Kazakhstan

I was fortunate to be able to drive hours upon hours through the Southern part of Kazakhstan and its rolling hills and mountain vistas were spectacular.

This is a huge country which is about 5 times the size of France and ranks in the top 10 largest countries. It’s also incredibly wealthy due to its access to the Caspian sea’s vast oil and gas resources. Don’t confuse Kazakhstan with Borat; it is a highly industrialized powerhouse, and an incredible vacation destination not-to-be-missed. Since the U.S. retired its space shuttle program, the Russians are the only ones to launch rockets to the International Space Station, and they do it from Baikonur, Kazakhstan.

Kazakhstan is a vacationer’s paradise and offers a little bit of everything for adventurists, including white water rafting, hiking, climbing, fishing and skiing, all at reasonable prices.

Almaty is distinctly modern, with most of the stores and shops that you’d see in many European capitals. Its wide streets are lined with trees and the city has a number of nice parks.

The day I arrived (2016), there was a terrorist incident and I was warned to stay in my hotel : 0

Regardless, I ventured south into the mountains to participate in a falconry demonstration with a brown falcon and bald eagle. On the way back to my hotel I was in the most horrific thunder and hailstorm I’ve ever experience in my life.

 

Hospitality Coin #15 – Owadan Tourism, Turkmenistan

Jabbar Ustad lives in Ashgabat with his wife and two sons and is working as a tour guide for Owadan Tourism in Turkmenistan.He was born in a refugee family in Shibirghan, Afghanistan in 1959.His family was a victim of Stalin's Collectivisation Program of the Soviet...

Slovakia

Country Information: The capital of Slovakia is Bratislava. There are approximately 5.5 million people living here, and the majority of Slovaks practice Roman Catholicism. The official language of Slovakia is Slovak, with Hungarian and Roma as minority languages. ...

Rwanda

Few meters away from Silverback feasting on a eucalyptus tree ... he's in need of sodium (Muhoze Silverback) Country Information: The capital of Rwanda is Kigali, and there are approximately 14 million people living in this country. The official languages of Rwanda...