We left Omsk for Astana on the last day of our Russian visa, which turned out to be a big mistake. Our bus was scheduled to reach the border at 11:20 pm, giving us just 40 minutes before our visa expired, making us illegal immigrants in Russia. We informed the bus driver, who seemed to understand.
However, the bus arrived 36 minutes late, so when we were speaking with the border guard, we had exactly three minutes left on our visa. The guard kept asking questions, clearly seeing our nervousness. Eventually, he laughed and stamped our passports with two minutes to spare. He explained, in broken English, that if our bus driver hadn’t maneuvered through the traffic for us, we would have been stuck in Russia, dealing with painful bureaucracy until a new visa was issued. What a relief!
Arriving in Astana, we felt a rush of energy. Despite the rough bus ride, the excitement of a new country always reinvigorates us. We took the bus into town and embarked on our Astana adventure.
Astana became Kazakhstan’s capital in 1998 when President Nazarbaev invested 13 billion dollars to create a “modern capital” that all of Kazakhstan could be proud of. The city is lush with oil money and features ultra-modern, futuristic architecture, earning it the nickname “The Dubai of the Steppe.”
We spent three days exploring the city and its impressive buildings. On our first day, we went up Bayterek Tower and enjoyed a beer while overlooking the city from 97 meters up. We also spent a lot of time dealing with the bureaucracy of registering our visa. On our way back, we visited Atameken, a mini-model of Kazakhstan, which was a laughable waste of time.
Astana itself was a very cool, futuristic city and definitely worth visiting. We love modern buildings, and this city of just 650,000 people is full of them! After three days, we took a night train to Almaty, Kazakhstan’s former capital, where we planned to relax and do some hiking.
Enjoy your stay in Astana! Have you visited a city with incredible modern buildings? Share your experiences with us below!