This is a short and sweet travel day even though I’m changing countries. I have enjoyed Uzbekistan more than I ever imagined and am now going to see what its neighbour has to offer. I expect something similar, but that remains to be seen. This is my travel day Tashkent to Almaty Kazakhstan on Air Astana.
Tashkent
I head to the airport in a YandexGo and arrive in plenty of time. The airport is not busy. As with most places in Uzbekistan, I have to scan my bags as I enter the terminal in addition to the security after check-in. The departure lounge is a good size with a fair bit of souvenir shopping and a few restaurants. I find my gate and keep an eye on it as I have received an email telling me my flight is departing earlier than scheduled.
After checking the boards a few times, I attempt to head to the gate. The set up is terrible and everyone has to queue in a tight hallway for the gate I need, even the people trying to get past all of us waiting for our flights and trying to get to their own gates.
Tashkent to Almaty
Flying Air Astana for the first time on this 1.5-hour flight is great. The plane is clean and the staff are very friendly. I am offered a small bagged meal that includes a sandwich and sweet treat and offered a choice of coffee, tea or beer.
The view out the windows is picturesque especially once we begin to reach Almaty. The Trans-lli Alatau mountain range comes into view and its spectacular snow-covered peaks fill my window. Not long after, the sprawling city appears, looking like a mass of Lego shaped rectangular apartment complexes.
Almaty
Arrival into Almaty is smooth and we are offloaded onto the tarmac and bussed to the terminal. Inside, the baggage arrives in a timely manner and I’m heading through the exit doors before I know it. Ignoring the taxi piranhas like I have learned to do, I find a SIM card kiosk and purchase one. The cost is 6k KZT or $18 CAD for unlimited data for 30 days. A great price especially from an airport.
Once I’ve got my phone up and working in this new land, I use the same ride share app as in Uzbekistan, YandexGo. The cost for my 27-minute ride to my Airbnb is 3,770 KZT or $11 CAD. More expensive than in Uzbekistan but still affordable for me to use while I’m vising Almaty.
Off I go, to my new home for the next little while. It’s not so easy to find or get inside the large building, but I manage and then head across the street to the small store to purchase a few essentials. I’m here! I’m in Kazakhstan, very excited to explore yet another country in Central Asia.
