We shook things up this weekend with a train pilgrimage to the Mausoleum of Khoja Ahmed Yasawi in Turkistan, southern Kazakhstan. En route we stopped at Kazakhstan’s third largest city, Shymkent. Shymkent is a popular base for those wanting to take a day trip to Turkistan. Our chosen route was Almaty-Shymkent-Turkistan-Almaty via train, and we packed it into 2 days 3 nights (not a typo, Friday night – Monday morning). It turned out to be a pretty insane, sleep-deprived schedule. So unless you are super tight on time, you probably do not want to replicate our misadventure.
The distance from Almaty to Shymkent is just under 700km, which takes 13 hours by Kazakhstan’s relatively slow Soviet trains. Because we were cheapskates, we opted to sit instead of taking the beds. I want to say big mistake, but after trying out the beds later on, they weren’t that much more comfortable. You decide if you want intense discomfort in your butt or mild discomfort throughout your whole body. Prepare your entertainment too, as there will not be data service for long stretches of the train ride.
Getting to Shymkent
You can buy train tickets online at tickets.kz, but our local friend said it was often buggy. Hence we went to our nearby travel agency to purchase them and got our printed tickets immediately.
We left for Almaty 2 train station on Friday night, and arrived in Shymkent the next morning before 7am. As we were waiting for our train in Almaty, a security officer approached us and asked if we were Chinese. I mean, ethnically yes, but nationality wise no. You can probably guess, he wanted to know if we were from China, say it with me, because coronavirus. This was in early February way before the first recorded case of coronavirus in Kazakhstan, but paranoia has no concept of time. Anyway, we told him no and that we were from Singapore, which was helpful because not a lot of people know where Singapore is. If you cannot convince them, confuse them.
Along the way, somewhere around Taraz, I received a message from my telecom provider welcoming me to Kyrgyzstan.This could be explained by railroads being built in the Soviet times with no regard for today’s international borders. However the only information I could find online about Kazakhstan’s trains dipping in and out of Kyrgyzstan is an unreferenced point on Wikipedia, so you just read this paragraph for nothing.
Things to do in Shymkent
When we reached Shymkent, it was pitch black outside. Even though it is one of Kazakhstan’s major cities, it felt very different from Almaty. Be assured that you will not find anyone else who speaks English. The people here are dressed a lot more conservatively, sign of a greater influence of Islam on the city. Women wore scarves around their heads and men adorned Russian fur hats. As it was still too early, we took our time and walked from Shymkent train station to Independence Park, where we loitered for an hour until the earliest café opened.
To be honest there isn’t a lot to do in Shymkent, so I would not argue against it being overlooked for the likes of Nur-sultan and Almaty. After visiting Qyrgyr Bazaar and Abay Park, we took a Yandex (local version of Uber) to Shymkent Plaza, a shopping mall with a food court and a good variety of international brands. On the plus side, prices here are cheaper compared to Almaty. I might have gone a little crazy on trench coats and tops.
We ran out of things to do mid-afternoon, so we Yandex-ed to our hostel. Which did not exist. We spent half an hour walking up and down the street looking for it, wondering if the address was wrong or if we were stupid. Moral of the story is, don’t book hostels without reviews. After our complaint to Booking.com, it was taken off the site. We ended up staying at Dream Hostel, just a few blocks ahead of our fake hostel. No pun intended.
Getting to Turkistan
We woke up at 3.45am the next morning (yes, you read that right) to catch our 5.17am train to Turkistan, a three-and-a-half-hour journey away.
To see the “real” Kazakhstan, venture out of Nur-sultan and Almaty. The immediate feeling we got when we alighted the train was arcadian. It was as if the train was a time machine and it had transported us to 30 years ago. Yandex does not operate here, but outside of the train station are many drivers clamouring to offer you a ride. The prices are inflated as many of them are not official taxis with meters installed, so you could probably haggle to get one third off the original offer.
Significance of Turkistan
Turkistan is regarded as the second Mecca for Central Asian Muslims, to the extent that three visits to the Yasawi mausoleum equals one hajj to Mecca. If you are wondering why it looks similar to the famous architecture of Samarkand, you wonder right because they both originate from the Timurid period. However, the Yasawi mausoleum is the only one of its style in Kazakhstan, the rest being located in Uzbekistan (which we were forced to forgo because coronavirus).
Our mad train schedule was worth it to see this UNESCO heritage site. Timur commissioned this massive structure in the 14th century, 200 years after Yasawi’s death to replace a smaller mausoleum of his. Yasawi was a Turkic poet and Sufi (Muslim mystic), credited for spreading Sufism in Central Asia, which withstood even the invasion of the Mongols.
There are quite a few cafes on the roads running adjacent to the mausoleum. For a taste of modernity, there is a Traveler’s Coffee below Hotel Khanaka, all within walking distance. The staff were young and friendly and spoke some English. They helped us call an official cab back to the train station, which was how we found out we got ripped off by our first driver. So after 6 hours in Turkistan, it was time to spend 18 hours on the train back to Almaty.
Getting back to Almaty
We arrived in Almaty 2 train station at 10am on Monday morning, in time to get back to the dorm, nap for a bit, and then go for my class at 1pm! Ahh the advantages of youth. You can torture your body but somehow it still works.
Hi! I am Joey, a University student from Singapore, attempting to show my appreciation for the world’s most powerful passport by literally milking its visa-free benefits one country at a time. I describe my travel budget as shoestring and travel style as audacious.
SC
Hi Joey, thanks for sharing your adventures in Kazakhstan. Is Kazakhstan expensive? Any tips on how to save money in Kazakhstan? How do you communicate if the people there mainly speal Russian?
joey.is.msadventuring
Hi SC! Kazakhstan is extremely affordable, especially for people with a student budget. In Almaty, an average set meal costs ~USD3-4; my most expensive shared meal has never exceeded USD8. A Yandex from Almaty airport to the city centre costs ~USD3, so travelling anywhere within the city would be a lot cheaper than that. To save money, I recommend taking the public bus/metro/trains instead of cab/airplanes, plus you get a more quintessentially local experience! Almaty metro has a flat fee of 80KZT (~USD0.20); long distance trains cost several times cheaper than a plane ticket depending on which class you choose. Of course if you venture out of Almaty, prices would be even lower. Language wise, I managed to get by fine with Google Translate:) Else, it would be good to learn a few key phrases and numbers in Russian. Good luck!