Now that we have been to Astana and traveled to Almaty, it is time to show how life is there. My love of markets is sacrosanct and I delight in the way they distinguish how people live across cultures. I will also show you the most beautiful place that I’ve ever been.
OK. Let’s continue the journey.
This the Green Bazaar. We’re back at the markets that I adore. Three massive floors of everything you can imagine. This is a stall for dried and preserved fruits. Here are the more Mediterranean influences on the culture.
Well, now we are back in Central Asia. Goat heads carefully displayed for your pleasure. The teeth weird me out.
This seems like a nice mix of cultures. The berries and spices, along with the various oils and tinctures color the scene. There’s something so exotic about strange potions in a flask. It reminds me of old-timey medicine bottles with their faded labels and antiquated language. I don’t know why those artifacts strike me so starkly. I love the typescript and aged paper. It makes me think of Jack the Ripper and Victorian England. Every color in every bottle entices me with the mystery of what they hold.
I don’t even want to know what each elixir is. I’m rather content to keep the wonder alive.
I wanted to show at least something of the city side of Almaty. This is the opera house. It looks like it could be out of St. Petersburg to these ignorant eyes. There was a show that night, and several hours after this snap it was marauded by hundreds of well-heeled patrons.
It was time to sleep. With a flight at 6pm the next day, I had half a mind to have a relaxed morn and stay in. I awoke and realized that rest can wait. I booked an overly-expensive cab and forged my way to Big Almaty Lake.
This fortitude turned out to be the best decision I made. In all of my life, and all of the numerous places I’ve experienced, I have never set sight on a place that was this stunningly majestic. I was literally without speech.
Deep in a valley, I was rewarded with this. I didn’t know that this color of aquamarine existed. The lake was unnervingly flat. From a distance you felt like you could stroll across it like Christ.
There’s that old yarn that the last thing you see gets burned to your retinas. If this were my last view I would have no regrets.
I always dip my feet in. The water was cold, yet soothing. The beautiful, clear skies entreated me to stay as long as possible. I got my hands dirty and felt the rocks. Numerous baby waterfalls cascaded and trickled into the lake. These were the Elysian Fields–mortals are not meant to witness such a place.
You even get a selfie from me. I’m very camera shy. This version of me (fatter than I am now, dammit!) has only one reason to be shared. In this shot I’m genuinely so shocked and moved by where I was that I couldn’t even pull a stupid face, the one that I always make against my will. The oxidized-copper hue of the lake, along with the surrounding mountains and scenery, were hypnotic. Look at all the tiny people near the edge of the lake for scale.
I flew back to Korea a few hours later.
Kazakhstan was a bit of a revelation. The food was incredible, everyone was universally nice, other than that asshole on the train. I got to see some things that I’d never seen before or since. I ate horse! I have some embarrassing stories that I didn’t share that are just for me, but that’s part of the flavor of a solo trip. You make mistakes and get lost (in more ways than one). More often than not you find yourself at a more interesting spot than the one you were looking for. The simple trick is to not mind and embrace the opportunity. Find beauty in everything you see. Wander down those scary streets.
Traveling alone to a new place is unnerving. There is no help and there are no lifelines. The experiences, knowledge, and wisdom you get from that type of travel are unparalleled. Trial by fire. Get busy livin’ or get busy dyin’.
My coworkers asked how my week of travel went. I don’t think that my face betrayed myself.
“It went ok.”
They needn’t know any more than that. This was for me. And for me to share. And I share it with you.
Comments
144 responses to “Evan Goes to Kazakhstan, part 2”
I too love markets, and the photos of the market you were at look incredible. I could spend an entire day in a place like that. Thanks for the article.
Damn, you’s a youngun.
I can’t read the word “tinctures” without laughing out loud because it reminds me of one of my favorite MSTs, Merlin’s Shop of Mystical Wonders.
I’m 31! I’m not that young.
How did they ever get Ernest Borgnine for that…must’ve had a nephew in need. One of my favorites.
Best:
Timechasers
Werewolf
Hobgoblins
Space Mutiny
Bloodlust
Anyone younger than me is a child, child.
This…
Especially when they are more than 2 decades younger than me.
“I’m 31! I’m not that young”.
Son, you really are that young. Enjoy your youth. Amazing adventures and I am envious. Now I’ll be more depressed for the rest of the day. Thanks for the article.
Indeed.
Humility accepted. I always consider myself an honorary Old Man by my metal hips. Round here I am one of the more senior folks. Not so true back in the states.
Thanks for enjoying.
Don’t feel too bad. At 51 I don’t get to play my old man card with Fourscore, either.
And don’t let him fool you – he’s the .0001% of guys his age. Beast.
The only reason I don’t bitch constantly about being 61 is that I know 4score hangs here too. 😉
Same here. (Turned 60 a few months ago.)
Yep, you’re closer in age to my niece then me. And just because you may be interested, the oldest market in Cleveland. It’s got an outside component for fruit and vegetables, and an interior component for meats, spices, cheese, and prepared foods. It’s considered a landmark here, and has finally expanded its hours a bit. Parking around there is still a nightmare in the morning, and it’s packed. But you can get some great deals and some specialty items (there’s several stalls that have 6-7 different types of bacon alone).
It’s a remarkable building as well, whoever designed their website didn’t do it justice with the grainy black and white header picture, but if you scroll down and look through the gallery there are some good pictures of the architecture.
My oldest son has you by a year. It’s good to see you enjoying your youth. It is fleeting and will be gone before you know it.
I’m envious and depressed precisely because I’m his age and haven’t done/haven’t got the confidence or courage to do what he does.
Huh….well, you look younger than 31 then.
Those are all outstanding choices, especially Bloodlust.
+1 Market Lover
Thanks for the series – I missed the first article but now caught-up and enjoyed the train adventures .
There’s a Kazakhstani ladyboy story here and he’s holding out on us.
he’s holding out
Coincidentally, so was s/he.
Paging SugarFree!
Outstanding Evan. thank you
These are so much fun. Thanks for sharing!
Sweet!! That lake is beautiful
Thanks Evan. Those pictures remind me that it’s been far too long since I saw sites like that with my own eyes.
This may be a browser issue, but what is it about picture-heavy articles that, when I load an anchor link to a specific comment (such as after relying) the page loads partway, goes to the anchor, finishes loading the images and ends up pushing the actual spot desired off the screen?
It does the same thing to me in Firefox, not sure what browser you’re using.
This is happening to you?
The size of the actual images and the size the browser thinks they will be are different, so you get set to the correct point on the page for the placeholder values, but when the images finish loading the required offset is incorrect and the browser doesn’t recalculate it.
IIRC, that’s a feature employed when photos are hosted offsite. Essentially, it allows the page from the glibs server to load without having to wait for imgur/photobucket/pornhub/whatever to send all of the image content over.
Ideally, there should be a properly sized element sitting in the place of the image so that the page doesn’t resize while the content loads, but that might be a WordPress issue.
From the looks of them, these images are hosted on glibs. But thst short of it is, there’s no way for me to fix it on my end.
MOAR BANDWIDTH!
Awesome. Thanks for sharing more of your travels, Evan.
I love cities, but it’s the natural sights that always stay with me. I love visiting places that are so beautiful they look like CGI. Your lake looks like that.
Wow. Amazing pictures. Glad you had a memorable trip.
Great pics!
Thanks a bunch Evan.
Thanks for the story and photos! That lake reminds me a little of a place my wife took me outside Serebryanye Prudy(Silver Ponds) in Russia with her brother’s family for a swim. Brrrrr!
OT: pols on TV are bragging about all the money they’re about to throw at Amazon. And you thought it was just about tax breaks!
So, What are the taxpayers going to get from Amazon for all their largess at the behest of these awful people?
The newsheads seem to be swallowing the claim of a “9-to-1” return on the “investment”.
OTOH all the local pols are against it* so I have to wonder…
*until the sweetheart deals are put in place to ensure the “right” people’s palms are greased
Well some people try to get tax breaks
And get called assholes
This never happened to Jeffrey P Bezos
He could walk down your street
And pols could not resist his stare and
So Jeffrey P Bezos was never called an asshole
Why are you talking about that bald asshole?
Likely my favorite version .
Screams for a mashup with “Government Center”.
Good read… I’m checked out sitting on a call where this person is giving a tutorial so detailed they are telling us to press shift and 2 on your keyboard to get “@”. Thanks for the tip, I’ll be sure to notify all of my coworkers from the 1800’s. I’ll also remember to teach them about the wonders of the electric light bulb.
It’s not working. when I hit Shift-2, I end up on the next line.
Way to other all of your international employees. I remember the couple of times I had to work on one of those, going from touch typing to hunt and pecking made things difficult.
Everyone on this call is in the states.
I… I can’t stand an enter key that intrudes on the space for the \ key. You don’t need a huge giant mash area for the enter key, one row is tall enough!
*shakes fist at cloud*
I’m right there with you. Don’t try to hide my |!
I’m always trying to hide the |, if you know what I mean.
I confess, I use the pipe more often than the backslash.
/easily misconstrued comment
I really enjoy all your travels. I have traveled abroad alone too, only once so far. I did end up wasting some time but it helps with meeting people and wandering wherever whim takes me. Those mountains make other mountains jealous.
While it is not as remote, the Urnersee is the same for me as that lake was for Evan. And it was a solo day-trip for me.
The fuck is this? A state files suit in federal court to force someone to be named to a Cabinet post – how exactly does that work?
New York is pissed Maryland beat them to the punch.
It’s all coordinated. I hope the judge tosses it for lack of standing. In addition, he was approved by the Senate ten years ago, so their argument has no merit.
State of Maryland asks judge to declare Rosenstein acting attorney general
Trump bypassed Rosenstein, the deputy attorney general who is overseeing the special counsel investigation, in favor of Matt Whitaker for acting AG.
I can’t think of any convoluted way they would derive this authority buy I am sure they can come up with something. But really this should be rejected with prejudice.
They have no standing. there is no order of succession to these posts.
“Take THAT, Trump!”
That’s how it works.
Lately, it seems the state Attorneys General are the most worthless assholes in politics.
https://www.techdirt.com/articles/20181110/11515841015/pennsylvania-attorney-general-sends-broad-unconstitutional-gag-order-to-gabs-new-dns-provider.shtml
Yup.
That reminds me, anyone know of an easy way to migrate registrars and hosting services when part of the site includes an e-mail address which must not change?
Should be transparent unless you need to keep old emails.
Of course I do.
If I haven’t intentionally deleted it, I plan to be able to reference it.
Then you have a bit of work ahead of you to save all the old emails and then copy them over to the new host.
Amendment – I would also like recommendations for registrars/providers that are less hostile than godaddy.
I use Site5 which is probably overkill for me now that I don’t really run a website any more. But I don’t have any complaints with them & you have all the tools you could possibly want.
How are they on not dropping people for wrongthink or blithly turning over customer data on ‘request’ without cause?
Not a clue. But a quick wiki search shows it was bought up by a giant conglomerate recently so… my guess would be “not good”.
Russia Fever Dreams is a hell of a drug.
Russia FeverPolitical Grandstanding Dreams is a hell of a drug.If the Democrats actually concentrated on how to win elections and feel the pulse of ordinary Americans, they wouldn’t have to resort to doing this sort of shit. What the fuck does an AG’s office have to do with Cabinet appointments?
Clarence Thomas said all appointments must go through the Appointments Clause.
just get Whittaker confirmed already.
https://www.supremecourt.gov/opinions/16pdf/15-1251_ed9g.pdf
Yeah I don’t law so who knows if they have a case. I think Trump should be able to appoint his dog but that’s just me.
Why would you want Jim Acosta and AG?
*as
Nice. I saw the clip that got Acosta banned again and I didn’t notice the first time, but Trump came from behind the podium right before Acosta gave up the mic. Give Jim his credentials and access back because I want to see Trump grab the mic and bitch slap him next time.
I’m beginning to wonder if maybe we had it backwards: maybe a Democrat president hamstrung by a Republican Congress would be better. Give the militant lunatic left enough prestige to fill their God hole without actually permitting them to do all that much. Because progressives mostly out of power are proving effing scary relative to being somewhat in power.
Interesting thought, but no matter how you slice it I think they’ve decided that if they aren’t getting their way, it’s time to trash the system.
I didn’t know that this color of aquamarine existed.
Believe it or not, it’s quite possible to find images like this in North America. Banff and Jasper National Parks (Alberta, Canada) are lousy with scenery like this. My Mom (who grew up in areas like this in the 30s & 40s) went to Ontario College of Art (Toronto) for her B.A. in the late 40s, and the first time she painted a mountain lake scene from memory her examiner was going to fail her.
“Lake waters don’t look like this,” he said.
“They do where I come from.”
Several other people (including one other instructor who was from Alberta) confirmed that the colours she painted were, in fact, representative of what you’d actually see if you went to visit, say, Moraine Lake. Mom’s instructor couldn’t believe it.
The colour actually comes from superfine “rock flour” suspended in the water that flows down from the mountain glaciers feeding the lake. It’s really beautiful.
Googles: Moraine Lake.
Yup, that’s gorgeous.
Some rivers in Alaska can be like that, too. It’s surprising to see for the first time.
So what you’re saying is, that is one polluted lake.
The water’s perfectly drinkable, if you don’t mind the faint taste of granite. 😉
Sure it’s got minerals, but no vitamins!
That’s what food’s for, d00d.
That’s just what they tell you.
/Breatharian
Ah yes. The Breatharians. The only group of people I ever met that lived on air but snacked on cheeseburgers.
I thought that when I visited the US Virgin Islands. I always thought those postcard pictures were “enhanced” because water is never that color. Except sometimes it is.
I had the same experience visiting the island of Crete in the eastern Mediterranean eleven years ago. The water colours were otherworldly in some of the inshore areas. No Photoshop required.
Panama City beach for me. I couldn’t believe water so beautiful exist.
The phosphorescent critters at St. Marks make night time beach antics slightly terrifying when one’s head is full of mushrooms and H.P. Lovecraft. The ladies were splashing in the water playing mermaids, I was on the beach armed with Roman candles and bottle rockets to fend off anyone I spied with the Innsmouth look.
Huh. Never been there. It looks nice.
Most of the lakes in Northern Minne are ‘stained’ but I camped at a lake in the Boundary Waters that had brilliant aquamarine water that was perfectly clear to the bottom. Never seen anything like it here.
STEVE SMITH LEAVE STAIN WHERE HE VISIT
Went up to Jasper and Banff back in March. Both places are absolutely gorgeous. Only disappointment was the inability to see the Ice Fields *shakes fist at avalanche*
That was a terrific photolog. Thanks for sharing!
Something you said that resonated with me…..traveling alone is something I miss. I drove cross-country by myself several times and loved every minute of it. I love my wife and kids and wouldn’t trade them for anything, but I absolutely do miss the ability to just go and see something unusual when I felt like it.
This. Sigh…
Dude, you’re bumming me out. Knock it off.
Heh heh heh… Don’t have that problem…
We travel a lot. My wife and kids are down for almost anything (except for the Coventry Car Museum) and, while it might be fun to wander alone again, I really dig the experiences we have together.
Cost for plane tickets starts to get a bit much as you add on more kids. I’m going to India soon, and all I can say is thank god the little one is still small enough to sit on a lap.
OT: I think somebody is going to get assigned the former male page’s restroom condemned for asbestos issues as her office.
She Guevarra/Karla Marx is totes showing her mad protesting skillz…
This is just priceless.
She Guevarra/Karla Marx
You forgot Neiman Marxist.
Gulag Barbie
Bronxhevik
Alex from the East Block
MiLENINal
https://twitter.com/CargoShortLife/status/1062433560299094016
I hadn’t heard Neiman Marxist yet, nice.
Crazy-eyes Cortez
Josephina Stalina
Hotsy Trotkski
Pol Thot is still the best name for her. Though Occasional-Cortex is good runner-up.
Occluded Cortex is more like it
I like She Guevera for her since she is Hispanic. Save the others for other commie chicks.
What the fuck does that even mean?
No more carbon-based lifeforms = no AGW.
it means everyone paying into “carbon offset” funds and carbon taxes.
She just needs money and is looking for some quick cash to keep her quiet. I’m sure Amazon is already opening up the checkbook. Pelosi will throw her a bone or 3.
I’d throw her a 3″ bone for sure.
apparently she just appeared in the group and inexplicably had bedhead and a rug-pattern imprint on her cheek. protestors also found a pillow and blanket underneath one of the desks.
A representative-elect protesting a representative is the newest weird for me.
Also: I’ve never understood agitating a representative that isn’t mine. I have a representative; I either vote for that person or not; occasionally, as a constituent, I might express a preference. But the other congress critters that aren’t mine strike me as none of my business.
Which is exactly why I think Ms. Pelosi is going to make sure that her office consists of asbestos laden trough urinals.
I really, really, really want to see Occasional-Cortex elected Speaker of The House.
She’ll be walking to and from DC to her district on a regular basis?
Wow, she is an absolute fuckin’ idiot. That is amazing. I for one couldn’t be more pleased that Ms. Pelosi is being subjected to the youthful enthusiasm of the newly-minted Congresscritters from the most Progressive bits of her party. Reap the whirlwind, muthafucka. Reap it!
i want to attend the sit-down after this where Nancy explains the food chain to her dumb ass.
You mean when a member of her staff goes “missing”?
Actual my one hope from her is that she’ll be so naive that she’ll end up spilling the beans on Democrats corruption in a Mr. Smiths goes to Washington kind of way.
That’s the problem with zealots. You never know when they’ll go off the reservation.
I visited this Bazaar when I was in high school accompanied by a girl of my age. She was offered samples by each and every salesman at this marketplace. And they had to give them to me as well.
A very confusing euphemism.
Godaammn this Michigan dreary weather has really got me down. When I was in South Carolina a scant four weeks ago, I was at the beach watching my wife and son swim.
Why do I live here in snow-belt alley?
Well, the weather here sucks this week too.
Thursday it’s supposed to drop to 47. WTF? It’s 87 and sunny right now.
I love Michigan: somebody’s got to stay up there and brew my beer. . . thanks!
My share in this arrangement: playing golf 50 weeks per year and translating what all these toothless hicks are trying to say.
I’m in Maryland and it looks like it’s almost dark. Dreary as hell all day, chilly, damp, typical shitty winter weather. I’m already over this shit.
Dude it’s only November, youv’e got a LONG way to go.
Hey, if we only get a week of fall, we could only get a week or two of winter too!
Gaia doesn’t grant favors to Science Deniers.
Why not? We’re the only ones that aren’t trying to interfere with Her.
I spent this past weekend in balmy Erie PA, digging out 9 inches of snow from my in-laws driveway in early November. I have no idea why anyone lives there.
You forgot Neiman Marxist.
Nice.
https://www.wsj.com/articles/trump-has-decided-to-remove-homeland-security-secretary-nielsen-1542126979
The first domino in the latest shake-up is likely to be the removal of Homeland Security Secretary Kirstjen Nielsen . . . Changes are also being contemplated for the National Security Council at the urging of First Lady Melania Trump. . . Mr. Trump has told aides that he is aware that forcing out Ms. Nielsen may result in Mr. Kelly quitting . . he probably will replace Mr. Kelly with Nick Ayers . . .
None of this is foretold or confirmed by Mrs Trump’s astrologer; also, Pantene is denying rumors that the White House’s commo intern will star in their winter series of television commercials.
Nice! This is shaping up to be primo entertainment. I need some more fiddles while the world burns.
That’s some beautiful scenery, makes me long to go to the mountains.
I have some embarrassing stories that I didn’t share that are just for me, but that’s part of the flavor of a solo trip.
Solo trips can be an adventure, especially in a country where you don’t speak the language. I had an almost embarrassing story in going to China. Landed in Hong Kong, took a train to the China border (at Shenzen), crossed over, and was supposed to be picked up by someone from the lab I was visiting. But nobody showed up right away, and it was hard to figure out exactly where the meeting point was supposed to be, so after 15 minutes or so I decided I hadn’t gone far enough and walked further into the city from the terminal. After going a block it looked like I had left the station area (there were a number of shops and other businesses) and and so I went back to where I started, but it was hard to tell exactly which doorway I had exited. At that point I just stayed put and hoped for the best.
While I was waiting a nice young Chinese lady said hello — apparently she was waiting to meet another group from the U.S. and was going to pick them up, but they had not arrived yet. She wondered if I had seen them (no, I hadn’t). So she practiced her English (which was very good, BTW) and we had a nice chat.
Fortunately, my driver found me (I am very tall and was rather conspicuous in those surroundings), and we went on our way to the lab I would be staying at. But I could have ended up stranded without finding my contact. And my cell phone didn’t work there, so I would have been really lost.
Coolness. Thanks for this. The travel journal is one of my favorite forms of writing. Please keep this up.
*squints*
😛
Just kidding, nice pictures, good story.
I’m necro-posting only because I am really enjoying this series and wanted to add my kudos. Very nice, Evan.