Kazakhstan Series: Lake Borovoe

It was said that the lakes here at the north of Kazakhstan were given by the gods to the people.  In a country covered by vast steppes, the lakes are, in the words of my Kazakh friend, their Switzerland.

A good 2 ½-hour drive from Astana brought us to the Borovoe lake region.  On this well-paved highway, we passed through village huts, beautiful sight of the Kazakh steppes, and wild and domestic animals. 

在哈薩克這一個到處都佈滿了乾草原的國家，北部的湖泊對於他們來說就是上天的特別欣賜。

從Astana 到這北部湖泊的地區，車程大概需要二小時三十分鐘。車子會經過新築好的公路，一路上盡是鄉郊小屋、美麗的草原景色，以及無數的野生或人們飼養的動物。

My Kazakh friends and his driver

The lake area is a protected nature reserve, so we have to pass through a checkpoint.  About 15km to the lake, we stopped at the foot of a small hill and took a short hike to the top.  People tie pieces of their clothing on trees for good luck, and the view of the surrounding mountains here is beautiful and serene.  Not far from this, and surrounded by pine trees, is a monument that commemorates a great leader and historical figure of Kazakhstan, Abylai Khan. 

We seemed to have left the space age Astana completely behind.​

由於湖泊是一個受保護的自然地區，進入這個地區之前我們要經過檢查站。到達湖泊之前大約十五公里，我們就在一座小山丘腳下作了一個小停留。我們徒步走上山，一路上看見人們在兩旁掛滿了象徵好運的碎布。從山頂眺望附近的山丘，這個景色除了美麗之外它還給你一種很特別的寧靜感覺。就離這裏不遠處，一個被松樹包圍的地方，有一個紀念碑，它留給了人們一個哈薩克偉大領袖 Abylai Khan 的回億。

來到這裏，看來我們已經完全脫離了Astana 這個超時空的城市。

The region is made up of various lakes, the most famous one has a stone sphinx floating in the middle.  The natural landscape is breathtaking, and the Kazakh seemed to have preserved and cherished it very well for generations.  Houses and hotels are sparse, but we do see the occasional vacationers around the lake.

這個湖泊地區是由許多個湖組成，而這個浮在湖中心的巨石是其中一個著名的景點。這裏所有令人目不暇給的地貌都是由哈薩克人世世代代悉心保存下來的。這地區的屋子及酒店都不多，但是你仍會偶爾看見其他遊客到這裏遊覽。

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.

Kazakhstan Series: Almaty - Part I

Let me just start by saying that Kazakhstan is a huge country. 

In fact, it is the 9th largest in the world, with an area that is almost all the Western European countries combined. 

Tourism is opening up big time, with strong help from the government and the fashionable, more westernized Generation X and Y.  Astana is the capital, with the lavish palace and space age buildings; but if you want to begin your Kazakhstan journey, Almaty is the place to start. 

Almaty Airport (ALA) is not a jumbo size 21st century megalith, and it doesn't take long to get past customs and baggage reclaim.  This progressive government is now supporting visa-free travels from a long list of countries.  You can spot a local Kazakh right away with the unmistakable colour of their passport. 

Arriving into the city the traveler is immediately greeted by the beautiful snow-capped mountains in the backdrop. Now I know many of you are thinking of Switzerland, but these mountains are different: you feel that they are so much more connected with the people.  Right after the usual pleasantries, my host asked a question that in the coming two weeks I was to hear almost daily: "do you like our mountains?" 

The weather, among other things, was a huge surprise.  It was mid-April when I was there, so spring was in full swing.  Day time was pretty warm, but twice during my stay it snowed at night!   By morning every last drop of snow flake had disappeared and people were back on the streets enjoying the sun and spring blossoms. 

The beautiful ski resort, Shymbulak, can be reached by a modern cable car.  From here one catches a perfect view of the mountains and the city in their perfect serene harmony. 

Official Almaty Tourism website: http://www.almaty-kazakhstan.net/

哈薩克是一個面積非常之廣大的國家，她的總面積比西歐所有的國家加起來還要大，是當今世界第九大的國家。

在哈薩克，政府與時髦而又西化的新一代正在蓬勃地發展他們的旅遊業。Astana 是哈薩克的首都，她既擁有堂皇的宮殿，亦有活像是來自太空時代的建築物；但是，Almaty 仍然是哈薩克旅程的最佳起步點。

Almaty 給我的第一個印象很特別，她擁有延綿不絶地環抱著整個城市的雪山、十分之友善的市民、樣子有點兒奇特卻又十分美味的食物，以及最重要的，就是連繫著所有哈薩克人的悠久歷史。

出乎意料之外，Almaty 並没有一個大得嚇人的機場，而過關及領取行李的手續都頗為迅速。政府現正積極與不同地區達成免簽證協議，香港是其中的一個地區。在海關入境的時候，你可以由哈薩克護照的獨特顏色輕易地把哈薩克人認出來。

當你完成入境手續踏進Almaty，你就會立刻看見這個城市有著美麗的雪山作為背景。提到雪山許多人會立即聯想到瑞士，但是這裏的雪山是不同的，它跟城市緊密的連繫著，與哈薩克人有著密不可分的關係。當我與我的嚮導互相介紹完畢後，他問我的第一個問題就是；「你喜歡我們的山嗎？」而住後在哈薩克的兩個星期中，我亦不住的被問到這一個問題，可見「山」是哈薩克人十分引以為傲的。

首次來到哈薩克，很多東西都是我預料之外的，天氣是其中一樣。這是四月中旬，初春剛剛到步，日間十分暖和；但是有兩個晚上，竟然下起大雪來！第二天早上當最後一顆雪花溶掉後，人們又再淋浴在溫暖的春日陽光中。

要欣賞雪山包圍著整個城市這一幅完美的圖畫，你可以乘搭纜車登上滑雪勝地Shymbulak 。