All you need is Love...

Well The Beatles live on in Kazakhstan!

Took the Kok-Tobe cable car up to Kok Tobe (Green Hill) this afternoon. At 1100m above sea level, it should be re-named White Hill in the winter as it looked like something out of Narnia! It's home to viewing platforms, a telecomms tower, a gallery, some birdlife and an avenue dedicated to the Beatles! A little random but a photo-opportunity nonetheless. Couldn't see far into the distance and it was too overcast to see the city below but it was sooo pretty! Will have to return here over the coming months.



So - Kazakhstan. Echo was asking for info on the country, so here are some fast facts that I've learned and read about since I got here.

- Ninth largest country in the world -
- Population of over 15 million
- Achieved independence from the Soviet Union in 1991
- Capital city is Astana, 1000km north of Almaty (the former capital) where I am now.
- Oil and Gas rich, bringing with it a high rate of corruption.
- Bordered by Russia, China, Kyrgyzstan, Uzbekistan, Turkmenistan & the Caspian Sea.
- Moutainous in the South (near Kyrg.) and East (bordering China) but the remainder is desert and steppe.
- The wealthiest country in Central Asia - Oil and gas extraction being the foundation of the country's economy and its awareness raised by the well-known Borat! (Probably best not spoken about with locals - they're not too fond of him!)

What else do I know? It's pretty expensive to get anywhere from here! It's about 7/8hrs flight from the UK, it is apparently extremely continental in climate - hot in summer and cold in winter. It was mild last week but I can now vouch for the cold in winter bit. The temp has plummeted and it's nippy! I can imagine Almaty being being quite European in the summer with a pavement cafe culture, it has a handful of pubs - Mad Murphy's, Guns n' Roses - that sort of thing. Russian is widely spoken but I'm pleasantly surprised with how much English is spoken. I think more so than Moscow.
People are friendly, a couple stopped for a few seconds today to find the word they were looking for - 'Welcome!'. Bless. And to finish, the football fans amongst you, English ones in particular will already know that the Kazakhstan v England World Cup qualifier gets played here on the 6th June. I've got visions of it now.... Fans from the UK and expats in the West of Kaz. donning their mankinis and Borat moustaches to descend on Almaty for the weekend....!