Day 8 (July 7, 2025): That’s a wrap, Almaty. Here we come, Kyrgyzstan!
Another late night of blogging meant for a sluggish, sleepy start to the day. It was 10 AM by the time we got out of the hotel and into a Yandex to drive to the extreme southwest corner of the city to a restaurant we had picked out for breakfast. The terrace was filled with people sipping fancy coffee drinks and nibbling on posh plates of breakfast, served by waiters who knew exactly what they were doing - and did it quite professionally. This morning, we chose porridge with a raspberry sauce and finely diced apple, along with waffles and flat-white coffees.
It was close to 11:30 AM by the time we left the restaurant and made our way to the last site we wanted to check off on our visit to Almaty: First President’s Park. We had just enough time to explore a fairly decent chunk of the park and make it back to the hotel and pack before our drive (arranged several months ago from Canada) showed up to take us to the border with Kazakhstan.
We left the hotel just before 2 PM, and we arrived at the Kazakhstan border at 4:30 PM. The driver was a wee bit, shall we say, terrifying. Thank the good Lord, we arrived intact. It was 5 PM - actually, 6PM, due to an hour time change - when we reached the other side and found our Kyrgyzstan driver. Kyrgyzstan traffic is absolutely insane. From the border to our hotel in Bishkek wasn’t a long distance, but it took an hour and a quarter. Dinner, exploring the hotel, and a visit to the shopping mall next-door in search of Kyrgyzstani som (currency) comprised our evening.
Breakfast at Skyberry Coffee and Bakery:
These hibiscus flowers outside the restaurant were massive. They were like hibiscus on steroids.
A floral bouquet vending machine was also located outside the restaurant. We have never seen people walking around with bouquets of flowers as we have seen here. And not only that, the flowers are packaged in the most amazing manner. Here is a close-up of one of the bouquets in the vending machine above:
First President’s Park
First President’s Park opened to the public 15 years ago this month. It was named to commemorate Nursultan Nazarbayev, the first president of Kazakhstan. The park is 180 acres in size, and it is most famous for its massive gate of pillars.
People are the same wherever you go. Kids love a playground, as shown in the background behind the flower bed, and parents love to take their kids to play in such places. Kazakhs are no exception.
The space occupied by the park was a huge apple orchard in Soviet times. But by the time the USSR collapsed, the apple orchard was no longer being maintained. There are two large, symbolic apples near the park’s gate, and another one sits in a field, to pay homage to the land’s earlier purpose.
Just east of the park, this elaborate and lengthy cement waterway is in its final phase of construction. It consists of dozens of locks, each with a gate for releasing water.
Scenes of the countryside, from Almaty to the Kyrgyzstan border:
A local Russian Orthodox Church.
A local mosque.
A local mosque in a small village.
The border experience:
Cars in line on the Kazakhstan side, waiting to cross into Kyrgyzstan.
Walking towards the Kazakh border formalities. Once beyond the Kazakh structure with the flag, you enter sort of a ‘no man’s land’ before arriving at the Kyrgyzstan border control.
Pam, a little apprehensive about starting the formalities. After all, it’s not every day that one walks from Kazakhstan to Kyrgyzstan!
After completing Kazakh formalities, you look back and see the Kazakhstan border structure. The right hand side of the arch says, “Republic of Kazakhstan”.
This is the Kyrgyzstan border structure. We are now standing on Kyrgyzstan soil - no turning back!
A few end-of-day scenes from Kyrgyzstan:
As soon as you cross into Kyrgyzstan, you see this sign, which welcomes you to the local county.
A green crop just inside the border that is being irrigated. Above, the skies look like they are about to open up.
When we arrived at our room, we found we had been upgraded, and a wonderful welcoming amenity was awaiting us.
Click to view a video of our room:
The pre-sunset view of central Bishkek from our 21st floor hotel window.
We love this hotel so much, we decided to stay in and have dinner at the hotel this evening, instead of wandering the streets, looking for a place to eat. What an amazing meal, and what impeccable service.
I decided to take a dip in the beautiful outdoor pool before it closed for the night. All we’ve been hearing since arriving here is how the temperature is in the 40s for most of July and August. I assumed the water would be warm as can be. However, upon lunging forward, I realized it was going to be a very, very short polar dip!! The water was frigid!
Attached to the Sheraton is Bishkek Park
Shopping Mall, loaded with brand names… and well-heeled Kyrgyz youngins!
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