Horse riding, snowboarding, hiking: Why you should make Kazakhstan your next holiday destination

The late afternoon sun had barely bid goodbye for the day. But a crescent moon had already appeared above the hazy horizon of lavender and baby blue, and orange layers of sandstone mounds. Closer to the road, peculiarly pink shrubs sprouted like the pom poms of cheerleaders.

It was a surreal sight that made me want to get off the minibus and explore the curious colours and emptiness of Kazakhstan’s vast steppes. 

This part of the world is so unfamiliar to me that I hadn't quite known what to expect. “Is Kazakhstan like Mongolia with horses and tents?” I’d ignorantly asked over dinner the day before.

I wasn’t entirely off the mark as I found out later. What I didn’t realise was that "could have lived like the Saudis" was also a very good adjective to describe this oil- and mineral-rich country, if not for a certain communist chapter in their history book. Or so I was informed by Almaty Tourism Bureau's Ainura Turezhanova. 

"The country's population of 20 million could be a lot bigger today," she said.

Getting there is surprisingly easier than I’d expected, no visa required. After a quick layover in Kuala Lumpur with AirAsia, which had invited me on this trip, and less than eight hours later, I had arrived in Almaty, Kazakhstan’s largest city.

If unique experiences are Singaporeans' next travel obsessions (enough of Tokyo and Seoul already), this Central Asian country delivers on so many fronts beyond yurts, steppes and horses. 

MAYBE DON’T BRING UP BORAT

I'm not saying don't use Borat to break the ice in the company of Kazakhstanis. But be prepared for some awkwardness. 

"No… that is not representative of our country. It wasn’t even shot herrre,” said our translator, Eldana Zhumatayeva, rolling her r’s with a little disdain at the fictitious and uncouth character played by British comedian Sacha Baron Cohen.

Then again, everyone rolls their r’s here, no matter their mood. The majority of Kazakhstanis is ethnic Kazakh, followed by Russian, which probably explains the strong Eastern European accent and lots of “rrr” to my ears. Incidentally, Kazakh and Russian are the official languages here. 

What is interesting is that there is also a small community of Koreans in Kazakhstan, whose roots can be traced to the diaspora resulting from 1910's Japanese colonisation of Korea.

Former Soviet Union rule has just as well dispersed and congregated Ukrainians, Uzbeks, Germans, Uyghurs and Tatars here; today, they make up Kazakhstan’s minority groups.

BIGGEST LANDLOCKED COUNTRY IN THE WORLD

If you only have a vague idea where this Central Asian country is, let me help you out: It has Russia on its northern and western doorsteps, China’s Xinjiang to the east, Kyrgyzstan to the southeast, Turkmenistan to the southwest, and Uzbekistan rounding up the south. 

Suffice to say, it is the biggest landlocked country in the world. Okay, maybe not as landlocked as I thought; they also have access to a coastline by the Caspian Sea.

But it sure is humongous. For comparison, Kazakhstan is almost 3,800 times larger than Singapore. Some of its lakes, of which there are a whopping 48,000, are individually bigger than our total land mass. Yet, despite its many waterbodies, including 8,500 rivers, deserts and steppes make up the majority of Kazakhstan’s terrain. 

Almaty, located in southeastern Kazakhstan, is not the current capital (that’ll be Astana) but this city was the apple of the Soviet Union’s eye from 1929 to 1936 when it was designated the capital by the now-defunct communist state.

Incidentally, “Almaty” means “father of apples” in Kazakh, and since the origins of the modern apple have been traced to this locale, the name couldn't be more apt.

Almaty continued being the capital before and after Kazakhstan gained independence in 1991, until the government relocated it to Astana in 1997. 

Today, “it is the students’ city”, said Turezhanova. “There are a lot of students living here, so there’s a very young vibe.” No surprise there considering there are 31 universities, big and small, in Almaty.

THE YURT LIFE

While we see yurts and horses as romanticised advertisements to court visitors, over here, it is as real as visiting Grandma on weekends and to hang with your cousins. 

“Some of us still return to the steppes and to our grandparents’ yurts on weekends for family visits,” said Turezhanova. Apparently, about 10 per cent of the population still adhere to the nomadic lifestyle.

How you enter a yurt, which I learned at the Huns Ethno Village, can say a lot before you even speak. Step in with your right foot and you’re a bearer of good news; do so with your left – and especially stepping on the threshold – and you have bad news to share.

Inside, the cosy, warm dome is padded with colourful felt wall coverings, plush rugs and ethnic furniture. Like our condominiums, the size of a yurt is a barometer of its owner’s wealth. The bigger the yurt, the better off the owner.

Jewellery is also important to the nomads, said Turezhanova. Weddings in Kazakhstan are officiated with not rings but earrings for the bride. "The earrings will be put on the bride by the mother of the groom. And they should be made of gold and maybe some diamonds if the family is rich," she said.

Material wealth aside, spiritual richness is pursued by more than 70 per cent of the population through Islam.

But even the rigours and practicality of the nomadic lifestyle have altered some of the practices. They still pray five times daily, refrain from eating pork and fast during Ramadan. But "women do not cover their faces because when you’re moving around on horseback, it’s not practical", Turezhanova explained.

Horses, another symbol of Kazakhstan, are certainly beloved here. Of note is the endangered native wild species known as Przewalski's horses that were just reintroduced back to the country’s steppes this year.

“We love to ride them and eat them,” said Turezhanova’s colleague, Alexandra Stepkina. To be clear, she wasn’t referring to the precious species. But she wasn’t kidding about eating horses either.

MEAT SOME TRADITIONAL FOOD

The national dish, beshbarmak, consists of boiled horsemeat served on a bed of flat noodles or potatoes. And it wasn't only that. Over the course of my four days there, I ate enough horsemeat in various guises – boiled, sliced, and made into sausages and samsa (a form of samosa) – to last a lifetime. I am sorry.

Other than horsemeat (think a leaner, cleaner-tasting beef), there were always cold cuts, beef, lamb or some other form of red meat at breakfast, lunch and dinner. Meat is such a big part of their meals that an average Kazakhstani family of four can go through several horses and cows in six months, Turezhanova informed me. "We have many freezers at home."

What I craved on the trip wasn't buldak ramen but baursak – a deep-fried fritter that's best described as a cross between unsweetened doughnut and youtiao – and enjoyed with bal kaymak, a sweetened cream. And it is so simple, too, just flour, yeast and water.

“A lot of the traditional food we have is based on the nomadic life,” said Turezhanova. “If you were always on the move, the food had to be easy to make and travel well.”

Take kumis, for example. This fermented mare’s milk (it reminds me of a milk kombucha, if that makes sense) is traditionally made by placing the milk in a horse-hide container, strapped to a saddle to joggle around and ferment over a day’s riding.

Folks here love their tea, too. The traditional version is made with black tea leaves, cardamom pods and fennel seeds, and enjoyed with milk and sugar – kind of like chai. But the version I've had looked and tasted like black tea with berries. Delicious, nonetheless. "We have hot tea with every meal, even in summer when it's so warm," said Turezhanova. "And it has to be hot." 

SPECTACULAR NATURE

The steppes that you associate with Central Asia? You don't have to head up to Kazakhstan's north to see them. Almaty has these spectacular plains as well – and more in the form of majestic mountain ranges and turquoise lakes.

If you're a nature lover, it's like striking 4D. But you'll have to spend a lot of time driving or be driven because there is just so much distance to cover as I found out. It was a good three hours after leaving the city's gridlock when the slopes of the Tian Shan Mountains and home to Kolsay Lakes National Park finally appeared.

The three beautiful lakes that lend their names to the attraction – Lower, Middle and Upper Kolsay Lakes – are often referred to as the Pearls of Tian Shan. These jewels of the park were formed by an earthquake in 1887 when it toppled boulders and debris into a gorge, creating natural dams that welled up the lakes.

On days when the wind isn’t blustery, the water’s calm surface mirrors the mountainous slopes for photographers to capture a vividly turquoise, picture-perfect symmetry.

The lake closest to the parking area is Lower Kolsay Lake, which you’ll have to walk down a long, steep path to reach the crystal-clear water’s edge, and perhaps do a bit of rowing away from other tourists.

There are hiking trails to explore to reach the other two lakes but check with the visitor’s centre first. Some areas after the third lake cross into Kyrgyzstan and you don’t want to accidentally wander over without your passport and special permit.

Charyn Canyon National Park is another must-visit. It is home to Charyn Canyon, which is the second-largest canyon in the world next to Arizona’s. You know, the one they call the Grand Canyon.

Kazakhstan’s version stretches 154km along the Charyn River and is one of the deepest rivers in the northern Tian Shan Mountains. Social media lore has it that the fantastic red sandstone formations in the famous Valley of Castles were sculpted by wind, water and sand over millions of years.

It was too dark for me to explore by foot or vehicle when I got there. But just a short distance from the visitor’s centre and I could already make out nature’s works of art under an early moon. 

I must have appeared rather lost because a random dog decided to herd me back to the visitor’s centre. “Don’t fall off the edge,” he seemed to say each time he turned around to make sure I was still following him.

A DIFFERENT SNOW CITY

If skiing and snowboarding are what you live for, let me let you in on a little secret: Book your next holiday in Shymbulak.

Located in the Zailiisky Alatau Mountains at 2,260m above sea level, it is 25km from Almaty city, and home to Shymbulak Mountain Resort, one of the top-five places in the world for winter sport enthusiasts.

The draw, I was told, is how affordable it is to ski and snowboard here. Zhumatayeva informed me that US$60 (S$77) would cover just about everything you’d need for a day of powder riding, including a full-day ski pass, ski lift ticket, food and some apres-ski partying.

They’ve got instructors to help beginners get comfortable on Shymbulak’s three “green” slopes. Seasoned skiers and snowboarders would find the three “black” slopes, 11 “red” slopes, and four “blue” slopes more thrilling. If you're game, try night skiing down the highest starting point in the world at 3,200m.

I was there in September and too early for ski season, which is between December and April. Still, it was worth the while going up. Hot chocolate tastes better when you have it in the fresh, cold mountain air and against a backdrop of snowy slopes.

If I wanted, I could go hiking, paragliding, zip lining, or simply hang back and observe how photographers cajole and hawk their shots of visitors. Or ride the cable car up to the first stop (there are three stops in total) and dine at one of the various restaurants.

URBAN ATTRACTIONS

You don't have to get out of the city to see the magnificent, snow-capped Trans-Ili Alatau, the northernmost part of the Tian Shan Mountains. It can be spotted behind the Almaty Botanical Gardens as you enter its 108 hectares of pine groves, spruce forests, oak and birch avenues, and hyacinth thickets.

For a pensive stroll through nature, head for 28 Panfilov Guardsmen Park, named for the Panfilov Division’s 28 soldiers, who single-handedly stopped fascist tanks advancing on Moscow during World War II.

The same park is home to another icon, Ascension Cathedral, noted for its colourful facade, architectural feats as well as religious significance as a Russian orthodox church.

To kick things up a notch, head for Kok Tobe, a spot popular with families and couples for its mini zoo, amusement rides and panoramic views, courtesy of its 1,100m-high vantage point. Time your cable-car ride up and you can witness the vermilion sunset of Almaty as well as the foothills of the Trans-Ili Alatau.

When it comes to scoring souvenirs, I’ve always found markets more fascinating than shopping centres.

At Green Bazaar, Almaty’s famous and most ethnically diverse market, you’ll spot ajummas peddling gimbap, kimchi and other banchan accoutrements alongside Ukrainian aunties selling salo or cured pork fat that is meant to be eaten uncooked. And it’s all unbelievably neat, clean and organised.

That is, if you manage to recover from your visceral reactions to the giant hocks of cows and horses that occupy a good part of the market at the back. You’ve been warned.

If your delicate constitution requires fortifying after that scene, there are stalls selling freshly squeezed pomegranate juice, a dizzying array of tea leaves, and local foods such as dried cheese curds and curious, waxy sticks that look like Chinese lup cheong back home. These are churchkhela, a high-calorie snack from Georgia made of threaded nuts, then coated in thickened grape syrup and dried.

Some travel memories are deliciously unique. 

CNA Lifestyle was in Almaty, Kazakhstan, at the invitation of AirAsia and Almaty Tourism Bureau. AirAsia connects to Almaty International Airport from Kuala Lumpur International Airport via four weekly flights.