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 borders 4 times, and Kazak borders 3 times, this one was surprisingly easy and as a result, I recommend this…
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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 on the same passport, I finally arrived in this backpacker’s gem – Shymkent. You might have read how I found…
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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 promotion. Is it shy? Why are the first three letters spelling the word shy? I headed to find the answers.…
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