Not Your Borat’s Kazakstan

Almaty, Kazakhstan, on Saturday, October 11, 2014.

Some Kazakh kids playing on some former artillery — at the Park of the 28 Guardsmen (of World War II).

This way to the Central State Museum.

The monument to Kazakh poet Abai Qunanbaiuli is getting some work done.

Wedding photos all around the Zenkov Cathedral today.

Strolling through the parks of Almaty.

Forget the image of Kazakhstan that fictional Borat put in your head. Almaty is a lovely modern city that’s more expensive than most in Central Asia due to the country’s oil resources.

Flash mob practice — in front of the Palace of the Republic.

Families play on the playground in Republic Square, where Almaty still retains some of its former Soviet architecture.

Tiny Kazakhstanis in modern Almaty — Dostyk Plaza (exterior).

Tiny Kazakhstanis in modern Almaty — Dostyk Plaza (interior).

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This dispatch is one of over 70 travel dispatches from the trip grouped and titled, "The Global Trip: 'Stan By Me." It's an archived compilation of Instagram and Facebook posts which chronicled a trip through three countries in Central Asia: Kazakstan, Kyrgyzstan, and Uzbekistan.

Next entry:
Watching Borat

Previous entry:
Horse Milk Time at the Green Bazaar

THE GLOBAL TRIP GLOSSARY

Confused at some of the jargon that's developed with this blog and its readers over the years? Here's what they mean:

BFFN: acronym for "Best Friend For Now"; a friend made on the road, who will share travel experiences for the time being, only to part ways and lose touch with

The Big Trip: the original sixteen month around-the-world trip that started it all, spanning 37 countries in 5 continents over 503 days (October 2003–March 2005)

NIZ: acronym for "No Internet Zone"; a place where there is little to no Internet access, thus preventing dispatches from being posted.

SBR: acronym for "Silent Blog Reader"; a person who has regularly followed The Global Trip blog for years without ever commenting or making his/her presence known to the rest of the reading community. (Breaking this silence by commenting is encouraged.)

Stupid o'clock: any time of the early morning that you have to wake up to catch a train, bus, plane, or tour. Usually any time before 6 a.m. is automatically “stupid o’clock.”

The Trinidad Show: a nickname of The Global Trip blog, used particularly by travelers that have been written about, who are self-aware that they have become "characters" in a long-running story — like characters in the Jim Carrey movie, The Truman Show.

WHMMR: acronym for "Western Hemisphere Monday Morning Rush"; an unofficial deadline to get new content up by a Monday morning, in time for readers in the western hemisphere (i.e. the majority North American audience) heading back to their computers.

1981ers: people born after 1981. Originally, this was to designate groups of young backpackers fresh out of school, many of which were loud, boorish and/or annoying. However, time has passed and 1981ers have matured and have been quite pleasant to travel with. The term still refers to young annoying backpackers, regardless of year — I guess you could call them "1991ers" in 2013 — young, entitled millennials on the road these days, essentially.

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