By Chander Gupta
I had been contemplating holidaying with my wife in a foreign country this summer, but we were feeling deterred by visa hassles and long-duration flights. Being in our sixties, we are inclined to take it easy. Both of us are having passports since 2004, which were renewed in 2014 and 2024. Though having passports for last 22 years, we had travelled to just two foreign countries–Singapore to the east and UAE to the west side of India. Therefore, I was keen for a foreign destination, not only as our passports were underutilised, as I also wanted to emulate to some extent those friends, relatives and neighbours who have travelled far and wide to America, Australia, New Zealand, Canada and Europe.
Fortuitously, my brother-in-law talked to me about a foreign destination he had visited recently with family. My dilemma was resolved. This destination has no requirement of a visa for Indian tourists for 14 days and is just three and a half hours away from New Delhi by flight. The icing on the cake was the pleasant weather condition in mid-June with temperatures in the range of 18 to 28 degrees.
The destination was Almaty in Kazakhstan. Without much ado, I booked air tickets and hotel accommodation online sitting at home and off we were to Almaty in second week of June.
This was the first time that I flew by a foreign airline which was Air Astana. As I browsed Google Flights and ‘Kayak’ app for searching flights to Almaty, I found that only Air Astana operated between New Delhi and Almaty. By the way, Astana happens to be the capital of Kazakhstan. Timewise Kazakhstan is just 30 minutes behind India.
Looking at the duration of flight of only three and a half hours from New Delhi to Almaty and the time difference of just 30 minutes, the proximity of Almaty is quite obvious. Kazakhstan, like India, has a single time zone.
Though at present it is not well-known as a nearby tourist destination as Bangkok, Dubai, Singapore are, Almaty seems to be fast gaining traction. While sightseeing in and around Almaty, we could hear many tourists conversing in Hindi immediately identifying them as Indian tourists.
From my own experience as a tourist in Almaty, I can say with confidence that it is a tourist-friendly destination. The first thing I observed while driving from Almaty Airport to my hotel was that, like Dubai, Almaty too had right side driving. There were no potholes, no traffic jams, no traffic congestion, no honking.
Strictly adhering to lane driving, the vehicles moved with unhindered pace. The movement of traffic was smooth and seamless in sharp contrast to what we witness back home in our cities.
The civil infrastructure is impeccable. There are wide footpaths for the pedestrians along all the streets. I found Almaty free of mosquitoes, flies, stray dogs/cattle, pollution and garbage. The common citizenry appeared well-off, even affluent.
Almaty is famous for lakes, some pristine blue and some pristine green, in and around the city. Another major attraction is Gondola rides which take you to snow-capped mountain top from the base level. A day trip to Charyn Canyon is a must in a tourist’s itinerary. There is much more for a tourist to explore.
Indian tourists going to Almaty will find a slew of Indian restaurants. The ones we went to for dinner included Tandoor and Spice Mantra.
At one of Indian restaurants, I noticed a group of Indian youngsters dining at a nearby table. I could not help saying hello and opening a conversation. I had presumed them to be tourists like us, but they turned out to be medical students studying in Caspian University in Almaty.
Students who cannot afford to pay for medical education in private colleges in India come to places like Almaty which are less expensive.
A few days after I returned from Almaty, my brother called to enquire about the trip. When he asked whether I had overcome the fatigue from the trip by now, I remarked that fatigue had actually set in now after returning to the heat and dust of the native land.
The writer is a retired banker.