Saturday 27th August
Sightseeing in Astana consisted of
walking out onto the sun terrace, identifying the sights and looking at them
for a bit. After 15 minutes we agreed “yep, those sights have been seen, better
return to the sun lounger before the pins and needles begin in our feet”. By our
logic we could see them all from the hostel balcony; they don’t change the
closer you get. It was yet another victory for efficiency.
After grabbing pizza for lunch from
the same convenience store for the third day in a row, we headed over to the
“nipple” shopping mall in search of a GoPro. Once inside, the Khan Shatyr mall
was huge and it even had a sizeable rollercoaster ride in the centre of it.
Opposite the shopping centre stood the famous “I Heart Astana” text wedged
perfectly between the archway of an impressive monument in the background.
Beyond that you could see all the way down the promenade into the heart of the
city culminating in the Palace of Peace and Reconciliation. To make the most of
this magnificent view we did what any immature adults in a silly mood would do,
hire a tricycle and tear around the park on it ….
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| The nipple shopping centre |
Forget Boris Bikes, the Borat Bikes of
Kazakhstan are the future.....
Planning
ahead just like we’ve done all trip, we returned to the convenience store at
the foot of the hostel’s tower block and stocked up on food. This was where
rogue decisions were made. “Big Bons”, or glorified pot noodles, the size of
dulux paint pots were purchased in their droves thinking we’d save faff at
dinner times. What we actually achieved was a car so tightly packed that we
nearly lost our luggage through osmosis.
Posted by: Rich