Kazakhstan Series: Almaty - Part II

The streets of Almaty are as interesting as its people.  It is a vast city, and yet every variety of landscape and colour seem to be within minutes of each other: the mountains, the new square, the presidential palace, the bazaar, the Medeu ice-skating rink (highest Olympic-size rink in the world), the iconic Kazakhstan Hotel, a mini-zoo up on the Koktobe mountain, etc..  The locals do complain about the traffic, but in truths New Yorkers or Hongkongers would sing praises if they get traffic this breezy - I have commuted at various different times of the day on both weekdays and weekends but even in the most serious gridlock I wasn't even able to stop and check past a couple of Facebook updates.   

Drivers are very "creative" though, as I see cars snaking past each other and sometimes even driving against head-on traffic on the other side of the road just to overtake a slower moving car. Kazakhstan drives on the right (left-handed drive) but there are RHD cars on the streets as well.  

Experiencing four seasons in a day was interesting. As you can see from the photos, the day was long and bright - a regular spring/early-summer day in April, yet for two nights it snowed, and not just romantic snow-flakes-falling-on-the-tip-of-your-nose but actual snow that made me nervously bite my fingernails while my driver skidded through the snow covered streets.

The abundance of green (and beautiful tulips everywhere!) and the gorgeous mountains in the backdrop made commuting a real enjoyment during my stay.