Almaty City
by ianrmillard
The beautiful clean green prospekts and avenues (a legacy of Russian Imperial and Soviet power), lined with green trees; the colourful summer-only cafes, the beautiful, long-legged girls in short skirts.
There are a number of quite striking late Soviet buildings in Almaty, which was a bit of a showcase city in the 1970's and 1980's (the TU-144 'Concordski' was scheduled to travel the Moscow to Alma-Ata route).
I have to admit, it used to annoy me when smug English and American persons were always negative about the city, its buildings and habits. Having lived in New York and New Jersey, I think those people should clean up their own cities first (and improve their educational/cultural level while they are about it!)...As for the young Englishman (a language student and my temporary assistant, actually) who compared Almaty unfavourably to the nondescript North Midlands English town of Nottingham, well, words fail me!
Whatever one may say of these buildings, they are not the worst of modern architecture; the theatre and ballet building on Lenina, for instance
The Republican Palace of Schoolchildren (in Soviet times, the Palace of Young Pioneers
or the Kazakhstan Academy of Sciences
Even in these not so sharp scanned photos and postcards it can be seen that this is a city with a lot of potential.
Even the less prominent Soviet public buildings are often quite pleasant and even somewhat noble, compared to many late 20thC buildings in places like London or New York.
Shaking hands with both hands
by Bubr
Men (especially Kazakhs) would often shake your hand with their both. Unlike other countries, in Kazakhstan this is just a gesture of sympathy and friendship, not servility. A normal response is doing the same. However, in business communication a traditional single-handed shaking is usually more applicable.
Skiing in Almaty
by TheEagleGuy
Snow cover at Chimbulak varies greatly from one season to the next. During the 2007/2008 winter there was quite a lot of snow, while there was hardly any at all for parts of the season before that. The problem is that while it is more than cold enough for snow it is often quite dry in this part of Kazakhstan and therefore the snow cover is usually a lot shallower than you would expect.
Snow canons were installed for the 2007/2008 season and this will undoubtedly help in the coming seasons.
Due to the dry climate there is usually some good powder in the off-piste areas, however, these areas are not huge.
If you are staying a long time in Kazakhstan and want to do some skiing then consider going to one of the resorts around Ust-Kamenogorsk, close to the Altai mountains. Snow cover is usually much better there and the season is also much longer than at Chimbulak. You can rent skiiss and other equipment at Chimbulak and at most other ski resorts in Kazakhstan, however, it is not particualry cheap and the quality is often so-so.
Treking
by Klod5
Les hauteurs d'Almaty, représentent le point de départ de nombreux treks dans la chaîne de montagnes de Zailiyskiy Alatau et Kungey Alatau (à réaliser de préférence entre juin et septembre).
The heights of Almaty, represent the starting point many treks in the chain of mountains of Zailiyskiy Alatau and Kungey Alatau (to achieve preference between June and September).
Another Chic Place
by Kazakh_nomad about Di Wang
This is a restaurant, lounge and bar complex. I have written about its restaurant in another section, but I am telling you, this place is sooo good. At night it packs up with stylish and beautiful people, sipping cocktails in the lounge. The music is nice, and they have shows on most Fridays and Saturdays.
The manager's name is Nurgul, ask to speak to her, if the place is full, and she might get you a table. This is what I did, when it was packed:-)
PS this is the webpage of one of the famous international DJs who played in Di Wang, he talks about Almaty and the club:
http://www.moussaclarke.com/2005_06_01_archive.html Basicly its smart clothes, but I dont think they will mind if you show up in sneakers.
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On the way to Barakholka market
Backside of TsUM
Almaty train station
no fish yet...
