Kazakhstan

Almaty, Kazakhstan: Very Nice! (Sept. 14)

Overnight in Almaty, Renion Park Hotel.

We both slept so late it was after noon before we were ready to go out and explore. Instead of breakfast, we had lunch in the hotel bar.

My meat dumpling soup wasn’t great, only ate one dumpling and the liquid was anemic; however, the two cups of cappuccino helped me feel more human, and the Milkmaid Cake (it was delicious) gave me a sugar boost, though even with Leroy’s help couldn’t get through it all!

As usual, Leroy ate healthy and had a chicken Caesar salad with hard boiled quail eggs, spring rolls (didn’t have veggies inside like he thought they would but were filled with some kind of melted white cheese), bread rolls, and a bottle of water.

Portions were ‘American’ size.

We took a short walk around the neighborhood, may feel more ambitious tomorrow and go further afield, or else just go in the other direction. Lots of fabric shops and one wool/knitting shop, some restaurants/cafes/food “trucks”, a pharmacy, and right next to the hotel, a very small, rather scruffy, but safe-feeling as we walked through it, park.

Something interesting we hadn’t seen before–open water canals/drainage ditches along many streets we walked (aryks). Here is a link to an article from Walking Almaty on them. They have different uses, including chilling the streets on hot days.

There is a mini mini-mart across the street from the hotel–yeah!!–with the usual resident alcoholic (though sober at that time) hoping someone would buy her the can of beer she had in her hand. As she had English (had relative in Texas) and the clerk didn’t, and worked very diligently to find me some milk or cream for my tea/coffee and finally succeeded, was well hidden in a fridge out of the way behind the counter, I then did my reciprocal part. The big bottle of pouring cream, a large bottle of water, the can of beer, and a nice-looking banana, cost just a few cents over 2 USD.

Stopped at an ATM and instead of getting out 10,000 tenge, I put in one too many zeroes and now have 100,000 tenge–a little over $250. With the hotel already paid for, breakfast included in our hotel cost, restaurant food as inexpensive as it is here, and only three full days before joining the group, unless we can “sell” some to Trish and Elaine when they arrive, Roger will be getting part of his gratuity in tenge!

I slept very well and comfortably, very happy with the mattress. The room is small and basic, the bathroom clean with a hairdryer and plenty of shampoo, conditioner and so on, and the shower had lots of warm water and good pressure. The toilet paper is less hard than the stuff Trish, Elaine and I grew up with in England but not as soft as our American tp.

The hotel supplies each of us with a regular size bottle of water each day. We shouldn’t use tap water to drink or clean our teeth unless we want to experience Montezuma’s Revenge–oops, wrong continent–should have chosen Tamerlane, Genghis Khan, maybe Borat! If we run short of potable water, we can always boil some in the electric tea kettle in our room and let it cool.

Laundry costs next to nothing–hope that’s the same for the rest of the places we’ll be staying for shirts and pants. I did socks and undies in the sink last night but the socks weren’t dry until this evening.

Almaty – Sept. 15

Overnight in Almaty, Renion Park Hotel.

Set the alarm for eight this morning so we wouldn’t miss breakfast today. I don’t know if the food such as sausages, blinis, French toast, French fries, chicken in white sauce, and other dishes were supposed to be hot, but they were cool to cold. Will have to check that out when we come down earlier in the morning with ElderTreks. I had a freshly cooked omelet with mushrooms and cheese.

Weather today was nice, partly sunny, mid-70s most of the day. It’s supposed to rain tomorrow. Early this evening it started raining lightly, the temperature dropped quickly, and I was glad to have my fleece jacket to wear. Forecast is partly cloudy the day after tomorrow when Trish and Elaine arrive (they’re flying out today), then sunny and mid 70s to low 80s for the following days.

Today is Alma Fest (Apple Fest) the city’s traditional apple festival. Almaty’s old name ‘Alma-Ata’ means ‘father of apples’ in Kazakh and locals say the birthplace of the apple was the slopes of the nearby Tien Shan mountains. DNA analysis indicates that apples originated in the mountains of Kazakhstan, so they may be correct.

Alma Fest is celebrated with small events all over the city and the big main event in First President’s Park. We heard music and singing of all genres including rock and classical, one set to each person or group so it was continually changing, at the open-air street craft market we walked to just a few blocks from our hotel on Arbat Street (aka Zhybek Zholy Street). We didn’t know about it and were glad one of the young men working in the reception area of the hotel suggested to Leroy we go over there.

I was tempted, very, very tempted, by a small oil painting.

A Kazakh woman, Marissa, who lived in New York, now lives in Florida, and is here visiting her son, his family, and other members of her family, translated for me. Didn’t end up buying it because she felt I might have trouble getting it back to the States. It’s very attractive and might be “confiscated” either here or at one of the other borders we’ll be crossing. It was 25,000 tenge, about $62.

We also walked to Zeleny Bazaar, about the same distance in the opposite direction. It’s an established market, mostly under cover, and very similar to many we’ve visited elsewhere with the stalls selling fruit, fish, meat, clothing, and so on. Leroy bought some figs (tied together on a string) and some ring-shaped deep-fried dough with a little powdered sugar on them.

We had dinner–beer and pizza–at Pizza-Mia on the end of the block our hotel is in. Chose an Al Capone pizza with a nice tender crust, minced beef, yellow and red peppers, and hot sauce here and there on it. Very tasty. Couldn’t eat all of it. BOGO on beer (lager). “Mine” had a pink straw, Leroy’s beer was manly and didn’t have a straw. Cost was 3,190 tenge, including a 10% built-in gratuity, about $8.

Almaty – Sept. 16

Overnight in Almaty, Renion Park Hotel.

Trish’s plane was delayed in Denver and we’ve been following emails from her, hoping she doesn’t get in to Frankfurt so late she has to overnight there and fly out Tuesday morning. She’d still make the tour in time but will miss the orientation dinner tomorrow evening. Not a terrible miss, she is familiar with the requirements of ElderTreks and has traveled with Roger, our trip leader, before, he can catch her up with anything he thinks is important the following day, and so can we, but much more pleasant if that doesn’t happen.

Leroy and I walked over to Panfilov Park today to see the eternal flame and the memorials commemorating those killed in World War II and the Great Patriotic War. The eternal flame burns in front of a huge monument representing soldiers from all 15 Soviet republics.

The park “…is dedicated to and named after the Panfilov heroes which were the 28 soldiers of an Almaty infantry unit who died while fighting against Germans outside of Moscow during the Great Patriotic War. The group took its name from Ivan Panfilov, the General commanding the 316th division which, in spite of heavy casualties, believed at that time managed to significantly delay the Germans advance to Moscow, thus buying the time for the defenders of the city.” (Wikipedia)

Then we walked over to Zenkov Cathedral (real name Ascension Cathedral) which is in the same park. It’s a Russian Orthodox Cathedral and is made out of wood but without any nails. It is supposed to be the second tallest wooden building in the world. I Googled which one is the tallest, and it is Mjøstårnet by Voll Arkitekter in Brumunddal, Norway (this year—2019). It also appears that Zenkov might not now be the second tallest but I didn’t want to spend a lot of time researching it.

That painting has been tempting me and I finally couldn’t resist its siren call. Now let’s see if I can get it home!

Dinner again at Pizza Mia, plus the BOGO beers. My straw was turquoise tonight so, even though Leroy’s beer once again didn’t have a straw, they aren’t 100% stereotyping with gender role colors!

Almaty – Sept. 17

ElderTreks brochure: Meet for our orientation meeting/welcome dinner. Overnight in Almaty, Renion Park Hotel.

Trish did manage to catch her flight from Frankfurt to Almaty. Phew. Fortunately, the plane made up a lot of time during the journey, and parked at the gate right next to the one from which she was departing. She caught the last shuttle bus just as the doors were closing. Elaine was very relieved to see Trish board. Her suitcase made it, too, and was the third one on the carousel (last on, first off). We learnt at dinner tonight that one of our fellow ElderTrekers was delayed and won’t arrive until around 5 tomorrow morning.

Met Trish and Elaine for breakfast 9-ish. The hot dishes were warm but as there are no heating elements or candles underneath the containers, they must recently have been refilled. I’m enjoying a creamy rice pudding for my breakfasts.

They came back to our room to store their luggage as new rooms won’t be ready until after 2 p.m. The hotel also wanted us to move rooms but Leroy wouldn’t have it, told them they had agreed both when we made the reservation, and when we checked in, that we could stay in this room until we left with ElderTreks on the morning of the 19th. So–we are still in room 209–good for Leroy.

Had a lazy day today. Walked to Green Market also known as Zelenyy Bazar, looking for postcards. Didn’t find any. The three I had, I mailed at the Post Office, hopefully in the correct box.

Also went across the street from the bazaar to the Rakhat Chocolate Factory. The area smelled so good! Wonderful selection of chocolates and other candies they make and it was very busy in there. I bought two chocolate apples, one in red foil and other in green. They are like those chocolate oranges that one bangs on a table or other flat surface to break open the sections. Don’t know when we’ll open them, but look forward to doing so with Trish and Elaine.

Leroy and I shared beef and horse meat with noodles for lunch. Once again, the portion was huge and we couldn’t finish it or the Milchmadchen (Milkmaiden) cake that was dessert. Just like pasteis de nata in Portugal, this cake has become a favorite of mine and I indulge at every opportunity. It looks really rich and sicky but isn’t, it’s light and refreshing.

Tonight, was the orientation and held in a hotel just across the park from our hotel. Dinner was beef, two chicken (one in a tomato sauce, the other a curry), and a local fish dish, rice, veggies including tasty roast potatoes, fruit, dessert, wine, water, tea and coffee. It was nice to see Roger, our tour leader, again. He was our tour leader when we went to South East Asia a few years ago and he is a very considerate and kind person.

Below are a few photos from around Almaty:

In the photo of the building with the mural of mother and child, notice the balconies, they’ve been remodeled since their Soviet days and enclosed by windows to add square footage and storage space to cramped apartments. http://www.walkingalmaty.com/balcony-panels.html

Almaty – Sept. 18

ElderTreks brochure: Today, we enjoy a full day tour of Almaty including the State Museum of Arts housing a collection of over 22,000 artifacts of visual and applied arts featuring cultures of Kazakhstan, Russia, Western Europe as well as the peoples of Asia and Eastern countries. Then we will take a cable car to the ski resort of Shymbulak located in the Zaiilisky Alatau mountain range (2300m / 7545 ft) and enjoy a wonderful panoramic view of the Medeu Valley. In the afternoon we can visit the Zhenkov Cathedral, an extraordinary Russian Orthodox Church built of wood, and a walk through beautiful Panfilov Park and later visit the Green Bazaar. Overnight Renion Park Hotel.

Our first stop was Republic Square, home to the Monument of Independence and other art. It was a fairly short visit and we didn’t see everything. If I’d known it was so interesting, would have come here on one of our previous days.

On the top of the monument is the Golden Man aka the Golden Warrior standing on a winged snow leopard. He was found in a burial mound just outside of Almaty, at Issyk, in 1969 and has become a national symbol. The Golden Man (he was wearing more than 4,000 gold ornaments), is thought to have been a young Scythian prince who lived in the 4th or 5th century BC.

Archaeologist Jeannine Davis-Kimball argues in “Warrior Women” (2002) that the body was too badly damaged for its gender to be determined, and that other goods in the tomb suggest it was a woman. One intriguing school of thought identifies the Golden Woman with Tomiris, a queen of the Massagetes tribe who defeated the invading forces of Persian emperor Cyrus the Great (see Almaty Travel Blog). The premiere of a film about her (“The Legend of Tomiris”) will take place later this month in Nur-Sultan, which became the capital of Kazakhstan in 1997, replacing Almaty.

Surrounding the monument are ten bronze panels depicting Kazakhstan’s history (one shown above) and statues of a Kazakh father and a mother in traditional dress, and two children on colts.

At the base of the monument is an open bronze book representing the Constitution of Kazakhstan with the hand print of President Nazarbayev. The inscription in four languages tells one to make a wish, the English one reads, “Choose and be in bliss!”. The hand print is worn shiny from so many people putting their hands there. Of course, we had to do so as well.

Then on to the State Museum of Arts. Roger collected our cameras once we were inside as no photography is allowed. Very interesting and comprehensive displays. I especially like the yurt they had set up.

We went into the room that had lots of gold fashioned into all kinds of things. They had a good idea of hanging magnifying glasses on the outside of some of the exhibit cases so one could check out the tiny details that would have been missed otherwise. I was impressed with one piece that under the magnifying glass showed lots of pinhead size grains of gold, all the same size, like teeny tiny fine grains of sand. That same piece also had a very thin braided chain of gold. They didn’t have magnifying glass back then, so the artist must have had fabulous eyesight.

I found some postcards in the Gift Shop. Not terribly exciting ones, but they’ll have to do. Wrote and addressed them at lunch.

Outside the Museum was an area with petroglyphs, most likely replicas. We’ll see petroglyphs in their original setting when we travel to Lake Issyk-Kul in Kyrgyzstan.

Disappointed that the cable car to Shymbulak wasn’t working but glad that Roger arranged for us all to take a convoy of taxis instead of the local bus–much quicker and very convenient. On the way up our (and apparently all the other taxi drivers) really drove fast and we slid from one side of the vehicle to the other around the bends in the mountain road. That was fun. On the way down it seemed they wanted to spare their brakes by driving (relatively) more slowly.

Lunch started with a cold appetizer, slices of horse meat prepared in several ways accompanied by bread, butter and horseradish dipping sauce. The meat was tough but the ones with lots of fat around the outside were slightly less so. Then grilled trout followed by ice cream, both vanilla and chocolate with chocolate flakes.

When we got back to Almaty, we were given the choice of visiting Zhenkov Cathedral, walking through Panfilov Park and later visiting the Green Bazaar with the group, or taking off on our own. Leroy and I did that as we’ve thoroughly explored those places previously. We walked to the Post Office and I mailed the rest of my postcards home. A very slight wind was blowing towards us and the chocolate odor from the choc factory was quite noticeable and most pleasant.

Saw coffee being dispensed from the trunk of a car this afternoon. Never saw anything like this before, great idea. It was outside a coffee shop.

As the group wasn’t going to be leaving for dinner until 7 p.m., Leroy and I chose not to go and instead went to Pizza Mia at 5 o’clock. Once again, my beer had a straw, Leroy’s didn’t. Then, back to our room and today’s blog entry.

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