The Road Less Traveled. Almaty, Kazakhstan

While China celebrates National Day, I have taken the opportunity to explore the city of Almaty, Kazakhstan. Lisa, a former colleague and friend, lives in Almaty and invited me to come visit her and explore a new part of the world. Having never been to Central Asia, I jumped at the opportunity to explore a new part of the globe.

Traveling from Shenyang to Almaty was a long trip but an easy one. I traveled by train from Shenyang to Beijing and then hung around Beijing for a few hours before heading to the airport. My flight took off at 3am and arrived in Astana at 7am. Going through customs was a piece of cake and I had 4 hours to sit in the airport and wait for me next flight. My final flight to Almaty was quick and painless. Lisa picked me up from the airport and we headed to her neighborhood to grab food and wine for a potluck. I met some of her colleagues and other expats. It’s always nice to be with other expats, sharing stories and travel recommendations makes automatic friends.

The first place I visited was the First President’s Park, a local park near where I’m staying. First President’s Park is a large park built to honor and memorialize their country’s first president. Full of meandering paths and floral arrangements, it’s a beautiful off the path local for exploration. After wandering around the park for a few hours I headed back to my friend’s home to make dinner. On the way back, I stopped to grab a local snack, a butter-light pastry filled with cheese. I also grabbed squash to make Lisa soup for lunch, apples (because Almaty is famous for its apples), and raspberries because they were fresh and dirt cheap.

For dinner we walked to the local mall. We opted for a local restaurant called Assorti, which has local food and the dishes are named after famous cultural people and places from the region. I opted for the lamb and horse beshbarmak and a glass of white wine for dinner. “Beshbarmak is probably the most popular Kazakh main coarse, the first thing people come up with when asked about Kazakh dishes. It is a noodle dish with meat, and a very special one. The noodles resemble very thin and delicate lasagna sheets. It is served with a selection of slowly cooked meats (first of all horse meat and lamb) and with the sauce made of delicious intense stock, onions and spices.

The name of the dish translates as “five fingers” and has to do with the fact that traditionally it was eaten with hands in the old times. Nowadays in Almaty it is eaten with knife and fork. It is also shortly named just “besh” most of the time.” (http://www.pinchofcinnamon.com/2012/09/home-made-kazakh-dinner-and-beshbarmak.html)

We shall see what tomorrow brings.