Kazakhstan - kurkista

Kirjaudu

Kazakhstan

Photos from a trip to Kazakhstan in July and August, 2008. The first leg of our journey took us from Helsinki to Moscow (by train) where we spent the hole day walking around. We met up with Otto who was kind enough to show us around. Late in the evening we continued our trip, again we boarded a train now bound to Almaty (KZ). The following three and a half days we dwelled and suffered in a officially LUX rated compartment but which according to fellow travellers didn't meet the standard for the scorching heat of the steppe was at times too much. Only in Almaty's water cooled and green streets we found some relieve. Still by train we went on to meet and stay with a friend in Astana where we among other sites got to see the utopian new part of the city. Furthermore we made a trip to the salty flamingo lakes near Kurgaldzhinsky. We eventually did manage to get back home (by plane via St. Petersburg) despite some complications at the airport passport control in Astana. tags:

on the train from Helsinki (FI) to Moscow (RU).

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Mia on the train from Helsinki (FI) to Moscow (RU).

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Me on the train from Helsinki (FI) to Moscow (RU).

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A view somewhere between Helsinki (FI) and Moscow (RU).

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tea break on the train from Helsinki (FI) to Moscow (RU) - fee not included in the train ticket.

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queuing for the Lenin mausoleum in Moscow

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the red square, Kreml, mausoleum and the St. Basil's Cathedral

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we walked into a (communists') rally by the mausoleum

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we walked into a (communists') rally by the mausoleum - more red flags

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another view from inside St. Basil's Cathedral

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and yet another view from inside St. Basil's Cathedral

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and one more - BTW taking photos inside the cathedral was allowed, however you had to pay for the permission.

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the world's biggest cannon according to Otto (from lesft to right: Susanna, Otto and Mia) - inside Kreml

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Kreml - I was warned not to photograph the police, I however couldn't resist. Funny enough the police man heard the shutter and when he turned around I pointed my camera towards my compagnions. So I hear there is a law that says the Russian police may not be photographed - can anyone confirm this?

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Moscow underground - here I was not hindered photographing (afterwards I have heard from other Finnish Moscow goers that they had been)

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Back on the ground again, but still connected to the world 6 feet under.
Bribing seems to very common, here we actually were asked if we wanted to bribe the staff, for we had come to the cemetary just after closing time. So, Kerberos offerd to let us in for a "fee" of 100 rubles each.

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Boris Jeltzin's "tomb stone" - obviously I had forgotten the ISO at 800 after the metro ride...

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chilling in the shade (Susanna, Otto, Mia and I)

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Peter (or was it Paul ?), I never get them right

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the red square from the river Moskva - yes, we on a cruise

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hmmm, Estonian might not want to remember these times...

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we board the train for Almaty (KZ) from Paveletskaya station

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killing time with a deck of cards of 36...

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I believe this was close to the station of Saratov

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Saratov station - melons and a restaurant wagon

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Borsht soup, now as a vegetarian you do run into difficulties finding meatless food. We asked if the borsht soup was meatless and after the cook had confirmed it was we ordered it. Only the next day after ordering the soup again we realised it really comes with meat for this time they had forgotten to fish out the chunks of meat...

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still somewhere in Russia, the Kazakh border closing in

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our "suite de lux" and the weather during the train trip in Russia was pleasant, at this moment we actually didn't notice the aircon wasn't working (part 1)

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getting dark, border is close and passport control at hand, still every reason for smiling

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our trip bible: In Search of Kazakhstan which turned out to be an entertaining read but very biased

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the train would sneak back to the Russian side for a couple of hours only to go back and plough the Kazakh steppe. This Lenin was standing somewhere on Russian ground.

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Usbekistan (Tashkent - Moscow) - finally confirmed on Kazakh territory

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vending at a train station somewhere in Kazakhstan

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aircon (part 2): on Kazakh side the weather was getting better and we left the rain in the west. Penetrating the vast steppe only got us closer to higher temperatures. So we turned to our aircon which sad to say refused to work. Our fellow travellers experienced the same problems but were less patient than we. They drafted a written complaint and wanted us to sign it too, which we refused to since we didn't understand a word of the Russian text. There was an immediate reaction from the staff's side: they simply removed the corridor's windows to ensure natural draughts. The problem though was that the draught did not reach our rooms but just dashed through the corridor.

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our chef de wagon (cdw) was a young Kazakh chap - with a peculiar sense of duty:
- as we arrived to the border RU - KZ Mia was in the WC which apparently is not allowed. The cdw told us that he was fined for because of that and that he wanted us to pay him the money (which we didn't).
- he didn't like the fact that I was taking photos and in fact he made clear that I understood he did not want me to take anymore. But since our communication was limited to hand signs I had to rely on an other traveller who spoke German to translate for us. It turned out that the cdw was afraid I might be mistaken for a Russian spy because of my suspicious photographing which would cause that the train would be stopped which then would result in great shame for him. So I went on to take photographs like a spy would... (at least I think he/she would for I am not a spy =))

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although it was very hot during our stay in Almaty it was quite pleasant walking in the tree covered streets

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beer, vodka and pickled cucumbers - that's how every meal should start

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for a few coins old ladies will pray for you

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the Zenkov cathedral in Panfilov park, Almaty

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Massive War Memorial in Panfilov park, Almaty

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In the museum for instruments we were given a 20 min concert with 4 different traditional Kazakh instruments one being the dombra

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In the museum for instruments we were given a 20 min concert with 4 different traditional Kazakh instruments.

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Still in Panfilov park now opposite to the massive War Memorial.

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a lot of wedding couples stroll around looking for a nice photo backdrop in Panfilov park

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upon entering Gorky park the local disneyland

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on a pedestrian street (Alimchanova ?) - somewhere between Makataeva and Mametov

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note added March 19, 2009: I was kindly informed (by zhasky) that the street in question is called Zhibek Zholy str., thanks!

on a pedestrian street (Alimchanova ?) - between Makataeva and Mametov

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crossing the street by going underground

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in the hall of the National museum with a replica of the golden warrior

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by the central railway station in Almaty, now leaving for Astana - more than 1300km by train (over night)

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view over some of Astana, on the left Sariarka street heading towards the horizon and the new governmental district

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there is a lot of building going on in Astana

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on our way to the salty (alcaline) lakes of Kurgaldzhinsky to see some flamingos

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I tried to capture the vastness of this landscape, somehow the feel of space lacks. (8 photos stichted together)

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main attraction of the region next to the falmingos are the many species of different birds of prey.

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the circus has arrived! no, it hasn't. this is just a random wagon in the endlessness of nothing.

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I am not sure where they came from but they disappeared as fast as they had come. wild horses?

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finally flamingos... well, they are there - some few hundreds, just by the shore. we were not allowed to get any closer and my 85mm wasn't really useful here.

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again, 85mm is not really good (and full frame censor does not help either). do you spot the little earthling?

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quality, according to our host these houses are no older than 3 years...

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with the president's palace in the back you get this view... the tiny needle in the middle is Bayterek - the tree of life (a poplar). To the left and the right of those greenish towers are all the different ministries. It's a shame I don't have an aerial shot of this place.

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we were told that nobody really walks around here, if then only tourists, but no locals

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it is sad to see that despite the obviously enormous budget the quality of building and material is poor. These stairs are not older than 4 years and yet the slates are crackling... this you can see all over the city

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what is this? a flamingo? art brut I guess

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Bayterek - the poplar, the Kazakh tree of life and a two way cross walk

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finally atop of Bayterek, with Nursultan's golden imprint of his palm.

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entering the Nur mosque which hosts up to 5000 persons

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Duman - the Kazakh version of an indoor fun fair. It hosts among others an aquarium (the farthestmost aquarium from any ocean)

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We were having dinner in an Uzbek / Kazakh restaurant

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as a vegetarian is not easy to travel in Kazakhstan and find appropriate food, so some times I had to give in, but as a former carnivor it wasn't really a problem.

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the restaurant had a pleasant atmosphere

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