Singapore, T minus 1.5 hours: An SQ Birthday Party

Had a good chat with my friend dr.sbdink over lunch then back to the SQ lounge in Changi and took a much-needed shower since my last one was in Almaty. I correct my earlier post: shower rooms in the SQ lounge are also the room type that you can lock-- very important if you have valuables in your carry-on luggage-- although there is no toilet in the room. So on that small detail, and the Noodle Bar, the CX lounge in HKIA still trumps the SQ lounge. But just by a hair.

Just a few hours til I'm back home, Dear.

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I spent much of my birthday on the plane, boarding in Almaty at 3am, spending five hours in Istanbul, one hour in Dubai, then by the time I landed in Singapore it's already 7am the next day. So I told this to one of the flight attendants in SQ when I boarded SQ491 in Istanbul, hoping maybe for some extra dessert. Well, they exceeded my expectations by a mile. First they gave me a small SQ teddy bear with my meal. It was a very nice gesture, which already made my day.

Around an hour after the meal service, the flight attendants (plus one passenger who got tagged along) went by my seat with champagne, a makeshift birthday card, and a well-drenched rhum cake and sang me happy birthday. They really put in some effort to make the card and decorate the plate for the cake, and were even apologetic about the outcome.

Of course I would have preferred to spend my birthday at home-- it would have been my first birthday after our marriage-- and was quite bummed by the whole situation of being away. I guess the crew at SQ419 picked up on this and tried to make my birthday that much more special and memorable. And they were very successful indeed.

To the Crew of SQ491 on 11 August 2009: thank you very much. It was truly sweet and thoughtful of you. You're the BEST!

Istanbul, T minus 2.5 hours

Well, I made it here. There was no hassle whatsoever in Almaty; in fact, they were pretty nice and professional. The airport wasn't so bad too, although there was no lounge for us travelling on TK. From what I saw, I don't get why ALA has such a reputation. But then again it did happen to a colleague at the Bank. Oh well.

On my way to SIN then home to MNL. Will probably have lunch with dr.sbdink in SIN then back to the airport for the flight home.

I can't wait to be back home with my Dear again.

Almaty, T minus 9 hours

I'm leaving Almaty in the wee hours of tomorrow morning, which happens to be my birthday. It's been an exhausting trip through remote areas of Kyrgyzstan and Kazakhstan, but it was a success and finally over. In a way I consider myself lucky-- I've visited places on the Silk Road that would otherwise have been out of my reach.

So far Almaty has been a nice experience-- nice mix of modern and Soviet architecture, relatively safe to walk around even at night, and a gourmet supermarket just a three-minute walk from where I'm staying. The weather has also been nice and warm, although every afternoon there are gale-force winds that are strong enough to unbalance me. Unfortunately, Almaty International Airport has a bad reputation of having officers who intimidate foreigners into giving bribes. I actually heard from the resident mission here that a staffer from Manila recently had to pay $100 in bribes at the airport. I really hope that doesn't happen to me.

Next update in Istanbul. Hopefully.

Almaty, Day 2

Currency: Kazakhstan Tengge (KZT)
USD 1 = KZT 150; KZT 1 = PHP 0.32

Arrived in Almaty, Kazakhstan, last night after a long day on the road. Kazakhstan is flat as Kyrgyzstan is mountainous. Will post landscape pics (of both countries) soon. See the pictures of Almaty here.

I'm staying at the Alma-Ata Hotel-- Alma-Ata was how the Soviets called Almaty. Built in 1967, the hotel has a fascinatingly Soviet feel to it from the architecture down to the furniture. At KZT 20,000/night, it's one of the cheaper hotels in Almaty, but I like it. I can almost imagine Soviet spies cooking up conspiracies in one of the rooms.

Almaty is basically a much richer version of Bishkek. Immediately you see the same Soviet-style buildings and layout, but beside these are Western boutiques, five-star hotels, and high-end stores. There are also a lot more high-rise buildings and construction, a building spurt due to Kazakhstan's oil wealth.

Almaty has a more varied collection of cuisines than Bishkek, mostly catering to European rather than Asian tastes despite the proximity to China. There is even a a high-end supermarket near my hotel-- the Stolichniy Supermarket-- which is most comparable to Mollie Stone's in the Bay Area (Rustan's Fresh would be the closest in Metro Manila).

It's definitely more expensive in Almaty that in Bishkek. I've so far had three restaurant meals in Almaty and the average price I've paid was KZT 1,500 per meal. Cheaper meals like some plov and meat can be had in Almaty for around KZT 500-- not really cheap but cheap enough.

I'm staying in Almaty until Monday, so I have yet to earnestly tour the city. But from what I've seen, I have to say... I LIKE! (Sorry, just had to put that in somewhere.)

Naryn Oblast, Days 1 and 2

Back in Bishkek now but we spent the last two days in Naryn Oblast, visiting everything from the centre to the southeast of Kyrgyzstan near the border with China. Among other places whose names I can barely remember, we visited Kochkor and At Bashy, slept in Naryn (below is the town centre monument), and made a detour to Tash Rabat, which was the the highlight of our trip.

It was a very exhausting trip, being on the road for almost 8 hours in a day. We stayed at a guesthouse that had no heating or hot water; the evening weather, by the way, was a crisp 9 degrees Celsius and constantly raining with intermittent hail. That said, and now that we're back in civilisation, it was a good experience, probably closest to Ian Wright-esque travel that I'll get.

The BBC put it mildly when it said that Kyrgyzstan is a country of "striking beauty and towering peaks". The better to describe the landscape are stunning and breathtaking. It's almost an entire country full of possible wallpaper shots. Speaking of which, here's my current wallpaper (taken at Tash Rabat):

I took a lot of pictures during this trip (using my Dear's camera, of course). Will post pics when I get the time. Have to sleep now, going to Almaty, Kazakhstan, tomorrow at 5am (that's six hours from now).

Bishkek: Sights and Landmarks

No captions. Yet. Soon. I hope. Here.

Istanbul, T minus 1.5 hours

Spent the last 7 hours in IST doing work in the airport. Stayed the whole time in the TK lounge n Ataturk. So here I am in one of he most awe-inspiring cities in the world, I have a valid Turkish visa that set me back P3,150, and I'm stuck in the airport.

Well, at least I'll be boarding in an hour. Here are a few pics.