Backpacking In Kazakhstan🇰🇿: Staying At The Hostel Bro, Astana
“Stand in the place where you are” – Rapid Eye Movement. My first ever night in Kazakhstan was a cold and memorable one way back in December 2015. Life was pretty good then and I…
World Borders: How to Get From Uzbekistan to Kazakhstan (Tashkent to Shymkent)
I breathed a sigh of relief and release on this one, as I finally escaped the realm of Uzbekistan and into the fresh evening air of democratic Kazakhstan. Having crossed in and out of Uzbek…
Friday’s Featured Food: Wild Boar Roast at Orbita Boutique Hotel in Shymkent, Kazakhstan
For whatever reason life dealt me, I ended up in the city of Shymkent in southern Kazakhstan recently and after negotiating my way across the Uzbekistan to Kazakhstan border despite not having a Kazak visa…
Backpacking in Kazakhstan: Top 7 Shy Sights in Shymkent
I simply loved the pronunciation of this city. SHYMKENT! Wee shimmy. Ess Hym Kent. Shy m Kent. Shimkent. Chimkent. Spelt Shymkent, once called Chernayaev, currently housing 850,000 people, it’s a somewhat inspiring city with low…
Staying at the Orbita Boutique Hotel in Shymkent, Kazakhstan🇰🇿
I meandered my way back into the republic of Kazakhstan thanks to a clever visa free passport switch at the border (Irish for Uzbek visa, British for Kazak visa free entry). The toughest part of…
Friday’s Featured Food: Lagman in Almaty, Kazakhstan
I had heard about a food called Lagman and never tried it until 2015, strangely I’ve now eaten it about 10 times! At the Almaty Backpackers in Almaty Kazakhstan, my hosts here Ginara and Rahat cooked…
Thirsty Thursdays: Top 5 Bars in Almaty, Kazakhstan
Almaty is a massive city, spreading far and wide in its elevation beneath the mountains of southern Kazakhstan. At first, finding a bar seemed like a difficult task for the walking backpacker. So I used…
Backpacking in Kazakhstan: Day Trip to Ile Alatau National Park from Almaty
When I was based in Almaty Backpackers in Kazakhstan, I was keen to organise a trip out to the mountains. Almaty itself is a city on a high elevation and only 40 kilometres outside the…
Backpacking in Kazakhstan: Top 14 Sights in Almaty
On Christmas Eve 2015, I arrived in the city of Almaty in Kazakhstan. This city is huge, the biggest in Kazakhstan in fact, despite modern Astana being the capital city. I had flirted with Central Asia…
Backpacking in Kazakhstan: Staying at Almaty Backpackers/ Silk Road Hostel
I arrived early morning into the city of Almaty in Kazakhstan after what had been a pretty intense few weeks of travel (I toured Chernobyl and Auschwitz in consecutive weeks). It was Christmas Eve, there…