bcmatt

Surely you mean 'Is there a banya?' ^

And does it have Molton Brown branded birch twigs to hit oneself with?

Halo

I know this thread has gone completely OT now but it would be a shame if it was moved to OMNI so that people with less than 180 posts couldn't see it.

Smirnoff

So, who else has done the Russian banya experience...

naked in a steam room
beaten with birch twigs
completely sloshed on vodka
jumping around in the snow to cool off ^

Cargo Cult

I think I'd have to do the completely sloshed on vodka bit first, before I would do the rest...

Smirnoff

It all ends up being a bit of a haze.

fraisse10

If it's anything like the erstwhile stop in BAK you aren't allowed off. Unless (as witnessed on a solo trip by Mrs Fraisse10 to ALA) you're one of several guys thrown off early because you're so p155ed on the vodka you brought on board.! Do the BAK airport police cells have a spa? Doubtful.

The central baths in ALA are a vast and rambling 1920s complex, a bit tired but well worth the visit, though thie suites are not in the same class as the private suites at the Orblianske (?spelling) sulphur bath in Tbilisi.

bcmatt

Oooh, I've been to the Tbilisi sulphur baths - they're greeaat.

ALA of course is still the best place for snowboarding in Central Asia.

BiziBB

More odd publicity - from today's SMH via Reuters...

"The Kazakhstan central bank has misspelled the word "bank" on its new notes.

"The bank plans to put the misprinted notes - worth 2000 tenge ($20) and 5000 tenge ($50) - into circulation in November and then gradually withdraw them to correct the spelling".

"The mistake ... is not just a spelling problem - it has political undertones," a letter from members of parliament to President Nursultan Nazarbayev said.

"We urge you to tell the National Bank not to put out the notes with a mistake in the Kazakh language."

James S

I suppose that would be like BA painting "British Aerways" on its planes, flying them around for a while, then eventually correcting the error.

I bet the banknotes become collectable - yet another reason to go there!

Cargo Cult

Surely the BA example would be for them to write "British Air" on their planes

I was curious as to just what the problem was, so went looking - here's some more detail:

BiziBB

Even more 'latest news' from a correspondent in Almaty, via Rupert's Aussie online news...

"Rakhat Aliyev, Kazakh first deputy foreign minister and a powerful son-in-law of President Nursultan Nazarbayev, asked British comedian Sacha Baron Cohen to visit the vast, oil-rich steppe nation and meet normal human beings rather than the larger-than-life lunatics shown by Cohen's TV reporter Borat.

"His trip could yield a lot of discoveries – that women not only travel inside buses but also drive their own cars, that we make wine from grapes, that Jews can freely attend synagogues and so on," Mr Aliyev said to local news agency Kazakhstan Today today"

http://www.news.com.au/story/0,23599,20611455-2,00.html

You want to go where?

Getting back to the idea of actually going to Kazakhstan --

1. Concerns about pollution from the Aral Sea are undoubtedly warranted in parts of Kazakhstan, but Almaty is probably a thousand kilometers from the Aral Sea, so I don't see that as a big risk.

2. I understand that because the city is on the edge of the mountains, pollution can hang around there. I didn't experience this while I was there. The weather was incredibly clear and the mountains spectacular.

3. While you may not approve of the Kazakh government, I found the people generous and kind. It is well worth a visit.

As far as getting there is concerned, I used the LH flight, which really wasn't a winner. The plane was old and tired, and the crew wasn't particularly strong.

I have flown BMed on a similar flight to Uzbekistan. I didn't find the narrow-body plane to be a problem, and like the BA cradle seats more than the old LH C seats, but the increased time from the stop would probably make me choose LH.

fraisse10

Yes, the Kazakhs have been sensible and big enough to offer.

http://news.independent.co.uk/world/...cle1904955.ece

Any bets on whether SB-C, who I now understand from these pages to be the funniest man ever in the history of comedy - will be big enough to accept?

I'm not holding out much hope - to continue with Borat having actually seen the real KZ would make his abuse look even more cynical and cheap.

Smirnoff

I fear Borat may be too busy, since he has started his new career writing for this respected British publication.