What do you know about Kazakhstan? Yesterday we went on a taxi journey that made us curious about this exciting country in the East. Countries that no one usually goes to awaken the spirit of discovery and make us easily excited. It's too far to take the car, but could we take a plane and backpack?
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ShareTaxi journey with a Lebanese driver
Yesterday, a colleague and I took a taxi ride for work and had time to talk to the Swedish-Lebanese driver. We talked about travelling. "All Swedes go to Mallorca," he whined. (Not quite true, perhaps, but 450 thousand Swedes go to Thailand every year, so I get the point.) Then he gives a long speech to Lebanon's law: "Beirut is so beautiful! There are flowers that can't be found anywhere else. If you go there, you will want to live there for the rest of your life!"
Ok, I've heard other immigrants talk longingly about their home countries. But our driver doesn't stop there. He also gives us suggestions for other countries he thinks are worth visiting: Venezuela, Dubai, Kazakhstan. I search my memory for references to Kazakhstan, but can't find any. I guess I don't know anything about Kazakhstan? Our driver is all the more enthusiastic: "It's the richest country in the world. And it's very beautiful!"
Hard to find travel stories
Eeeh? Ok, a taxi driver is not my most reliable source when it comes to travel destinations. But a taxi driver can definitely make me think and question my classic Swedish values. Are we really missing out on a lot of amazing, interesting countries out there?
I start by checking UD's travel recommendations. They write: "No major security risks in Kazakhstan" and "Kazakhstan is a relatively safe country for tourists". A good start, right? I keep surfing, but what do I find? The capital is Astana, the country is sparsely populated and there is a beautiful mountain range. Such things are of course described, but travel stories are scarce ...
What do you know about Kazakhstan? Tell us! (Even if it's a tiny detail that you once read in some obscure newspaper).
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Jelly says:
How cool to just go to such a country that is not a typical tourist trap! 🙂 I hope it gets off! Do not know anyone who has been there 🙂
15 September 2011 - 11:40
Just Another Crazy Blonde - With Just Another Stupid Blog says:
You don't really know anything about that country, despite its size. Strange actually 🙂
16 September 2011 - 3:16
admin says:
Jelly, no we don't know anyone who's been there either... We've tried searching on the Travel Guide and found one person who was there 30 years ago and one person who was passing through....
Just Another Crazy Blonde, isn't that a bit strange?
16 September 2011 - 8:30
Pia says:
I have only been to Uzbekistan and it is a country I can really recommend! There is beautiful Samarkand and Bukhara, fantastic cultural heritage! The food is wonderful and the people are ordinary. I was there studying and writing a paper in political science 12 years ago and I would love to go back! Most people are probably starting to speak more and more English than when I was there otherwise Russian works as a lingua franca!
Now I'm getting a bit jealous, Central Asia always has a special place in my heart!
Hugs!
23 September 2011 - 6:24
admin says:
Pia, Uzbekistan also sounds exciting and interesting! We may have to do some further research on this ...
English is starting to work better and better everywhere in the world. Otherwise, we'll have to get out the Russian books again (I took two evening courses before, so we know at least the alphabet and some phrases...) And "sign language" usually works pretty well too....
😉
23 September 2011 - 7:26