We caught a less than 2-hour flight from Dushanbe, Tajikistan to Almaty, Kazakhstan, the largest city in Kazakhstan. Between leaving Tajikistan and arriving in Kazakhstan, we did not get to do much in Almaty. But having a slow day is definitely okay with me. Almaty was the capital of Kazakhstan from to , while the country was an autonomous republic of the Soviet Union, then from to , a union republic and finally from , an independent state.
In , the government relocated the capital to Akmola, now called Astana. Along with checking into our hotel and having a delicious dinner at a local restaurant, we also have a new driver, Kabek, and our new local guide, Nazira, for both Kazakhstan and Kyrgyzstan.
It turned out to be a pretty full day of sightseeing in Almaty. A stop at the Kazakh Museum of Folk Musical Instruments of some 1, instruments before moving onto Kok Tobe Hill for cable car views overlooking the city then the Central State Museum of Kazakhstan before taking the metro to end the day. The crescent-shaped dune is known to sing when the wind is blowing from the west dispersing the sands, sounding like a playing pipe organ.
Unlike some of my group, I did not climb to the top of the sand ridge, but I did enjoy the beautiful views. We already had the pleasure of meeting our local guide, Nazira, and today we met our new van driver, Kazbek, both of whom will be with us for the remainder of our travels through Kazakhstan and Kyrgyzstan.
I may be a city girl but on days like today, where we get to see the natural beauty of a country, I can put my city girl ways aside and enjoy the call of nature especially after a long hours of driving across bumpy roads inside a shaky van. One thing for sure, driving through Kazakhstan is that the government should invest in better roads, even the Romans knew that.
