Don't Let Borat Fool You

Flying into Almaty, I was beginning to wonder where the hell this huge city and all it's buildings were when I looked out the airplane window. However, once I landed and met my friend at the airport..I saw the busy city life of Almaty. While we waited in the busy traffic, I saw lots of old USSR cars as well as 2007 Range Rovers. The buildings in Almaty are a mixture of dated buildings, newly built apartments, and business buildings. There was also alot of construction going on of new buildings rising up as well. So, I would conclude that the economy is on the rise in Kazakhstan.
Also, if you look around the city it is lined with beautiful mountains, which I had the opportunity to climb through with my friend. They are breath-taking and I highly advise making it your goal to go on a hiking trip through them.

Food: As for dining in Kazakstan... Well, the food there isn't really anything close to the meals we enjoy in the U.S. But, I did have some good meals while I was there. Kazaks enjoy what we call "potstickers" a lot which you can purchase at their grocery store called Pamctop pronounced (Ramstore)Popular items there include horses meat, lots of flavored juices ex. cherry juice, peach, etc., flavored milks.note: dont drink a milk labled Keefir (its sour milk) haha. There is a restaurant called The American Bar and you can enjoy a cheeseburger if you start to miss home a little bit.

Nightlife: Catch a "taxi" I use quotations because their idea of taking a taxi is standing on the side of road and holding up a hand. I know it seems like hitch-hiking but believe me it's perfectly normal there. It takes only a minute or so and a Kazak will stop the car and ask you your destination which will normally cost you about between 200 to 300 tenge. Fun and classy nightclubs are "Crystal" and "Da Freak" which are fun if you like to dance and tends to draw a crowd from ages 17-25

Note: If you don't speak Russian, I advise you get a translator, I only came across about 7 other English speakers. Goodluck, it is a beautiful country!