Aug 23 2009

Horses And Tightrope Walking

Category: Friends,Kazakhstan,Personal,Pictures,VideosChrisM @ 3:16 am

Meeting up on the 5th of July with Walton and his brother, Dave, who was over here in Kazakhstan for a while, we had decided to try and catch the horse show put on at the entrance to Astana Park, as the day before it had been rained off. A year or two ago, Walton, Asel, Ira and I went to see Kokpar and horse acrobatics at an out of town stadium, again for Astana Day celebrations, but this year I hadn’t made it.
Once we’d seen the show, we could understand why the horse riders only wanted the driest of floors to work on.

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Jul 14 2009

Riverside Walk And Astana Park Hotel Cafe

Category: Anna's Photos,Eating Out,Kazakhstan,Personal,PicturesChrisM @ 11:38 pm

So, restarting the catching up for the Anna’s Photos category, we have some shots from the 14th of July again.
OK the WordPress gallery function once more appears to be convinced I don’t want the order I’m asking for with these photos. Beyond manually clicking and dragging the fifteen photos into the desired order, below is as close as I can get. Just imagine the first one is last, instead.

Anyway, Irina, Anna and I decided to investigate what was around if you took a left upon reaching the river Ishim near us, as despite living here for more than three years, we hadn’t yet made it to that part of the (very nearby) city. After walking down as far as the end of the concreted path, we sat on a bench and took a few shots on the camera. Anna seemed happy enough taking in the view by the water, so we continued our walk back across to more familiar territory, crossed under Turan (the name of the road our flat is on, since they moved Sary Arka), and continued walking next to the river. Irina spotted that a hotel (Astana Park Hotel) had a summer cafe advertised, so we decided to pop in and take a look. There are lots of gazebos, a pond with some fish swimming around, and a general summery feel to it.

Whilst the menu wasn’t cheap, the selection was pretty good, the service (that day at least) top notch, and the food tasty. Anyway, see below for a few photos of the place.

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