I wasn’t quite sure what to expect when I arrived in Almaty. I suppose I had an initial expectation that it would be rather challenging and difficult to navigate. I had read it’s recent history as a modern city, essentially the jewel city of Russia’s far reach in central Asia, and was pleasantly surprised to find a beautiful, bustling city complete with underground metro, all the nightlife and parks and shops that would stand to many European towns.
If that sounds a bit ignorant, perhaps it is. I think it’s normal to imagine a place as something, and when finding it better than expected, to be taken a bit off guard. All the reading and travel blogs can tell you one thing, but many ties I’ve read a place to be modern and up-and-coming, only to be sourly disappointed. So, the comments regarding Almaty are in now way to sound condescending, as if it shouldn’t be so, it simply surprised me.
Being 6:20 am, the train station had the normal army of taxi drivers awaiting us. I put up my defenses against the first wave, and waded through to the guys outside and a little further out. I widened up when trying to explain my destination, and just gave the phone number of my hostel to the taxi driver. He rang them up, figured it out, and we agreed on a price.
I stayed at Almaty Backpackers, and had an awesome morning. The night manager let me in and the staff made me breakfast, even though that wasn’t until about an hour and a half from now. The sun was shining, the tea was perfect, and my bread and porridge tasted so good after the meager salami sandwiches I had been having. There is nothing like a little sunshine and warm food to put you in a nice mood. Not to mention the mountain peaks were in clear view.
I was able to shower (good for everybody), and decided to go into town). I walked to the Central State Museum. This is basically a blend of a natural history museum focusing on the evolution of man, and a cultural museum focusing on how Kazakhstan came to be about; the exhibits shifted between the two subjects at first, until modern man was officially established, and from there the Kazakh history solely took over. There was English translations from start to about half way through the main exhibit hall, when they decided english wasn’t needed anymore (?). There were also som either exhibit halls, namely the Kazakhstan independence exhibit, showcasing Nazarbayev’s rise to power and how much he has helped the nation. All that to say: it’s a massive, great museum.
Then I took this little cable car to the top of a nearby hill looking over the city. Named “Kok-Tobe”, it’s a great attraction, complete with a little carnival at the top, complete with ferris wheel, bumper cars, and a zoo of sorts.
I was feeling pretty beat after the and decided to rest up at the hostel. I had a long cha with the day-manager, who has traveled extensively, and lived in the US for a while. It was nice to have long conversation in English, something that gets taken for granted so easily when on the road.
She bought up some interesting points I’ll share: There is a particular guidebook that is highly used amongst many travelers (it will remain unnamed, as this would apply to many guidebooks anyway). As the manager of a very good hostel, in a less than popular city, she expressed her frustration that so many travelers miss out on what the city has to offer, due to these guidebook. We arrive, see the same 5 things (of which, sitting in front of her, was completely guilty of), and then leave. Meanwhile, there is a heart of the city that she feel see are missing.
We have a great capacity to not veer away from the decided-upon path. We look up what to do, where to eat, where to sleep, and use that as framework for our experience. I don’t think this is entirely wrong to do, wince opoular things are opoular for good reason, and well-reviewed places are suggestions from fellow travelers. But I admit that this does tend to give us tunnel vision in our destinations.
Another thought is that of perspective and opinion. When we prescribe to an itinerary in any given place, we are prescribing to somebody else’s opinion of what is worth doing. Again, 1400 reviews of TripAdvisor is still 1400 people who say its great, and maybe that shouldn’t be ignored. However, what about all the places that haven’t been discovered yet? How will I know if it will align with my own interests? When we travel, we are traveling within our way of viewing the world. Sure, travel tends to broaden that view, but I still have tastes and preferences in what I enjoy, and my experience in a place will be determined by how well it lines up with those values.
This is where I think it’s best to use the guidebooks primarily for logistics- how do I get from A to B. Those are facts that can’t change to much and are very, very useful to have on hand. And then I would say to pursue any top things they suggest you can’t miss. But then I would look at why. Do those things sound like things I would like? Most importantly though, I would ask around. I asked my new friend what she likes, what she thinks is important in this city, etc. Of course, this is incurring her own tastes and interests, but its beyond the guidebook, and may more easily align with what I’m looking for.
And here is an important point I want to make: this whole travel thing is an exploration into not just how you will enjoy a new place within your own interests (cause it is important to have a good time), but how that new place can discover, in you, something new, maybe a new taste or preference. Who knows!
My conclusion? When you travel, make your attitude, expectations, and perspective the most important part of your trip. And sure, having so little time in Almaty (I had to get to Bishkek for some visa arrangements I had made), I feel terribly hypocritical in writing all this, but it’s something I’m learning still.
Oh and one last thing I did: A bath house. And for the record, this was both in a guidebook AND suggested by my hostel manger friend. The Almaty bath house is a massive,sex-separated, multi-bath complex, complete with several traditional baths: Finnish (think sauna), Turkish (think marble and LOTS of steam), Moroccan (think warm tiled rooms with not a lot of steam), and Russian (think hotter-the-fire, man in the corner shoveling fuel into an oven..and beating yourself with branches of various bushes and trees). IN addition to the showers for varying termparture between baths (and giant wooden buckets you would pull for a instal-freeze effect), there was a massive circular pool, under a gorgeous tiled dome. Oh....and all this entirely naked the whole time.
Not too bad for a day. After my insightful discussion, I really wish I had more time. Alas, there never seems to be tough time in a place, but we learn and move on. Bishkek is next, where I will await visas. Until next time!
-BK