[AManLikePutin]

I just recently returned from an 8-day trip in Central Asia (Kazakhstan & Kyrgyzstan) where I spent 3.5 days in KZ and 4.5 days in KG. Here I share some interesting things I noticed/learned along the way in those countries.

*** I did this trip with my girlfriend, so no gaming was involved. Having said that, I have some thoughts to share re: Kazakh/Kyrgyz girls based on my observations***

VISA & PLANNING

Kyrgyzstan has very relaxed visa-requirements for majority of EU/North American citizens. You can stay in the country for up to 90 days no problem. Kazakhstan used to require visa from visitors up until very recently, but a new agreement passed in January (partially thanks to the big EXPO event they are hosting next month), means now North American/EU citizens can travel to Kazakhstan for up to 30 days visa free.


TRIP ROUTE
We flew from the States to Astana first. Though no direct flights are available, Ukrainian Airlines offers a very good deal at a very reasonable flight. I paid $400 for the ticket, and we had a short, 2 hour stop in Kiev. I spent 1.5 days in Astana, before flying to Bishkek (through AirAstana airline which was actually great and the service and comfort shits all over majority of American carriers). From Bishkek we took the rode and drove across Kyrgyzstan in Naryn region and then Issyk Kul region from the West side to the East side, staying in Guest Houses or small hotels. After 4 days, we drove from Karakol to Almaty (about 7 hours), where we spent 2 days in Almaty, before flying back to the West. Overall, it was a very comfortable and smooth process.

NOW COUNTRY SPECIFIC THOUGHTS:

KAZAKHSTAN

Having spent time in both Astana and Almaty, I found the former to be soulless, and insufferable, whereas the latter had a fantastic vibe and a place I can imagine myself living in.

Astana has a very low population density, and the streets are very empty. It’s a relatively new city and Kazakh Strongman/Dictator, Nursultan Nazarbayev, changed the capital about 20 years ago from Almaty to Astana. Almost all the buildings are new in Astana and there is a lot of construction going on. In 10-20 years. I wouldn’t be surprised if Astana is officially the Dubai of Central Asia. In Astana, all the city was being prepared for Expo event next month, the EXPO sign was absolutely everywhere in your face. We walked for 3 hours in the presidential palace park on a very nice and sunny day, and we didn’t see more than 5 people during that time period. The shops and café were very nice, but I didn’t find the city lively or fun.

Almaty, on the other hand, had a lot of character and buzz. Being surrounded by mountains, Almaty was prettier from the off. There were significantly more people on the streets, the cafes were mostly from modern, and people just seemed happier in Almaty. The nightlife and food was better too, with a lot of Uzbek/Kazakh traditional restaurants in and around the city center. One other thing I noticed, was that people looked more “White” and “European” in Almaty as opposed to Astana where majority of people looked Asian. Girls in Almaty were also significantly more attractive than in Astana from my observations. Needing some directions and thoughts on the city, I approached a few groups of girls on the street talking in basic Russian, and they were very nice and receptive. English however, wasn’t widely spoken and it was true to both cities.

Having been the president of Kazakhstan since its independence from the Soviet Union, I expected to see many Nazarbayev posters/presence/monuments in the major cities, however it wasn’t the case. I only recall one poster in Astana, and a monument in the President’ park in Almaty. When I shared this observation with the Kazakh girlfriend of someone I knew in Almaty, she said there is a lot more Nazarbayev stuff in outskirts of the city. Kazakhstan is the richest country in Central Asia due to its natural energy resources and Kazakh and Russian firms co-operate in a number of projects in that regard and the countries are politically close.

Kazakhstan is a majority Muslim country. I noticed maybe 5 or 10% of women at maximum covering their head with Hijab. There was no Niqab/Burqa anywhere. My French friend in Almaty correctly said: “I see more burqa women in one day in Paris than in the last 3 months in Almaty”. The police in Kazakhstan are very tough however. After some conversation with locals, they told me that the police have a lot of power in making arrests and keeping public order as they are the pillar of Nazarbayev’ authority. There are a lot of cops in the roads, and they seemed to stop cars regularly who were driving maybe 5-10 km/hr more than the speed limit. I was also told by the locals that the Northern part of Kazakhstan is very pro Russia and Russian is the dominant language, whereas in the South, more Kazakh nationalists live. One of the reasons Nazarbayev changed the capital, was that Almaty is located in south east of the country, not central enough in such a huge nation, whereas Astana is more central, making managing the entire country more feasible.

Overall, I’d definitely go back to Almaty. It was a lively city with a vibrant nightlife and a lot of character and history. It’s also located to some really nice and fun outskirt activities such as Kolsai Lake and Lake Kaindy, as well as Charyn Canyon. Whereas, there is nothing interesting outside of Astana as it’s in middle of the desert.

KYRGYZSTAN

Let’s start with Bishkek. I imagined Bishkek (purely based on google photos), to be a peaceful unassuming city with a look of 70s about it. I was wrong. The city was a lawless jungle. No pedestrian walks, very poor infrastructure, people regularly driving through red-lights, and some part of the city looked like war-zones that resembled Syria. It felt like anarchy and I definitely won’t be in a rush to go back there anytime soon.

HOWEVER, Kyrgyzstan’ appeal was its unbelievable nature. Being full of mountains and lakes, Kyrgyzstan’ nature is mind-blowing. Some of the scenery on the road was unlike anything I had ever seen. Issyk Kul lake (known as the pearl of Central Asia) was among the highlights. Then you had FairyTale Canyon and the frozen Son Kul lake as well as the Sary-Jaz region close to the Chinese border. When driving through ANY CITY (Except Bishkek) in Kyrgyzstan, you’d see as many, if not more, cattle/cows/horses on the streets as people. Many locals live with their animals in their yurts by the mountains. I got to try horse-back riding for the first time, riding by the mountains to 3500 altitude to get a perfect view of Son Kul lake and the breath-taking nature nearby.

The locals in Kyrgyzstan were very friendly. One of guesthouse hosts (an old Babushka) spoke very good English. Frankly, I don’t recall seeing a single attractive Kyrgyz girl in these 4 days, however to be fair, I only spent 1 day in the city. Kyrgyz people were significantly more tanned than Kazakhs. I’d say they looked like Latino Asians. There was a lot of fondness for Soviet Union and Lenin among the Kyrgyz folks. One man told me, had it not been for Lenin and the USSR, ethnic Kyrgyz people would never have had a homeland and now would have to live in reservation camps. I saw a lot more Lenin monuments in Kyrgyzstan compared to Kazakhstan. Speaking of Politics, Kyrgyzstan is the only so called “Democracy” in Central Asia, as they are the only nation without a strongman/dictator. Kyrgyzstan has been host to 2 revolutions in the last decade or so, the first of which was CIA-backed in 2005, where the first president was brought down. The new guy turned out to be significantly more cruel and corrupt (Another CIA-intervention fail), and hence a second revolution followed a few years later. Most people were happy with the new guys and the new constitution, which allows a president to only rule for 6 years. The current regime is very close to Russia and a couple of locals said Russia has their back vs. bully neighbor Uzbekistan who has threatened them a few times.

Kyrgyzstan is also a majority Muslim country. I saw a lot more women covering their head in Kyrgyzstan as opposed to Kazakhstan, but in most cases, it appeared not religion, but rather a tradition as they were working long hours under the sun in their yurts, or making felt. I saw mosques, as well as churches along the way in the country. A local told me, religious extremism is much more likely to happen in southern part of the country, however they are a lot more “chill” about religion compared to Western Kazakhs.

Overall, I very much enjoyed Kyrgyzstan nature, the activities it offered, and the sincerity and hospitability of the locals. The food was fantastic (I preferred Kyrgyz horse meat to Kazakh horse meat), and you could see it’s a country that has a lot of potential once its infrastructure is improved, which looks optimistic with the new regime in charge. They had a new presidential election planned soon.

SUMMARY
I had always been curious about Central Asia, as it’s a very un-touched region in the world and we rarely hear about it. I always wanted to do a Silk Road trip, and this was a good pre-text to it. Ideally, you’d like to include Tajikistan and Uzbekistan to the journey, however their visa-requirements and isolation make planning and trip logistics a lot more difficult if you travel with a time-constraint. I’d definitely consider going back to both countries when my command of Russian language is perfect and I can seamlessly communicate with more locals, as I felt there is genuine interest and value in those conversations and we can both learn a lot from one another. Both countries have very interesting culture and history and are unique in their own ways. To be specific, Almaty for city-life, and non-Bishkek Kyrgyzstan for nature and adventure.