Almaty

Almaty

Almaty is the former capital of Kazakhstan, and is still its largest city. Being a financial and cultural center of Central Asia, Almaty boasts moderately-sized tourist and expatriate communities.

On a clear day you can see the beautifully rugged, snow capped mountains, right at the city's doorstep to the south. The city, in general, slopes from south to north which makes navigating the streets easy. If you are traveling uphill, you're going south.

There is also a small mountain range bordering the city to the east.

Almaty is in the top 50 most expensive cities worldwide for expats to live in according to Mercer Human Research. Although Almaty dropped from 30thplace in 2007 to 44th in 2008, it's still more expensive than Toronto, Los Angeles or Hamburg.

Still, if done carefully - Almaty can be as cheap as many South American and Eastern European cities. It is a wonderful gateway to this undiscovered and distinctive country. Kazakh people are very kind and welcoming, and you will be pleasantly surprised by the hospitality.


Things to do in Almaty

■ Walk in Arbat Street (Pedestrian street)
■ Explore 28 Panfilov Heroes Memorial Park
■ Discover National Museum
■ Visit Presidential Palace
■ Shop at Rundle Street East
■ Walk in Republic Square
■ Hiking to Medeu

Eat in Almaty

■ Uyghur and Dungan Restaurant
■ Rumi Restaurant (Uzbek)
■ Princessa (Chinese Restaurant)
■ Boudoir (International Restaurant)
■ Namaste (Indian Restaurant)
■ Zheltoksan (Georgian restaurant)

Stay in Almaty

■ Five Seasons Hotel (Budget)
■ Hotel Transit (Budget)
■ Kaz hostel (Budget)
■ Hotel Turkistan (Budget)
■ Almaty Business Hotel (Mid range)
■ Hotel Ambassador (Mid range)
■ Rahat Palace Hotel (Luxury)
■ InterContinental Almaty (Luxury)

Scheduled Flights to Almaty (from Kuala Lumpur)

■ Air Astana