|
|
|
Finally it was the day of our much-awaited journey! We went to the San Francisco Airport around noon, and the first people we saw in line were some chamber music lovers on their way to Europe to hear some concerts! It worked out especially well because we ended up trading seats on the plane so that both they and we could be together.
(Ryan on the flight to Almaty, Kazakhstan)
After seventeen hours of flying it was great to get off the plane at Almaty Airport! Right away it was obvious that we were in a different world. In Central Asia, instead of going directly from the plane into the airport, one always has to take steps down to the ground beside the plane and then walk or take a bus to the airport building. That could get very cold in winter in Kazakhstan!
We were fortunate that our expediter, Roman, was excellent. He checked over our entry forms and led us through the arrival procedure. We had to go through these booths to be scrutinized and photographed by Kazakh officials. The whole process seems to be designed to confuse and intimidate. The counter in the booth is so high that you can't tell what's going on, and the officials don't tell you when they are going to take your picture. In fact I didn't know I had been photographed until someone told me later!
Driving from the airport to the hotel, I was shocked at how modern everything is! (Also the drivers are crazy!) Kazakhs are really snazzy dressers, and it shows in the buildings as well. It was night, and a lot of them were illuminated with colored lights. We also saw a fancy perfume store with a scale model of the Eiffel Tower in front. At last we arrived at the Regent Ankara hotel in Almaty. Like every hotel in Central Asia, it has a nightclub and the usual hotel bar. However, we would soon realize that the biggest luxuries such hotels offer are clean, functional bathrooms and toilet paper!
- Michelle
|
|
|
|
