Day 1: Flying With AirAsia X From KL to Almaty, Kazakhstan

I have to say that majority of my 2024 trips manifested because of AirAsia. One of the trips that I won't forget for the rest of my life is travelling to Kazakhstan and Kyrgyzstan. When AirAsia launched the first new route to Central Asia which is Almaty (Kazakhstan) from Kuala Lumpur, I knew that I shouldn't miss this opportunity. Without thinking any longer, both of my husband and I immediately bought the tickets. Besides the two of us, my husband even tagged along his ex colleagues along the trip. Like they say, the more the merrier.  

#1: Flying with AirAsia X for their first new route to Central Asia which is Almaty 

#2: Most of AirAsia X planes seat configuration are 3-3-3 but we're a bit surprised to see 2-4-2 seat configuration. 

#3: I've said it before and I'll say it again. AirAsia's Santan meals and beverages are soooooooooo good man! Especially the prawn & chicken wonton noodle and must ordered their Pistachio latte drink.

#4: In order to get this incredible and majestic snow-capped mountain aerial views, I would advise you to book the seat of the right side of the plane. 

#5: After more than 7 hours of flight, finally landed at my first ever Central Asia country - Kazakhstan 

#6: Almaty International Airport, main international gateway into the nation.

#7: Our transport for the entire trip. 

#8: Our first night dinner at Almaty - Luckee Yu which is a modern Chinese bistro with a compact menu of dishes designed for sharing. I can say that it's pretty good and all of us were pretty satisfied with it. 

#9: Dropby random grocery store nearby our hotel to get some snacks and drinks for our long road trip 

#10: We stayed in Kazakhstan Hotel, Almaty. I have mixed feelings towards this hotel because their room were a bit dated with old looking facilities (few of my friends' room where the air-conditioning are not working well) but their breakfast was great with huge variety of food. 

Extra Info About Our Kazakhstan Trip:

• Malaysian passport holders do not need visa to travel to Kazakhstan for stays up to 30 days calendar days. 
• Kazakhstan time is 3 hours behind of Malaysia time. 
• The currency of Kazakhstan is Tenge. We didn't exchange any of these currencies back in Malaysia but instead, we withdrew from the ATM in Almaty by just using Wise. It's advisable to have some local currency on hand rather than just relying on your cards. 
• The main ride-hailing apps in Kazakhstan are Yandex Go and inDrive. Try to download these apps prior to your trip as we had some issues with the sign up process while doing so during our trip in Kazakhstan. 
• As for the tour guide info, we engaged Mr Mirlan which I found from Facebook Group. He seems fairly popular among the Malaysian travellers. You can contact Mr Mirlan at +77052079486 via WhatsApp. He might not lead the tour himself but he will assign different tour guide and driver based on your preference, request and travel date. 
  

P/S: By the way, did you notice my new watermark? 😜

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