of days exploring the many parks in town, in particular the walk along the Koshkar Ata canal, beginning at a spring which held spiritual meaning for the locals. Many people were there collecting water to drink, having an early morning stroll or exercising on equipment (mostly men disconcertedly in their underpants). We followed the shady peaceful path as long as we could, Richard fascinated by the trout in the canal, which were apparently protected and multiplying in large numbers. We eventually arrived at Independence Park, a huge, shadeless square, where an enormous rocket-like memorial to Kazakhstan's 20th anniversary of independence from the Soviet Union sat on a hill. Apparently it was composed of 137 different metals to represent the 137 different ethnic groups in the country. The park was well looked after, and will be lovely in a few years when the trees grow and provide some shade. 

Trout in stream, Koshkar Ata, Shymkent

Koshkar Ata canal, Shymkent

Shady walk on a hot day, Koshkar Ata, Symkent

Rocket-like Independence statue, Shymkent, Kazakhstan

A funny, but embarrassing incident occurred in a Shymkent restaurant, when we were seated and waiting for our food. A local guy built like a wrestler entered, made a bee-line for us, and insisted on buying us some plov, so we could try the Kazakh version of the classic dish. As he spoke to our waiter, we presumed our first order would be cancelled. But soon, dish after dish started arriving at the table, and as our benefactor stood there beaming, and we had to do our best to try to finish everything. It was an extremely generous gesture from this man, if somewhat badly timed. 

Finished the plov, onto the meat!

Mastava soup, and of course, plov

The platform at Shymkent train station was crowded with people when we arrived to wait for our morning train to Taraz. One helpful man of Russian heritage approached us to see if we needed assistance- he may have thought we were Russian. It was handy to have him translate for us every time their was an announcement about how late the train would be. When the it arrived, there was a bit of a scrum to embark (our Indian strategies coming back to us in our time of need!). Once on board, of course, everyone had a seat, and we were sharing with a family with two sweet little girls, who were travelling all the way to Astana. We watched as they prepared for their long journey, made up the beds for them all, set out their drinks and food on the little table, changed into comfortable slip on shoes, and unpacked playing cards and their jackets in anticipation of the cold evening. As we were only going a few hours up the line, we contended ourselves to look out the window at the surprisingly green outlook. We were expecting desert in this area, but there was much agriculture, farms and orchards. Looking out towards the Kyrgyzstan border, the view was all majestic mountains in their snowy glory. Kazakh style graveyards (the most picturesque) seemed to fill every hill with their castle-like tombs, and horses, cows and big bummed sheep dotted the country side. It was a beautiful trip.

Far away graveyard, Taraz

Looking like a picture frame, Shymkent to Taraz train

Sleeper train Shymkent to Taraz 

Our arrival at Taraz was complicated. The host at the fancy apartment we had booked assumed we had mobile phone access and would call her when our train got in- we were left waiting at her building's entrance without a clue how to enter or check in. The caretaker took pity on us, let us into her office to wait and called our host. All ended well, and we were surprised at the standard of the apartment compared to the cheap price. We had become used to such extravagant (for us) apartments in the Balkans and Romania, but in Central Asia the accommodation on offer was generally hostels, guesthouses or simple rooms in people's homes. 

Old fashioned hallway, Taraz apartment

Glimpse into our swish kitchen, Taraz apartment

Our home for a short time, Taraz, Kazakhstan

Most of our couple of days in Taraz was taken up with (a) looking at options for leaving the town, or (b) looking around at various tombs. For some reason, the train to Bishkek we wanted to take was about ten times more expensive than other comparative trips we had taken, and our lack of Russian speaking skills didn't help in trying to find out why. We decided to check out bus options with a long, crowded trip to the bus station on the other side of town, only to find language again making it difficult for us to suss out what the circumstances were. As the bus situation seemed very complicated, with multiple changes at the border, and irregular times, we bit the bullet and went for the pricey train. A side note has to be made about the extremely helpful ticket seller at Taraz train station. Without a word of English, she made a huge effort to help us find the information we needed and get our tickets for us. Most people working in this job in Central Asia only do what is strictly necessary, without going out of their way to help. 

Beautiful scene at Taraz

With that sorted, we visited two revered mausoleums, the monuments to Karakhan and Dauitbek, two governors of Taraz from the 11th and 13th centuries. These were contained in a park with some ruins of an ancient caravanserai, with a 200 tenge/£0.35 entrance fee. When Rich saw there was a pensioner discount, he showed his passport and we both got in for 100 tenge/ £0.17. How embarrassing! Anyway, inside, as typically with these religious buildings, there was a holy man on hand to sing a lovely prayer, which we listened to without understanding, but with appreciation. 

Sal at caravserai ruins, Taraz

A new and huge complex on a hill overlooking the Talas River was a bit of a strange place. It was reconstructed in 2002, after apparently being destroyed in the 1930s, and is dedicated to the burial place of a saint, or was he the commander of an army- no one is completely sure who he was. Anyway, we enjoyed the views over the town very much, and while we were in a peaceful, shady part of the complex, we were completely mobbed by a group of gorgeous school kids. Kazakh kids have got to be the cutest! We had a photoshoot for about half an hour, until a group of Japanese tourists showed up, and stole our thunder.

Massive muniment to Tekturmas, Taraz

The beginning of the photoshoot, Taraz

Excited kids at Tekturmas mausoleum, Taraz

Cute Kazakh girl, Taraz

On our final night in Taraz we entered one of the many beer shops we had seen around Shymkent and Taraz. We assumed they were just the usual grog shops, and as we had already gotten our wine at the supermarket, we didn't need to explore that option further. What we discovered in Taraz, however, was a tiny shop with five or six different fresh local draught beers on tap. The price was unreal at 550 tenge/less than £1 for one litre, and tasted so good it even gave the Balkan beers a run for their money. We wished we had have unearthed this marvel sooner in the week!

Ready for another scrum to board the train from Taraz to Bishkek, we arrived early, and found a practically empty platform. As the train rolled in pretty much on time, we rushed to find the right "vagon" (carriage), and jumped on only to find that, apart from a couple of sleeping railway employees, we were the only passengers on the entire carriage! The attendant indicated we should set up and sleep anywhere we wanted to. Puzzled, we saw evidence of past passengers, in the form of rolled up bundles of used bed linen, but without anyone speaking English, we had no way to know what was going on. In the end, we rode the entire eight hours without another soul getting on or off. Just like the high cost of the ticket, we were never to find out why there were so few passengers.

Completely empty train from Kazakhstan to Kyrgzstan

The two rail attendants onboard were so curious about us, great communicators and for Kyrgyzstan so typically friendly- we were really happy to be heading back there. Apart from a few encounters, we hadn't found the Kazakhs overly welcoming this time around. Our last epic trip to Kazakhstan had been so memorable and we had loved the people and the landscape, but this short trip was simply less interesting. 

Anyway, it was a long and slow journey, with lengthy standstills at the border posts on the Kazakhstan and Kyrgyzstan side. The guards were very interested in Richard's various potions and spices, but after a detailed search and the drugs dog giving everything a good sniff, they were satisfied. Wouldn't be surprised if they were bored out of their brains and wanted to see what the foreigners were carrying. We were comfortable on the train, and obviously able to spread out and enjoy the last of the Kazakh scenery, but by the time we arrived in the wee hours of the morning into Bishkek station, we were quite exhausted. An amazing fact, that says a lot about the train system in this part of the world, was although the train had originated in Russia, we arrived at the final destination only five minutes late.

Looking out the train window towards Kyrgyzstan

Kyrgyzstan has very few trains, and Bishkek station is not busy at the most active of times. At 2.30am on the morning we arrived, there was little action. The couple of taxis there picking up other passengers wanted US$20 for the six minute drive to our accommodation, and not yet having any local money, we felt a bit stranded. Luckily, a friendly man from the train took pity on us, and gave us a lift when his brothers came to collect him. Who knows how far out of their way they went for us, but we were very grateful. 

Our trip through a tiny portion of gigantic Kazakhstan

....finally in Kyrgyzstan!.......

LAST STOP CENTRAL ASIA - Almaty and a selection of silly hats

....our previous post out and about around Karakol town.....

Our final week in Central Asia was spent in the old Russian capital of Kazakhstan, Almaty. It was a whirlwind week mostly spent eating, but also trying to soak up everything we could of the last place we would visit in the area, probably for some time.

It was by far the most pleasant city we visited in the region- the trees lining the streets were so thick and shady, and gave a park-like feel to the whole place. The temperature was absolutely perfect, in the mid 20's, with cool breezes and little humidity, and there was a calmness and neat civility to Almaty that made it an easy place to walk around and feel relaxed. It was also very wealthy, with huge 4WDs everywhere, posh cafes, completely rubbish-free streets, the occasional burst of street art, office workers on lunch breaks and rich mums with babies in the parks. Our previous time in Kazakhstan was so contrasting, it might as well have been spent on a different planet!

Street art, Almaty, Kazakhstan

Moment of reflection in a park, Almaty, Kazakhstan

The clunky old Soviet apartment blocks were softened by the leafy greenness, while the few historic monuments blended in without the starkness apparent in Bishkek.

Monument in town, Almaty, Kazakhstan

Funky Soviet era flats, Almaty, Kazakhstan

A path and stream running through the city center, Almaty

Unfortunately, our favourite fruits- berries and stone fruit were coming to the end of their season, but apples and pears were still plentiful and tasty. Street trees had conkers, walnuts and acorns just starting to drop, and the autumn leaves from the many oaks and birch were falling in the parks, where we were happy once again to see red squirrels.

We decided to spoil ourselves for the last week. After living pretty much on bread, fruit, veggies and dairy products (as delicious as they were!) for the last four months, we thought we would see what Almaty had to offer in the food department. It was really the only place on our trip where we saw large numbers of eateries with varied and different menu items that included more than just the usual beshbarmak, plov, shashlik, samsa and laghman (although these were also available). There was certainly a lot of choice, with cafes, restaurants and bars of all sorts on all the centre's streets, and for once, we were able to close our eyes to the prices and just eat what we liked the look of. It's hard to explain the luxury of a proper espresso coffee and a gourmet cake, or meat kebabs with no fat, a smoked salmon breakfast, or simply a damn good pizza! Even the supermarkets in Almaty were posh, and we enjoyed marinated mushrooms, eggplant salad, smoked cheese, cured meat........honestly, the list went on and on! We made the most of the different and scrumptious choices. Rich left Sal alone to try shubat, fermented camel's milk. She found it similar in taste to kymys, fermented mare's milk, and not too bad!

More meat, but more tasty, Almaty, Kazakhstan

Kebabs, Almaty style!

What an absolute luxury! Almaty, Kazakhstan

Sunday brunch, Almaty, Kazakhstan

Quite happy with his choice! Almaty, Kazakhstan

Fermented camel's milk, Almaty, Kazakhstan

Probably the biggest treat, though, was a trip to the ballet at the Opera House. The ex-Soviet capital cities are well known for always having an Opera House, and usually with rock bottom prices for performances. In the past, we have tried to buy tickets in Yerevan, Tbilisi, Sofia, Tashkent and Bishkek with no luck for one reason or another (usually either sold out, or nothing on during our stay), but it just so happened there was a ballet on the night we enquired, and for 1,000 tenge (AU$3.75) we bought two tickets in great seats! It was only after the purchase we realized we had literally nothing remotely smart to wear, and resigned ourselves to being the daggy foreigners once again! As it happened, no seemed to care, and we had a brilliant night. The company was Kazakh, and various styles were showcased- both classical and modern with Russian, Kazakh and Western influences.

Beautiful foyer, Almaty Opera House, Almaty, Kazakhstan

Daggy git in the theatre, Almaty, Kazakhstan

Kok-Tobe is a hill in Almaty, which as well as sweeping, yet hazy, views over the city, had such local delights as a zoo, shooting range, souvenir stalls, dodgem cars and various over-priced restaurants. The best part was the cable car down, which was hair-raisingly fast at the start and end, and a damn sight easier than the slog on the way up! We had been tempted into the walk up at the beginning of the charming riverside path, but it eventually turned into a long, steep hill, (quite good for walking off some of that food!!) Bizarrely, at the top of the hill, there was a statue of The Beatles, which locals claim to be the only monument in the world which shows the Fab Four all together. We beg to differ.............

Up on Kok-Tobe Hill, Almaty, Kazakhstan......

...........but it aint the only one! (This from last year in Liverpool)

Whizzing down on the cable car, Almaty, Kazakhstan

Apart from eating our way around Almaty, we visited the (slightly non-descript) Central Mosque; the Zenkov Cathedral, which was under renovations but still lovely and atmospheric inside; and stumbled across an outstanding geology museum, full to the brim with amazing stones and rocks, mostly from Kazakhstan.

Interior, Zenkov Cathedral, Almaty, Kazakhstan

Colourful outside of Zenkov Cathedral, Almaty, Kazakhstan

The main bazaar, the Green Market, was a bit too polished and perfect for our tastes. Everything looked shiny and organized, and the wonderful chaotic atmosphere of the typical Central Asian bazaar was missing. We did, however, still purchase some of the season's last berries- we were addicted, and knew we wouldn't be eating them again for some time!

Many organized and labelled spices for sale, Green Market, Almaty, Kazakhstan

Our guesthouse in Almaty was very good value for money, but so clean and tidy that we felt a bit awkward staying there, not wanting to dirty anything.There was an amusing exchange with the (not young) owner, who couldn't believe we didn't have a mobile phone, and exclaimed "But, how will you find your way around the city?"!!

We sought out the tiny underground Metro, being the Soviet train fans that we are, only to find out that it was modern and new having only been built a few years previously. It was still fun riding around the different lines to see contrasting parts of the city. The only other public transport in the city centre were big comfortable buses and trolley cars (like trams). No lowly marshrutkas here!

We were of course, sad our time in Central Asia had come to an end, and were left wanting more .........but on another trip. With winter approaching, we were ready to return to South East Asia.

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Those following our blogs from the last four months in Central Asia will have seen what an absolutely brilliant time we've had. Of course, there were ups and downs, and considering how little research we did beforehand, everything was weirdly as we imagined it would be. Uzbekistan was exotic and full of wonderful colours, bazaars and architecture, Kazakhstan was wild and difficult, with stunning and vast deserts, and Kyrgyzstan was more popular with tourists because of it's incredible mountain beauty. We stayed in a variety of accommodations ranging from a 14th century medressa, to a yurt, and an underground mosque, and met some of the most welcoming and lovely people in all our travels. It is definitely a region we would recommend, and we are very keen to return, especially to Uzbekistan, our favourite of the three we visited. Presumably, at some point the world will discover how accessible, easy and inexpensive "The Stans" are, but for now it is extremely easy to get away from the crowds and have places all to oneself. One of our all time favourite trips!

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KYRGYZSTAN- MINISTRY OF SILLY HATS

All Central Asia countries have distinctive head wear, but the sheer range and numbers of silly hats in Kyrgyzstan seemed to warrant a special section!

.....for something completely different, back to Thailand, and timeless Phetchaburi, up next...