From the Heart of Eurasia: Air Astana in J and Y to Kazakhstan Expo'17

[SQueeze]

Thank you so much for this report SQueeze!!

Makes me feel much less anxious about heading off to the bizarre city of Astana to know the airport and town are easy to visit. I too have a fascination with Soviet modernism.

How did you go with the taxi from Astana airport- is it safe and professional? The other big question I had, which I think your photos answer so well- you felt free in most places to walk around a take photos of all the buildings?

There is nothing to be anxious about. There is a taxi counter inside the airport. You pay the guy upon arrival though. And Kazakh taxis are honest unlike Azeris or Georgians! KZT2500 or so. Uber might be cheaper.

Elsewhere, there is no such thing as a taxi system. You hail any car and bargain. But uber works pretty well. And the bus system is developed and it’s first-world standard. Bus routes are shown at the bus stops and the next arrival timing. And you can download this app (Eway). It picks routes and even at correct timings. I used buses most of the time while in Astana.

It’s perfectly fine to take architectural pictures. Hardly anybody around to begin with.

For Soviet modernism, Astana is not the best place. Almaty would have been better. Or Tashkent. But for weirdness, Astana wins. Or Ashgabat, Turkmenistan! It’s even stranger there. Google its airport terminal that literally looks like a bird. It’s in my bucket list now.

[yflyer]

Wonderful TR, SQueeze!

I've never been there before, but I've heard quite nice things about Kazakhstan. From the pics, the country and culture look to be quite distinctive.

The Air Astana catering looks quite impressive, as you have mentioned. As for food on the ground, I'm willing to try Beshbarmak at least once...

Great scenery pics out the aircraft windows...

The architecture on the ground in Kazakhstan is quite amazing. Very bold, striking designs on a very large scale. Better than rows of grey concrete boxes, I guess.

[SQueeze]

Wonderful TR, SQueeze!

I've never been there before, but I've heard quite nice things about Kazakhstan. From the pics, the country and culture look to be quite distinctive.

The Air Astana catering looks quite impressive, as you have mentioned. As for food on the ground, I'm willing to try Beshbarmak at least once...

Great scenery pics out the aircraft windows...

The architecture on the ground in Kazakhstan is quite amazing. Very bold, striking designs on a very large scale. Better than rows of grey concrete boxes, I guess.

Thanks yflyer!

I Guess Kazakhstan is only for the intrepid and curious. There are no blockbuster sights but the lack of tourists make up for it.

For food, it is one of the ‘interesting’ ones (politely speaking). After the horse meat dinner, we landed up with lots of KFC and McDonalds as our staple. But ... Uyghur food is quite everywhere and it is way way way better.

For great food culture in the former Soviet Union, Azerbaijan and Georgia win over everybody else. My trip report on this is coming soon.

Azerbaijan is more middle eastern with lots of dates, nuts, and prunes. Very complex dishes. Georgian food is unlike anything else. Mẩy be a little bit French but with spices -spicy French, imagine.