Kazakhstan Adventures: Part I of III By Jason Rupp and Carla Marie Rupp

Ever thought about flying to Kazakhstan? It seems to be one of the most misunderstood countries. There is a famous movie character, which everyone around the world thinks of when they hear about Kazakhstan, but you never refer to that film or say the B word when you’re visiting. At “Master Coffee Shop” in the center of Almaty, a cute barista girl made a point of telling us – “we are nothing like that movie!” and she is right. The Republic of Kazakhstan is a huge country, 9th largest in the world, bordering Russia, China, Kyrgyzstan, Uzbekistan, Turkmenistan, and parts of Eastern Europe. Bangkok has direct flights to the largest city Almaty, which we had reason to visit when we were invited to attend the TBEX Asia 2026. Held at The Ritz-Carlton Almaty, we joined 300 other travel bloggers from around the world to learn more about one of the world’s most misunderstood countries.

Some of the other bloggers recommended trying a free city walking tour with GuruWalk.com The meeting spot was at Panfilov Park, one of the oldest of the many beautiful parks in tree-lined Almaty and the weather was summer perfect! The 28 Panfilov Guardsmen Park also includes Ascension Cathedral, a Russian Orthodox Church built entirely without nails in 1907 and made with solid Tian Shan Spruce. Christianity has a sizeable number in the country, even though the vast majority are of the Islamic faith.

Panfilov Park also includes the Museum of Folk Musical Instruments. It shows instruments from renowned Kazakh performers and composers with names such as Abay, Birzhan-sala Kozhagululy, and Dina Nurpeisova.

The Memorial of Glory is also very impressive. We saw an eternal flame and massive sculptures honoring the 28 Red Army soldiers from Almaty who fought and died during World War II defending Moscow in the Battle of Moscow in 1941. Named after Soviet General Ivan Panfilov, they are remembered for delaying the German advance into Moscow.

After a few more hours of walking, we ended up in the vibrant Arbat area where we enjoyed several meals that stand out in our memory. One at Yurta provided an eye-opening taste of Kazakh cuisine where we were offered a choice of ice cream made with either horse or camel milk.

Two days of sightseeing tours of the breathtaking nature in the Almaty Region followed. The first took us to Charyn Canyon National Park, not far from the China border. A 154-kilometer canyon carved by the Charyn River, it reminded us a lot of the Grand Canyon in the USA. A drive to Kolsay Lake finished up our day.

The next day’s tour was to Bizdin Ayul, a working farm where we bought some fermented horse milk (a standard traditional drink) and some just-picked strawberries, so yummy! Opening conference night at Ritz-Carlton Almaty then featured more delicious Kazakh food, hospitality, musical and dance performances. We were in a great mood to enjoy more of Kazakhstan.

The musical groups who entertained us included: Alatsu-Serileri, a folk rock band of extraordinarily-talented men who got us up dancing with them and three female musicians in a group with violins.

We further learned that one of the best views of Almaty is on the 30th floor lobby of the Ritz-Carlton Hotel and recommend going there for happy hour for the views and service. The metropolis city is magnificent against the mountain backdrop. Kok Tobe hill is another top viewpoint.

Our first four days in Kazakhstan overwhelmed us with wonderful people, fabulous food culture, and nature. “We have fallen in love with Kazakhstan,” said Rick Calvert, the president of our TBEXcon.com organization. Much thanks to the Kazakhstan Tourism Board and VisitAlmaty.kz.

Carla Marie Rupp and Jason Rupp are freelance travel journalists and run several YouTube travel channels. Their emails are [email protected] and [email protected]