Kazakhstan

Get in

Entering Kazakhstan is no longer the hassle it used to be. The Kazakh government is keen on opening up Kazakhstan to the rest of the world, and most people can enter the country without a visa.

Get around

thumbnail|Road sign pointing to Uzbek Khan's grave near [[Aktau]] You can travel within the country using taxis, buses, trains and planes, it depends on your budget and demands.

See

As the Kazakhs were traditionally nomads who lived on horseback, Kazakhstan for the most part lacks the monumental Islamic architecture of neighboring Uzbekistan. However, Kazakhstan makes up for this with its wealth of natural beauty, which can be seen in the wide open spaces between its cities.

Visitors wanting to experience the traditional Kazakh nomadic lifestyle will likely be disappointed. Under Stalin's collectivization policy during the period of Soviet rule, the Kazakhs were forced to sedentarize and become farmers, all but wiping out the nomadic tradition within the borders of modern Kazakhstan. There are opportunities for tourists to stay in Kazakh yurts, but these were re-created in the post-Soviet era as tourist attractions, and are not an authentic part of the daily lives of regular Kazakh people. Nevertheless, traditional Kazakh clothing still reflects that nomadic heritage and traditional life on horseback, the horse remains an important part of Kazakh culture, which visitors can see on display in its full glory during major traditional festivals. Perhaps ironically, the traditional Kazakh nomadic lifestyle is better preserved among the ethnic Kazakh minorities in Western Mongolia and China's Xinjiang province than in Kazakhstan, making those better destinations if that is what you are looking to experience.

Various tour companies operate in Almaty and Astana year-round, shuttling tourists to nature and scenic destinations outside of urban centres. These co…

Do

Many attractions in Kazakhstan are closed on Monday as a "sanitary day", so that uninterrupted cleaning and maintenance can occur. Saunas: Because of its cold and windy weather, visiting saunas with friends is very popular in Kazakhstan. Saunas (Russian banyas or Finnish steam rooms) are an excellent place to discuss business issues or just socialize with friends. Having parties (birthdays, New Year, etc.) in saunas is a normal practice. In fact many modern sauna complexes in Almaty and Astana are usually fully equipped with karaoke, billiards, swimming pools, relax rooms, massage rooms, etc. Some saunas are a cover for sex services, and many will include a "happy end" option when taking a massage. Football: Kazakhstan is about as central in Asia as you can get, but does have some territory west of the Ural River (considered to be the continental border between Europe and Asia) and chooses to affiliate to UEFA. That means its national and leading club soccer teams are often involved in tournaments with better-known western teams, involving a very long journey. The domestic playing season is March-Nov to escape the rigours of the steppes winter. The men's national team usually play in Astana. The domestic top tier is the Premier League with 14 clubs, two in Astana and one in Almaty.

Eat

Meat, potatoes, rice and pasta. And lots of it. If you're vegetarian be wary, because if it doesn't have meat in it, it will be almost certainly cooked in meat stock. thumbnail|Beshbarmak thumbnail|Manty thumbnail|Korean carrot salad, created by Koryo people (the Korean diaspora in Central Asia) Some recommended dishes: Beshbarmak - "five fingers", a horse meat and pasta dish with potato and onion. The national traditional dish of Kazakhstan and Kyrgyzstan most often served for special occasions. Can also be made with beef or lamb. Most restaurants that serve it will present a portion enough for two or three people. Kazy - handmade horse meat sausage, could be cooked and served with Beshbarmak, but not at the restaurants, unless you ask to do so when preorder menu. If you did not, it would be served as cold meat appetizer with other types of cold meat appetizers (Zhaya, Basturma, Shyzhyk). And separate price would be charged. Kazakh dish. Laghman - a thick noodle dish with meat, carrot and onion, usually served as a soup.Some other veggies could be added too. Manty - large steamed dumplings full of meat and onions. Sometimes made with onions or pumpkin. Traditional Uighur dish. Plov - wonderful dish of fried rice, meat, carrots, and sometimes other bits such as raisins or tomatoes. Traditional Uzbek dish. Shashlyk or Shish Kebab - skewered, roasted chunks of marinated meat, served with some sort of flatbread (usually lavash) and onions. Various marinates can be used, and diff…

Drink

thumbnail|Kumys looks just like regular milk (this individual brand is from Russia)

Traditional beverages include:

Kumiss - fermented mare's milk, up to 6% alcohol content. Imagine tart lemonade, mixed with semi-sour milk. Kumyran (Shubat)- fermented camel's milk Kvas - described as similar to root beer it can be bought in a bottle in a store, or by the cup from people with giant yellowish tanks of it on the street. Tan. Fizzy beverage made of mare's milk. Cheap alcoholic drinks can be found at every little corner shop (called the astanovka). These places are open 24/7, just knock on their door if the shopkeeper is asleep. Kazakhstan's speciality is cognac, though stores still sell vodka cheaper than bottled water at times. However, some of these astanovka sometimes sell alcohol of dubious origin; for the sake of your stomach you may want to buy your beverage in a supermarket, although the price will definitely be higher. Several brands of beer, of good quality and flavor, are made in Karaganda. Becker, Staut, Tian-Shan, Derbes, Irbis, Alma-Ata. Local brands brewed in Almaty are pretty good. Juices, in cartons, are common and delicious, especially peach juice. Tea is widely available, mostly very good and often quite strong. If you are on a budget this is the thing to order with your food. Tea is culturally important in Kazakhstan - "shai" time is one of the most important things a visitor can engage in to learn about the culture. Coffee. Modern coffee houses and western-st…

Sleep

There are numerous hotels, from very cheap ones (€10 per night) to the luxurious ones. You wouldn't find the cheapest ones on the web; the only way to book them is to call directly, but in that case you'll have to speak Russian at the least.

There are almost no camping sites except in Burabay/Borovoe in Kazakhstan. You can, however, camp almost anywhere due to the huge uninhabited spots. The scenery is beautiful but because of the very hot weather: don't forget to take plenty of water with you as you can very easily spend many of days without seeing anybody. If you camp near a nomadic tribe, ask for the permission to stay near; it will not be refused.

Stay safe

Generally, Kazakh cities are safe during the day, but certain parts of major cities should be avoided at night to reduce risk, namely, all parts of Almaty below Tashkentskaya street and all microdistrict areas within these zones, certain other remote microdistricts, and areas with high concentrations of shabby private houses (such as Shanyrak) and all smaller towns such as Shar, Stepnogorsk, and Temirtau may present a higher risk of mugging and violent crime.

In smaller towns, e.g. Taraz, Balkhash, Shymkent, Taldykorgan, Uralsk, Semey and Ust-Kamenogorsk, going out at night should not present a significant risk, though infrequent muggings do occur.

Keep your passport (or a certified copy of your passport and visa) with you at all times. While the situation has improved lately, police might still try to extort money from foreigners, especially on trains and long-distance buses. Unless the officers involved are drunk, it is possible to avoid paying them by pretending not to understand, or by claiming poverty.

The risk of violent crime is comparable with Eastern European countries and rougher parts of major US cities. An ordinary tourist should not experience any violent crime and is unlikely to be a target of minor crimes, if their behaviour stays within generally accepted norms in public places. thumb|Dusk in Almaty Excessive consumption of alcohol and visiting a nightclub will always present a higher risk, especially if a person goes out alone. It is advisable to go out as…

Stay healthy

In general, the level of health care and hygiene is not up to Western standards. When travelling to smaller places, it is a good idea to bring your own medical supplies. There may also be a shortage of medicines.

In an emergency, call an ambulance at the general hospital on duty on 103. However, you should consider using local hospitals.

When travelling to forested and mountainous areas, especially in the early summer months, tick-borne encephalitis should be taken into account. Tuberculosis and HIV are also present in the country. There have been a few cases of Crimean-Congo haemorrhagic fever in South Kazakhstan and cases of Lyme disease in rural areas.

In order to avoid stomach infections and food poisoning, particular attention should be paid to hygiene when preparing food and drinks, especially during the summer months. The municipal water is more or less drinkable, with no real nasties, but try to boil it if possible. Bottled water is cheap and easily available. When at restaurants, ask specifically for Asu, Borjomi, Sary-Agash or Tassay mineral waters. Many other widely-known water brands can be found in restaurants and supermarkets. If you have to use tap water, it is advisable to boil the water before using it.

Travellers should have comprehensive travel insurance, including cover for aircraft evacuation in the event of serious illness or accident. Many hospitals either do not accept international travel insurance at all or only accept it from certain insurance c…

Respect

Kazakh people have more pride than most Westerners would expect. Therefore, insulting or negative comments about Kazakhstan or local Kazakh people will often result in arguments and possible threats of physical violence. It is not recommended to get into an argument with locals, as Kazakhstan is a nation where physical power is part of the local culture, and can occasionally lead to a fatal last argument.

Do not associate the country with Borat. Kazakhs believe the films misrepresents and defames the country, and are quite tired of hearing Borat jokes and comments. That aside, the catchphrase "Very nice" was used in its tourism promotion campaign.