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Almaty
City of Almaty
Location
Country	Republic of Kazakhstan
Latitude	43 27 N
Longitude	076 91 E
Time Zone	GMT/UTC +6 (Standard Time)
Statistics
Population	1,185,900 (2004)
Area	324.8 km² (125.4 sq mi) (approximate)
Currency	Tenge (KZT)
Electricity	?
Language	Kazakh, Russian

Almaty Layover

City Overview

Almaty on Google Maps

In late 1991, Almaty became the capital of the Republic of Kazakhstan, a designation it kept until 1998, when the capital was moved to Astana. Almaty, however, remains the largest city in Kazakhstan and the country's major commercial center.

The Airport

Almaty International Airport

www.almatyairport.com

Hotels

Regent International Hotel

• The Regent Intl Hotel is very pricey with excruiatingly slow internet access and phone calls to the states costing a few dollars (US) per minute. The farther you get from the hotel, the less expensive things get. Why pay $25 USD for a burger and brew when the same will cost you about $6 just two blocks away?

Hyatt Regency Almaty

Very centrally located, typical Hyatt standard with the typical prices. Do not eat or drink at the hotel, cause they have the most expensive restaurant and bar in the city and they are proud of it.

Getting Around

• BUS: You can ask at the hotel which bus to take and where the bus stop is. Only 40 Tenge.
• Taxi: Almost every car on the street is a "Taxi". Drivers will give you a ride if it is not too far out of their way for some extra cash. About 500 Tenge to get anywhere in the city from Hyatt hotel. All you have to do is wave them over like the locals do. Prices are much lower then a real Taxi cab. Do not order taxi from the hotel, it will cost you 4-5 times more.

Things to see

At the Intercontinental one of the girls at the desk will give you a tour of the city for $40 and I understand it is a pretty good deal. She is very knowledgable and supposedly has a very good grasp of the city. While I personally haven't been on this tour the guys who have had nothing but good things to say about it. I plan on it the next time I get there. Around the parliament building there is a large mall with a fair variety of restaurants and they are very reasonable in price. Check it out.

Things to Do

• Go to the Green Bazar. Locals sell everything there from raw meat to Caviar and pickles, marinated mushrooms and dry fruit and all kinds of nuts. There are some good cheap cafeterias inside and outside. Right outside the Bazar is an outside and inside shopping center where locals sell all kind of clothes and shoes, military memorabilia, paintings, Matroshkas and so on.
• In the summer time, a short walk to the river where hundreds of small stands offer many choices of food and trinkets.
• Plenty of parks. The city is very pretty in summer.
• Cable car to Kok-Tobe park, near the TV tower. Good views of the city and the mountains. Not much in the park itself apart from a few grill restaurants and souvenir shops. Cable-car ticket is 500 KZT one-way. If you feel energetic, the downhill walk takes about 40 minutes back to Dostyk avenue.

Shopping

Where to Eat

• Plenty of cheap cafeterias with great meals including famous Borsch and Salanka. Some on the side of apartment buildings, some in the underground crossings. Quality of food there is much better.( Walk out of the Hyatt, turn right behind the hotel to take the street that will take you to the T-intersection, cross it and go left about 50 yards pass the building with DHL on it. At the end of the fence turn right and you'll see a two story building with a stairway outside to go to the second floor. There is a buffet type place on the right.
• Plenty of restaurants outside under the tent in summer to have a beer or have a reasonable meal.
• "Tubeteyka" restaurant next to Hyatt.
• Went with a colleague to Zheti Qazyna, an Uzbek restaurant on Abylay Khan and Makataev. Three rooms, one Uzbek, one Asian (ie Chinese), one air-con European. Stick to the Uzbek room, with wonderful wood decorations, blue-tiled kitchen you can see into. We had Cheburek (kind of fried pie with different fillings -- lamb, spinach/egg, potato) which were very filling, a fish stew and some Manty which were like large ravioli filled with lamb and pumpkin. We added a bottle of Georgian wine and some mineral water, and the whole lot set us back around $100, but the atmosphere was great and we talked shop, so can claim the meal on expenses.

Clubs, Bars, Nightlife

Soho Good food and drink with reasonable prices. Dancing with a live band (that is very good)

There are 2 Irish pubs, both not too far from the Intercontinental, Guinness and Dublin. Both have good food Also, in there is a web site called nightlife and you can find the link upstairs in the Regents Club of the hotel It is in the favorites section of the computer and contains the updated clubs and happenings for that week. I find it to be a great source of information. Sorry, I do not remember the exact link but I think it is nightlifeALA.

Safety Advisories

US Department of State Kazakhstan Information Sheet

As with most of these regions, you will find corrupt police and customs inspectors. Do what you can to avoid problems, as paying bribes is not the best long-term solution. Never let them search your pockets, always step back and turn them inside-out yourself. If they want to take you to a room out of public view, protest loudly (sometimes the babushkas will come to your assistance!). In all cases, make sure that all of your passport/paperwork is in order.

Post any safety warnings, tips, or advisories here. Also, you can edit the warningbox template and change the color of the box.

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