Arizona

Air Astana 4L 908 that took off from Delhi, was flying over large parched unimpressive stretch. Suddenly, passengers aboard came alive with some stunning view outside.The sight of the snow-clad mountain range of Zailiski Alatau awed everyone.In minutes the plane touched down on this beautiful valley- and-mountain cradled city of Almaty, in Kazakhstan.Alma-Aty in Kazhak means AppleCity.

But for the bi-lingual signages in Kazhak and Russian, this city could be passed off as any other city in Europe in sheer style and class. The main city has global brands --- from Armani, Yves Saint Laurent, Boss and the likes of the same.

A well planned and laid out city, Almaty has the most impressive view of the towering mountain- range along the East to West.From any part of the city, the Mountain View cannot be missed. That is enough a reason for the city to also have an unpredictable weather that changes in minutes!In summer, it is hot - up to 35 degrees, while its winter touches a minus 40!Winter is from September to May.

We found the Kazakhs warm and hospitable, although English was very less spoken.The minute you state that you are an Indian, there is a gleam in their eyes.Raj Kapoorfilmwe love it they would exclaim.The local drivers and shop owners hum RKs old numbers and its tune at the very drop of a hat! (Their traditional hat is known as Chalma).Jawahar Lal Nehru and Chess Anand are also their top of mind Ambassadors of India. Kazakhstan TV channels Sunday programme invariably must include a Hindi film (Mithuns or Govindas).Their local TV popular star Evgeniv Zhumanov was anchoring like our own Amitabh in their local version of the Kaun Banega Krorepati, said to be now running into its third year!

We drove past the citys Sauna.One can get a Russian Sauna Bath or a Persian Sauna Bath.With the former, the customer goes through hot and cold bath, a steam sauna and then to be finally well beaten by the soft oak leaves.These open up every pore of the skin and nourish the body.There were street-vendors selling oak leaves along the roadside, reminding us of the vegetable vendors back home!

Without losing time and making hay while the sun shone, we set off to reach the MountShimbulak.As we drove, we crossed a football stadium and a massive skating rink built in 1972.In deep winter, sport enthusiasts are engaged in playing even in minus 20 degrees here! As an option to driving up, people can also walk from the stadium to the foot of the snow-clad range a cool 830 steps, which only remind us of the climb up the Tirumala hills!A large dam exists here to protect the city from avalanche.

The surprise unfolded in front of our eyes when we alighted!We were surrounded by snow and were in fact in the midst of one of the sought after snow-resorts in Kazakh that can match Switzerland in every scenic aspect! Children and adults were up on the chair-car and skiing their way down.There is a 3-level skiing range above the area where we stood.Unmindful of the strong wind, sport enthusiasts were skiing all over the place.All that we managed was to trudge on snow and climb up some 800 metres and park ourselves in an open-air sunny restaurant, to enjoy hot-piping Sri Lankan Dilmah Tea. And we wondered why the Indian tea-lords in Darjeeling or Assam/Nilgiri missed such an opportunity for a good show of brand strength and business acumen!

Our lunch on return from Shimbulak was also a pleasant surprise.It is said that Kazakhs are the worlds second largest meat eaters in the worldonly after the wolves!We lunched at an Indian restaurant Namaste (the other being Govindas run by ISKON which served pure ghee delicacies).We were truly getting very much at home in Almaty!A heavy meal warranted a good walk on a sunny Sunday afternoon. We walked in the Heros Park Dvadstat zo vosem.This is quite like our own Veer Jawan park and at the centre; it has a torch that is always lit, adjacent to one of the most beautiful ancient church.The chapel is built using timber without nails, is often visited by couples on their wedding day or their anniversary.

The enchanting city has a monument the tower of Golden Man, a Museum, Modern Art Gallery, a Central Mosque, an impressive Opera and an old Parliament Building that stand testimony of the old power it wielded in the past.

Almaty was said to be the capital of Kazakhstan till 1996 when it later on moved to Astana.Two strong reasons have driven to this decision.Almaty is on the seismic range and suffers from very frequent earth quakes. Geographically, Almaty is also located a bit too off centric for good administration. Since the move, this parliament house is converted to the Kazhak BritishTechnicalUniversity.The park opposite this building has a towering twin-statue, of a young man and women - Aliya and Manshuk - holding a flag aloft.

The city has some enviable transport systems.Mini buses and regular buses ply all over the routes.Both Rail Trams and Road Trams (that ply on tyres with overhead electric lines) are inexpensive.Whats more, post work, people use their car as taxis and ply to transport people on a fixed point-to-point tariff. Volga and Lada are the favourite cars while every global models ply on the road.Kazakhs are highly technical and skilled.They tend to fix their own cars and seldom need a garage to service. Unlike Russian, Kazhak has a lot of Hindi words. Kazakhs enjoy Boxing and Wrestling. While the white leopard is their National Animal, the Eagle is considered their National Bird. The mini format of string instrument known as Dambra is their state Instrument.Kazakhstan is said to be about 5 years behind Russia.While there is a lot of camaraderie, one can witness the soft desire to grow and excel, visible everywhere in Kazhak.Despite the quake-fear, the city of Almaty is growing with new districts such as Samac, even when Kazakhs capital Astana is witnessing growth.

Along the upcoming PresidentPark, many estates and township are emerging, using construction techniques that can beat 9 Richter scale quake.The highway along the Almara San dot innumerable open-to-the-sky eateries, caf, pubs and Clubs, with some ethnic designs.Our second day lunch was at this kind of an open air eatery, where we enjoyed their local bread Llipyoshka, and their equivalent of the dosa their Kachini. We had some of the finest wines known as Turgen, after its village name.When you ask for water, you would need to qualify with or without gas.Soda would be the water with Gas!

About 75 kms away from Almaty, a man-made beach resort exist, known as Kapchigai. The smaller cities of Kazhak such as Atyrau the city that is said to have merged from the sea some 400 years ago has hot water and gas pipelines all over, reaching out to every home and keeping life warm and going.With the help of our interpreter Nurgul and driver Sherrik, we were also able to see important locations in Atyrau the monument of Taimanaf, the longest pedestrian bridge over river Ural, and the Church of Atyrau (with onion dome).

Almaty can be an Indian Travelers nearest Switzerland and an ideal place for much Kollywood song-and dance sequences! It is a low-cost- place to visit, with every Tenge, their local currency being thrice the value of the Indian Rupee.

Important Tips:

Take only US $ - Post the Year 2000.Currencies before would not find acceptance.

For long stay, register yourself on the fourth day at the immigration Dept. It is mandatory.

Know more about Almaty on www.expat-kz.com