[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.

[LouEvilSlugger]

I traveled to Kazakhstan last year. Almaty is one of my favorite cities int the world. The quality there is incredible, most young girls have good command of English and often speak multiple languages (French, German).

[wolfpack]

I plan to visit there once my task from philippines are done.

[NapoleonDynamighty]

Nice report however I would be really curious about someones detailed experiences and reports from the region where they really explored all avenues to get laid and their results. This sheet although encouraging and full points on off the beaten path value doesnt give us an idea of if it is an up and coming poosay paradise obviously due to OPs trip being with his bird.

[Sisyphus]

Cool write up. I happened upon this website just a couple of days ago:

https://www.nomadasaurus.com/breaking-tr...alan-trek/

I'm a sucker for high mountains and Kyrgyzstan is going way up on my travel list. It seems like it's really taking off and it's getting close to being in that sweet spot where tourism is decently well developed but not overrun with gringos. My friend told me about some travel guru whose blog she follows and this guy said Kyrgyzstan was his favorite of well over 100 countries he'd been to.

What's the story with public transport? Is renting a car the only way to get around?

I'd be interested in hearing more details in general.

[Chaos]

(05-30-2017 08:46 AM)LouEvilSlugger Wrote:  

I traveled to Kazakhstan last year. Almaty is one of my favorite cities int the world. The quality there is incredible, most young girls have good command of English and often speak multiple languages (French, German).

How are the majority of the girls looking there? White or Asian?

[LouEvilSlugger]

(05-31-2017 06:00 AM)Chaos Wrote:  

How are the majority of the girls looking there? White or Asian?

In Almaty, the vast majority of girls are hapas, half European and half Asian. There's a lot of ethnic Russian and Ukrainians and sizeable populations of Germans, Greeks and Koeans. Russian is key, but there are enough girls who speak English very well. They usually study at a local business school and have studied abroad.

[Filbert]

(05-31-2017 06:00 AM)Chaos Wrote:  

(05-30-2017 08:46 AM)LouEvilSlugger Wrote:  

I traveled to Kazakhstan last year. Almaty is one of my favorite cities int the world. The quality there is incredible, most young girls have good command of English and often speak multiple languages (French, German).

How are the majority of the girls looking there? White or Asian?

About 30% whites, 70% asians.
Whites include Russians, Ukrainians, Germans.
Asians inlcude Kazakhs, Uyghurs, Koreans.
There are 30,000 Koreans in Almay.
There are also Georgian, Chechen, and Azeri chicks
There are also a lot of metis girls of different varieties.

The talent is incredible. In the morning, I usually drive by a medical university, and the talent entering it is insane.

Opinions differ, but most PUAs here agree that it's difficult to hook up here. The chicks are mostly traditional and will feck if you promise to marry or after marriage.

On the other hand, some guys complain they can't find a steady gf, as the chicks prefer ONS.

Some clubs/restos to pick up at:

Esperanza on Seifullin St. Quite good, but with a lot of pros and semi-pros.

Fort Verny on Tole-bi St. - good food, usually with good talent late at night. But sometimes with an annoying number of semi-pros.

Karaoke Terrasa on Kabanbai batyr St. - good food, and pickup place.

Pirate restaurant on Tole-bi St. - very good Eurasian/Kazakh cuisine.

Flybar at Kazakhstan hotel on 26th floor and Noodles restaurant, also at Kazakhstan hotel, with European, Japanese, Viet cuisine.

Aragvi cafe on Rayimbek batyr St. - Very good Georgian cuisine. Good pickup opportunities at night, especially on holidays. A lot of drunk groups of chicks.

There are actually about 3396 restaurants in Almaty.

[AManLikePutin]

^ Majority of girls in Almaty are Asian, however the proportion of white girls there is significantly higher than what I saw in Astana. Kazakhstan population demographics goes something like: 64% Kazakh, 23% Russian, 3% Uzbek, 2% Ukrainian, 1% German and some other minorities. We went out on a Thursday night and most places were about to close by 1AM (on weekends nightlight goes up until sunrise), but we found this new lounge place on 4th floor called "Sky Bar" where it was super lively and quality, well-dressed crowd with party going on until 4AM. We also went to this Uzbeki/Kazakh restaurant a little outside of Almaty (maybe 5-10 minutes) called "Aalasha" which had ridiculously delicious food (lamb, horse, cow), design, live belly dancing, shisha, beer, and anything you could possibly ask for, where the final bill after 3 hours of feasting and enjoyment came to something like $22 per person.

@Sisyphys: I saw a group of Dutch tourists driving a truck. by their own, but frankly there is the option of finding LOCAL tour operators that know the mountains, the paths, the tricks, hidden gems and speak the local language that will help unlock new doors and that's what we did. Very nice, fun and informative guy who really knew his tourism and had a great business vision and mind. If you're interested in more details, shoot me a PM.

Here are a very small sample photos I took on the trip:

[Chaos]

Nice pics man. Looks amazing.

Time to look more into this.

[Nowak]

What are the relative and absolute advantages in Almaty vs Kiev?

[Nowak]

Awesome info and pics btw

[knuckles]

I have lived in Kazakhstan for several years and much of what has been posted from other members short visits matches my experience. I don't find the girls to be traditional. Well, they are, in regards to cleaning the house and doing what is expected of them as women in the family. However, in my personal experience, there are very few inhibitions sexually from a cultural perspective.

Basically the positives are:

1) Hot girls who are very varied in appearance (Asian, European, middle eastern etc.) overall, they are approachable...

2) Men are expected to be act like men and women are expected to be feminine

3) Very little political correctness

4) Tolerance of other racial and ethnic groups

5) Very secular

6) I won't get into politics but the president has done a lot of positives things despite the labels people like to place on him. If one does find it to be "authoritarian" here, it does not get in your way of getting laid.

7) You can live cheaply if you want

Some negatives

1) Kazakh dudes are cool but a foreigner picking up their women can piss some off, boxing, MMA, and wrestling are popular here and guys in general like to fight. Girls may not want to leave venues with a foreigner because of this. You need to be situationally aware when out at night and in a place where guys are drunk.

2) Almaty and Astana can be expensive if you are into more posh bars or nightclubs. Astana is not so bad, OP seemed to spend his time on the "left bank" which is indeed sterile, the "right bank" has more soul. Most expats prefer Almaty for the reasons OP wrote. Astana vs. Almaty, think DC vs New York I guess. I live in a smaller provincial city and love it.

3) People are not always outwardly friendly, there is a lack of basic pleasantness or courtesy when out and about, this may bother some.

4) English is becoming more widespread but Russian language skills help a lot, knowing the Kazakh language helps even more.

5) As posted above, some venues have a high concentration of semi pros.

Basically, don't act like a pussy, be confident yet culturally aware and one can do well here. OP did a great job of describing Kazakhstan for such a short stay and I am happy to answer any specific questions. I have never been to Kyrgyzstan unfortunately.

[sportbilly]

Interesting read. Has anybody been to or got any information on Aktau?

[knuckles]

(06-03-2017 12:56 AM)sportbilly Wrote:  

Interesting read. Has anybody been to or got any information on Aktau?

Second hand info....

Mid size oil and gas city as you probably know. Kazakh speaking / more traditional region but like virtually all of the country everyone will know Russian. The petro industry increases the amount of pros and semi pros cause well to do expats are known to have money. This can also increase the need for awareness at drinking venues as local guys don't like to be shown up by foreigners with cash. Unique and pleasant due to location on the Caspian and the beach. Plenty of nightlife, western style bars and lots of parks / places to walk during the day. Real nice place to visit in summer, it is also more mild in the winter when much of the country is extremely cold. Aforementioned oil industry can make things slightly more expensive.

[Traktor]

(06-07-2017 11:27 AM)knuckles Wrote:  

(06-03-2017 12:56 AM)sportbilly Wrote:  

Interesting read. Has anybody been to or got any information on Aktau?

Second hand info....

Mid size oil and gas city as you probably know. Kazakh speaking / more traditional region but like virtually all of the country everyone will know Russian. The petro industry increases the amount of pros and semi pros cause well to do expats are known to have money. This can also increase the need for awareness at drinking venues as local guys don't like to be shown up by foreigners with cash. Unique and pleasant due to location on the Caspian and the beach. Plenty of nightlife, western style bars and lots of parks / places to walk during the day. Real nice place to visit in summer, it is also more mild in the winter when much of the country is extremely cold. Aforementioned oil industry can make things slightly more expensive.

I work with a few guys and girls from Kazakhstan (mainly ethnic Russians, Ukrainians and Germans) from places like Pavlodar and Almaty. They prefer life in Belarus as the weather is more bearable, plus Belarus is more culturally compatible than Kazakhstan. They tell me that there is tension between Kazakhs and Russians but it hasn't spilled out into violence. Pavlodar is as cold as a motherfucker in winter.

I'd like to check out Turkmenistan and Uzbekistan. I think Hooligan Harry was in Turkmenistan.

[knuckles]

[/quote]

I work with a few guys and girls from Kazakhstan (mainly ethnic Russians, Ukrainians and Germans) from places like Pavlodar and Almaty. They prefer life in Belarus as the weather is more bearable, plus Belarus is more culturally compatible than Kazakhstan. They tell me that there is tension between Kazakhs and Russians but it hasn't spilled out into violence. Pavlodar is as cold as a motherfucker in winter.

I'd like to check out Turkmenistan and Uzbekistan. I think Hooligan Harry was in Turkmenistan.
[/quote]

I've never noticed any kind of tension, of all the former soviet central asian states KZ has remained the closest to Russia politically and culturally (linguistically). but locals would know far better than I.

Indeed, the cold, especially in the north and central parts of the country can be brutal. I recollect a minus -49 C one morning. This was without the wind chill factor. However, the girls still wear heels and the fur coat fashion show is pleasant on the eyes.

Despite initial announcements after electing a new president Uzbekistan did not go visa free. Even the first proposal that was not adopted had age restrictions for some of the countries listed. Turkmentistan has also been historically closed off and difficult to get a visa for, I am not sure of the current situation. Both places would be great to visit but the visa requirements are a turn off. Friends who have gone to Uzbekistan loved it and their dollars went far as the cost of living is fairly cheap.

[psyrus]

This data sheet was good and timely, thank you. I'm traveling to Almaty next week to live there for a few months this summer.

[Svara]

Great reports! RooshV is definitely still one of the best sexpat forums!

[sportbilly]

I am doimg 6 days in Almaty in July, any advice welcome!

[Cattle Rustler]

(06-13-2017 03:37 PM)sportbilly Wrote:  

I am doimg 6 days in Almaty in July, any advice welcome!

Check if you're going there during the World Expo, everyone in KZ is raving about it. It started a coupe of days ago.

[LouEvilSlugger]

(06-13-2017 03:37 PM)sportbilly Wrote:  

I am doimg 6 days in Almaty in July, any advice welcome!

I did a lot of nightgame in Almaty. Avoid places like Esperanza and Barcode (pro and semi-pros). Dope and Paparazi can be fun. Barvikha is a sausage fest.

Kok Tobe is a good spot to hang out during the day, so is Essental Mall and the nearby botanical garden.

[knuckles]

Quote:

Avoid places like Esperanza and Barcode (pro and semi-pros).

100% agree with the above. Soho as well to a certain extent, the girls that sit near the bar for sure.

Chukotka is good with the university crowd and the girls tend to be more laid back then some of the more posh places. However, most of the students who are not from Almaty have left to other cities and villages for the summer.

I was just in Almaty before coming to Astana for the expo. Mad Murphys is a decent Irish bar where you will find a good concentration of English speakers if you don't speak either of the local languages. I am an older dude and pulled a mixed Tatar / Russian from here this past weekend.

A heads up to those coming, especially this summer. Taxi drivers usually try to target unsuspecting tourists with very high fares and with expo in Astana the practice has been really out of control. Fares from the aiport to just about anyplace in Almaty should not be more than 3,000 tenge. Unofficial taxis at the airport will try to ask for 10,000 and up. Don't let them fuck with you.

[sportbilly]

expo will be on which i am not sure if it is good or bad news

[Cattle Rustler]

(06-16-2017 04:02 AM)sportbilly Wrote:  

expo will be on which i am not sure if it is good or bad news

The Kazakhs are excited about it. Keep seeing a bunch of videos about it on my FB/VK feed. Foreigners have said it's empty as fuck and boring, 0/10 Would Not Return.

Hit up the Brazilian exhibition, they have a fine ass big booty curvy Brazilian in white pants and stilettos dancing around. Can't find the video but it's somewhere on FB.