Almaty. Day 28

 Today was essentially a bus day, travelling into Kazakhstan. Other than the time looking at highways, we're only seeing one city in Kazakhstan, Almaty. While Almaty is the biggest city, this is a very big country so I'm not sure that I can say we'll know much about it by the time we leave.

We started by driving an hour or so to the border. This turned out to be  a random-seeming point on the highway, on the middle of a wide flat plain. It really makes you wonder how they decide where these borders should be. We showed our passports, put our bags through the x-ray machine, but it was actually the quickest and easiest border we've encountered so far. Then we got on a new bus and carried on.

We're really on the steppe now, so it's mostly flat with some distant mountains. After another hour or so we reached Charyn Canyon, which was quite impressive and seems to be a significant tourist attraction. Like our stops yesterday, it seems to be all about what you can make from rocks and sand.



We had a packed lunch and then continued driving across the plains for another three and a half hours to reach Almaty. The good news for us is that we're in the one place for three nights now until we fly home.


Location: Almaty, Kazakhstan

Comments

  1. Dad30 September 2026 at 04:48

    M,
    I wonder of you have any sense of the languages, politics, or national loyalties of the residents of the counties you have visited. I mean, they were under the control of Moscow until about 92, but I would be interested to know if they are resisting Putin's push to restore the greatness of the old Soviet Union. But I guess you have had limited opportunities to interact with locals, though guides may have expressed some views
    When you return on Sunday morning it will be about 23 degrees and quite pleasant. Remember that Sunday is the day that daylight saving commences.
    Ooo-Roo from sunny Fullarton
    D

    ReplyDelete

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