Margie T Logarta forsakes the familiar and explores an age-old stopover along the Silk Road
If I was standing shivering in the chill of a hazy autumn afternoon at the Hyatt Regency Almaty, gazing at the emerald swathe cut by Kazakhstan’s Tian Shan Mountains, it was all thanks to Julian.
Choosing where to go for holiday in November, it was she, the assistant editor, who said: “You’re always going to India (I went three times last year), now go somewhere different.”
So the adventurer in me won out, and off I went to the country that a fictitious zany journalist Borat in the film Glorious Nation of Kazakhstan unwittingly put on the contemporary tourist map. But despite the furor his creator Sacha Baron Cohen caused by making several outrageous assumptions, the place remains deliciously remote and undiscovered.
By modern visitors, I mean. Actually, Kazakhstan was always an important stopover on the Silk Road, a shifting route of caravan tracks, and not a permanent infrastructure as its romantic name connotes. It may be one of the “Stans” (Uzbekistan, Turkmenistan etc), but that’s where the similarity stops. Enormous in size and rich in oil and natural gas, this last Soviet republic to declare independence is set on becoming the dominant force in Central Asia, joining high-profile international organisations such as the UN and NATO’s Partnership for Peace and building a cityscape in its main hubs Almaty and Astana inspired by the skylines of New York and Shanghai. (A JW Marriott will soon open in Almaty and a Ritz-Carlton is destined for Astana.)
Almaty – Alma Aty or “Apple Town” and the birthplace of the apple, say botanists – was Kazakhstan’s original capital until 1997, when Astana in the northern steppe was designated the new seat of government, setting off a frenzy of trophy building construction. Notables include the 97-metre Bayterek monument, resembling a soccer World Cup Trophy and the Norman Foster-designed pyramid, the Palace of Peace and Reconciliation and another project of his, the Khan Shatyry pleasure dome made out of heat-absorbing material producing summer temperatures inside. What’s more, there will be 9,290sqm of public space pleasant to inhabit even when the Siberian winds are howling bitterly outside.
Almaty, being older and more established, is Kazakhstan at its most charming and sophisticated. (The men and women are model gorgeous; none of the gentlemen wore a thick moustache like Borat.) Sipping coffee and nibbling at a biscotti in one of its many cosy cafés, I thought, who needs Starbucks, but I could see it coming. Mobile phones have already reached the state of fashion accessory. Cable TV delivers numerous re-runs of Friends and Two and a Half Men.
One night, courtesy of my new friend Saule, I had an excellently prepared carbonara at a dining lounge, named Posh (none of the local favourites, horsemeat or beshparmak, a dough with various fillings for me, sorry), and since it was a Wednesday, she was apologetic I couldn’t see a crowd turn out, which it usually does on weekends for DJs imported from Europe.
After centuries of living under Russian domination, it can be a tricky thing to shake off the influence. No matter, Kazakhs have a wry sense of humour that doesn’t need lashings of vodka to provoke. If there’s proof they’ve put the past behind them, go to NEP (New Economic Policy) restaurant outside Almaty, which brims with Communist kitsch. A bronze statue of Comrade Lenin stands near the entrance, his left hand clutching his lapel, his right arm outstretched. No, he’s not leading the country to a brighter tomorrow, he’s just showing you the way to a good meal. Try the borscht.
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How to get there: Air Astana (www.airastana.com), the national flag carrier, connects the Asia-Pacific to Almaty departing from Beijing (five times weekly), Bangkok (four times weekly) and Seoul (twice weekly). It also flies to Frankfurt, Amsterdam, Moscow and London as well as Istanbul, Dubai and New Delhi. With executives formerly from airlines such as Cathay Pacific at its helm, the carrier, launched in 2002, is growing in operations and fleet size.
Flight time between Almaty and the capital Astana is about one hour and 45 minutes.
Visas: Most visitors require a visa to enter, including US and UK citizens. Anyone staying more than five days, even if in possession of a visa must register with the OVIR office or face penalties upon departure.
Best time to visit: Spring (April to June), summer (July and August) and autumn (September and October). But if you prefer the cold, November
Best buys: Vodka and caviar (the latter is available in the public markets).
Currency: Tenge (US$1 = KZT122.92)
