ALMATY AMUSEMENTS

1st - 2nd Apr 2025 

The statue of Abai Qunanbaiuly in Abai Square in front of the Palace of the Republic.

Abai 'Q' (1845 - 1904) was a Kazakh poet, composer, philosopher, reformer etc. etc. and a revered folk-hero. Probably played full back for the Almaty football team. Many places and institutions are named after him.

Left: The Palace of the Republic and large square with fountains are at the south-eastern end of the centre (confusingly, top left of the city map). They provide a venue for concerts, festivals and other cultural events.

I had moved hotels; to another decent and modestly priced establishment called the Mildom Hotel as it is more conveniently located and near the central Almali Metro station.

The Metro. I used this a lot. There is only one line running north-east to south to west. The stations, all 11 of them, are, irritatingly, not named on the upside down map. Albai is one of them, at the south-east. It is cheap (20p for any journey), clean, efficient and simple. Some of the line is a long way underground (see elevator right). 

Entry to stations involves putting yourself and bags through an X-ray scanner and the platforms are manned by security guards. They all wear those rather large silly Soviet style hats (left). I have discovered that these scans and checks are common at entry to nearly all public buildings. There was a civil uprising here in 2022; many deaths ensued and the Presidential Palace was burned down. Maybe that is why they are so 'security aware'. The checks were very cursory.

I was trying to find a tourist information office which was mentioned in my Lonely Planet guide book (7 years out of date) north-west off Abai Street. It is now a flower shop, but I did come across some jolly firemen who were playing with their long hoses. We had a good chat in rather broken English. 

I did eventually find a tourist info office, in the middle of nowhere it seemed, off the north-east side of Abai Street. It was manned by a really helpful young man called Demir, who spoke excellent English and gave me lots of good advice on further travel and recommended two things locally; the cable car up to a hill called Kok Tobe on which is a tall radio mast, and a restaurant nearby called Navat, which specialises in horsemeat dishes. If you read this, thanks Demir!

The cable car station was nearby so I went there, bought a ticket and up I sailed to Kok Tobe. It was a fairly murky day so the views were not great. Left: Airborne heading for the hilltop over what appeared to be a rather scruffy and down-at-heal suburb. Nothing like the smart city centre.

Right: A poor view towards the Allatau mountains to the south.

On arrival I hadn't expected to find a large 'amusement park'! I was only hoping for some good views which, if the weather had been clearer, there would have been, but it wasn't. However this amusement park provided ample entertainment. Left: The sign which listed all the attractions. (you might be able to read them if you click on to enlarge, and speak Russian, or Kazakh).

I suppose it catered predominantly for children and, of course, superannuated ones like me. There were amusement arcades, houses of 'illusions' and 'mirrors', all sorts of mini shooting galleries, roundabouts, dodgems etc. etc. As with so much of Almaty it was not very busy. Perhaps the cool and murky weather had put people off.

Right: This chap was showing off his pet birdie…..

……which he lent to this couple to enhance their national costumes with pet fox and wolf accoutrements.

Right: I took a seat alongside the Beatles. It seemed rather incongruous to have statues of them up there.

I show below some of the 'entertainments'. I only had a go on one of them.

Left: One of those Virtual Reality rides.

Right: There was an extraordinarily elaborate 'tree-top' scramble course. It looked remarkably hazardous! I didn't see anyone trying it. Rather more testing than an army assault course and seemingly nothing to stop you falling off. Happily they are not so 'elf and safety' paranoid here!

Left: This lady was there to paint your face. She'd done a good job on her own eyes. Mine is a lost cause.

Right: The Dodgems. I was tempted as there were only a father and son (I think) having a go. I resisted the temptation.

Left: The swinging pirate ship accompanied by loud music.

Right. A gun which fired tennis balls at knock-down targets. Very basic, but this chap fired a total of ten balls and missed every time. I was encouraging him and offering 'useful' advice.

Left: Several of these train rides roamed the site. As you can see from the photos there were not many customers around the place.

Right: An 'upside-down' house. I visited one of these in Vung Tau (Vietnam) in January (a previous blog refers)  which was impressive. I didn't feel the need to do another.

Left: Many forms of self-drive transport were available. Not many takers.

Right: The Big Wheel. Yes, I did have a ride on this! 

Left: …..and took this photo of the radio mast and beyond from the top (to the south). I had been hoping that you could go up to the top of the mast which seemed to have a viewing platform, but there was no sign that you could.

There was also a rather dramatic 'swinging merry-go-round' which had several people riding it and screaming. I took a video of this, but now having problems downloading YouTube videos! Might be able to do it later. I think I need a 'technical assistant'.

Left: The cable car down and a view over the city to the north.

Left: Below us was a very impressive looking 'death ride' down the hill from the amusement park. I was going to give this a go, but it was closed. Had there been an accident I wondered!?

Right: I shared my car down with this couple and their children. He spoke good English and was amusing company. They came from western Kazakhstan near the Aral Sea and were here on holiday.

On reaching the bottom I took Demir's advice and went to the Navat 'horsemeat' restaurant (left). It was quite an upmarket place. 

I indulged in the horsemeat mince, onions and noodles main course. Delicious, and was given a complementary glass of fermented mare's milk, which was disgusting! I cannot think why we, in UK, are so averse to eating horses. I know some people who have owned useless racehorses which they cannot find a use for! Forget the fermented mare's milk!

My OMPITA Research Unit might have something to say about this.

Left: The attractively dressed 'greeter' at the front door.

I have other stories to tell about horses in this part of the world, but that's for later.

Right: ….and another 'Oirish Bear' just opposite the Navat restaurant! Almaty seems keen on them. I did not go in….for once.

Magic! Just managed to download the roundabout/merry-go-round from the park. They had stopped screaming when I took this.

A day or two later (I am well behind with these blogs) I managed to download a video. It was taken while wandering along a street downtown. I show it now as if deleted it may never reappear. It may not even work. Anyway, this bloke was quite an adept 'break-dancer'….if that's what you call it. I tossed him a few Tenge.