Astana, Kazakhstan
I am now in the capital of Қазақстан, where Kazakh and Russian are the official languages. The Kazakh language is a Turkic language that uses the cyrilic alphabet, plus a lot of letters that have strange cғооқs and dasңәs. Since I cannot really hear the subtle differences between the cғooқs and non crooks, and the ә and e, I tend to just forget about these extra letters. Plus, Russian is the default language here, after having being in the USSR for so long, and Kazakh only spoken among ethnic Kazakhs. They tell me I look Kazakh, and I have even frequently been talked to in Kazakh. But everyone speaks fluent Russian, and I have been using that to get around, and converse with the family that owns the hostel I am in. Kazakhs are much more talkative than Russians, and as a result I am learning many more Russian words here than in Russia, as the Kazakhs keep on talking even if I don't understand at first.
I came here from Mongolia through Russia, where I stayed for almost a week. My driver was a fellow named Yerkin, a fellow who I talked to at the market in Bayan Olgii and negotiated a ride in his minivan which was going north. He and his wife are Kazakhs, and they were going to Astana to sell some socks from their parents' store, and to buy more products for them from Kazakhstan. I was only going to Gorno Altaisk, because I like city hopping in order to see more places, and avoid the super long hauls. We arrived in the Russian border town Kosh Agash without incident, but after that Yerkin said he was taking on more people and would find me another driver. He drove around town, talking to tons of Kazakh drivers he knew there, and put me on another van. We flew down the road north (this one was actually paved and had no potholes!), and began winding through the Altai Mountains. It was so beautiful: mountains rose on either side covered with green forests, with the river running right below us. The beauty was on par to rival the Pacific Northwest there.
I am now in the capital of Қазақстан, where Kazakh and Russian are the official languages. The Kazakh language is a Turkic language that uses the cyrilic alphabet, plus a lot of letters that have strange cғооқs and dasңәs. Since I cannot really hear the subtle differences between the cғooқs and non crooks, and the ә and e, I tend to just forget about these extra letters. Plus, Russian is the default language here, after having being in the USSR for so long, and Kazakh only spoken among ethnic Kazakhs. They tell me I look Kazakh, and I have even frequently been talked to in Kazakh. But everyone speaks fluent Russian, and I have been using that to get around, and converse with the family that owns the hostel I am in. Kazakhs are much more talkative than Russians, and as a result I am learning many more Russian words here than in Russia, as the Kazakhs keep on talking even if I don't understand at first.
I came here from Mongolia through Russia, where I stayed for almost a week. My driver was a fellow named Yerkin, a fellow who I talked to at the market in Bayan Olgii and negotiated a ride in his minivan which was going north. He and his wife are Kazakhs, and they were going to Astana to sell some socks from their parents' store, and to buy more products for them from Kazakhstan. I was only going to Gorno Altaisk, because I like city hopping in order to see more places, and avoid the super long hauls. We arrived in the Russian border town Kosh Agash without incident, but after that Yerkin said he was taking on more people and would find me another driver. He drove around town, talking to tons of Kazakh drivers he knew there, and put me on another van. We flew down the road north (this one was actually paved and had no potholes!), and began winding through the Altai Mountains. It was so beautiful: mountains rose on either side covered with green forests, with the river running right below us. The beauty was on par to rival the Pacific Northwest there.
It was also scary though. We must have been going 60-70 mph down a country road style thing, right through windy curves along cliff sides with huge trucks always labeled "огнеопасно". I was pretty confused whether this meant they were or were not dangerous (because of the не), and after a translation, I learned it read "flammable". That was pretty comforting to know they would probably blow up if we smashed into them.
Gorno Altaisk was a peaceful little city in a hill valley, and I spent a day motor rafting on the river nearby. I also marveled at the amount of stuff in the supermarket (I hadn't been in a real city since Ulaanbaatar) and reveled in the hot showers and heating at night. It was also a mini culture shock again, since how people communicate is so different from Mongolians, so I had to adjust my expectations during commumication. The next day I took a bus to Barnaul, where I found a couchsurfing host, who was incredibly friendly. Another guy from couchsurfing took me rock climbing in a small self-made hipstery gym at the bottom of an apartment complex, and I hung with another guy who invited me and another American guy studying abroad in Barnaul to go bike riding. Thus, I ended up staying in Barnaul longer than planned.
Gorno Altaisk was a peaceful little city in a hill valley, and I spent a day motor rafting on the river nearby. I also marveled at the amount of stuff in the supermarket (I hadn't been in a real city since Ulaanbaatar) and reveled in the hot showers and heating at night. It was also a mini culture shock again, since how people communicate is so different from Mongolians, so I had to adjust my expectations during commumication. The next day I took a bus to Barnaul, where I found a couchsurfing host, who was incredibly friendly. Another guy from couchsurfing took me rock climbing in a small self-made hipstery gym at the bottom of an apartment complex, and I hung with another guy who invited me and another American guy studying abroad in Barnaul to go bike riding. Thus, I ended up staying in Barnaul longer than planned.
From Barnaul I took a train to Kazakhstan. The border crossing on the Kazakh side was super intense. We were stopped for over two hours while the guards inspected us. Since I was the only non Russian or Kazakh in my car, I attracted all the attention from the guards. Every guard who walked by wanted to question me. In Russian, too. What are you doing in Kazakhstan? Who invited you? Where have you been? Where are you going? How many friends do you have in Astana? How many friends do you have in Barnaul? What is in your book? What is in your water bottle? What is in your bag? Which countries have you ever been in? Have you been to Egypt? Syria? Iraq? Malasia? India?..... Etc etc etc. It was the most intense border crossing I had ever been. I feel like the government might be watching my every move here.... It is a good thing it is easier to make up bullshit travel itineries up in a foriegn language you are pretty bad at, tell it shamelessly with a straight face, and blame mistakes and embattled looks of concentration on language issues.
Astana is a really modern city, and I am really surprised by it. Literally almost every building is new or renovated. It has the newest buildings out of any city I have ever seen, and a hodgepodge motely of postmodern architecture. On the way to the presidential palace I pass terraces of flowers, facades of marble, towers shining in gold tones, and huge open squares. There is even a building whose windows turn into a giant LED display at night, playing videos of galloping horses, eagles, fast trains, and other glories of Kazakhstan. Everything is designed to be splendid, and the national museum is a bit of an overkill, with a giant golden eagle at the entrance, suspended from the ceiling with wings that begin flapping every half an hour when tourists are let inside. Giant shopping malls everywhere selling all sorts of expensive western brands. Inside one shopping mall that is basically a huge glass tent, I walked past a Tutti Frutti selling fro yo, complete with sample cups. However, I think they still have to perfect their mall arts. I had a simple shopping list including a multi tool, flashlight, and water purification tablets. I looked up and down, far and wide, and hit up many malls, only to be disappointed that they mostly only have expensive clothes, jewelry, and other useless crap, none of the practical things (my Turkish friend couldn't even find gloves). When I finally found a sports store and a nice Russian twin of a leatherman, I was told I cannot buy anything there without a member card, and to get a member card I must buy three things. They suggested that I could buy a hat, or tennis balls.... So I laughed and refused to be extorted. I had spent half a day in maybe 3 malls without finding anything useful.... And ended up buying cheap things at 1/3 of the price in a tiny hole in the wall store.
However, the people and culture can still be really charming here. I was ordering with poor Russian in first cafe I walked into, and the guy next to me starts talking to me in English, wondering where I am from. He and his friend then come to sit at the table with me. They tell me, welcome to Kazakhstan, and offer me a piece of cake with Kazakh hospitality. When I ask for directions, everyone is willing to talk to me. As I asked where I should take the bus, an old guy walked with me to there, and pulled out an ipad showing me pictures of his family, and made a detour to show me a monument before we went to the bus stop.
On the other hand, I got robbed the other day. I was asking about bus routes when a guy showed me the bus I should take, and got on with me. He then began to display sketchy behavior, which became increasingly sketchy until he invited me to his house. I declined, but he didn't get off the bus. So I was thinking about how I could get rid of him, but then he suddenly told me that he had a pistol, didn't care if the police saw it, and demanded money. I was really taken aback he would do it on that crowded bus, and gave him some money. Then he left.
However, I had given him my phone number when we had met, and for some reason he whats app'd me... So I had his number and picture. I went to the police station to report him, and it was a strange experience. I struggled to make the situation understood in Russian, but the cops were all really nice and friendly, and were interested to hear my story. They wanted to know what bus station he got off the the bus at... And I said maybe if they looked up the route of the bus we were on I could point. But apparently the police station had no internet. So I got into a car with two detectives and we actually drove behind the bus number 40, tailed it, after which I got onboard with one of the police, and took it until I was mildly sure we jad reached the place. So I told them, and we drove back to the police station, where I told them more details, was taken to probably 10 different rooms, and presented my passport as many times. They needed a written statement in Russian. I can probably write in Russian as well as a 6 year old, so they typed up a statement for me, and I copied it letter by letter. The police were generally pretty chill, and while we were in their car together we were even laughing about Jackie Chan films. But like everything here, it is a bit disorganized, and the whole ordeal took 6 hours. The criminal investigation department is also apparently closed until Monday, but they told me they would investigate the case, even though I will be long gone before the case will be over and I will have a chance of getting any money back.
So that is Kazakhstan so far, a land far different from what many of you may thinking about, the depictions of Borat. No they don't say Jak se mash, or all live in villages, but instead have cities and perhaps yurts and nomaic traditions in the South region. There also seem to be more ancient cities in the desert to the south... It is time to go chase them down!
On the other hand, I got robbed the other day. I was asking about bus routes when a guy showed me the bus I should take, and got on with me. He then began to display sketchy behavior, which became increasingly sketchy until he invited me to his house. I declined, but he didn't get off the bus. So I was thinking about how I could get rid of him, but then he suddenly told me that he had a pistol, didn't care if the police saw it, and demanded money. I was really taken aback he would do it on that crowded bus, and gave him some money. Then he left.
However, I had given him my phone number when we had met, and for some reason he whats app'd me... So I had his number and picture. I went to the police station to report him, and it was a strange experience. I struggled to make the situation understood in Russian, but the cops were all really nice and friendly, and were interested to hear my story. They wanted to know what bus station he got off the the bus at... And I said maybe if they looked up the route of the bus we were on I could point. But apparently the police station had no internet. So I got into a car with two detectives and we actually drove behind the bus number 40, tailed it, after which I got onboard with one of the police, and took it until I was mildly sure we jad reached the place. So I told them, and we drove back to the police station, where I told them more details, was taken to probably 10 different rooms, and presented my passport as many times. They needed a written statement in Russian. I can probably write in Russian as well as a 6 year old, so they typed up a statement for me, and I copied it letter by letter. The police were generally pretty chill, and while we were in their car together we were even laughing about Jackie Chan films. But like everything here, it is a bit disorganized, and the whole ordeal took 6 hours. The criminal investigation department is also apparently closed until Monday, but they told me they would investigate the case, even though I will be long gone before the case will be over and I will have a chance of getting any money back.
So that is Kazakhstan so far, a land far different from what many of you may thinking about, the depictions of Borat. No they don't say Jak se mash, or all live in villages, but instead have cities and perhaps yurts and nomaic traditions in the South region. There also seem to be more ancient cities in the desert to the south... It is time to go chase them down!