Caravanistan

Thanks for the update! Really glad to hear about these new signs they put up.

I've done the Khorgos trip. Old card is still valid. No worries.

Car rental is a new phenomenon in Kazakhstan, so I'm not surprised I haven't heard of these guys. I did hear that the major rental company Hertz opened recently in Almaty, and as their a known entity, I would check them out.

It depends on which Easter! The largest Christian congregation in Kazakhstan by far is the Russian Orthodox Church, which has a different calendar than the Protestant or Catholic Church. Russian Orthodox Christians call the holiday Paskha, and it's celebrated on April 8 this year. If you are in Kaza...

English-language books are quite rare in Almaty bookstores, and those you can find are mostly fiction or Kazakhstan-related. Other big bookstores worth checking out, though, are Meloman and Knizhny Gorod.

Both are countries where you can pitch a tent almost anywhere you please, keeping in mind the usual common-sense worries about safety and private property.

AuroraUsa wrote:Uber is working in KZ right now so dont worry about taxi!

I can't tell if you're kidding, but you definitely can't take an Uber that far

Wow, I had never heard of that before! I had only heard threats of a big fine. Thanks for sharing!

Well if you have 7 people and want to hire a whole car or two, than in theory anything is possible. From Almaty it's not very realistic, though, because drivers won't know where this place is, and they won't be able to reliably find passengers for the way back. All sources I can find suggest that th...

In my opinion, Aksu-Zhabagly and Turkestan are too far to go for a one-week trip (they're both in Southern Kazakhstan Province). Better to stay in Almaty Province and explore the city and the surrounds.