Rediscovering the simple joys of life: finding peace in Almaty, Kazakhstan

Travel, like life, requires adaptation as plans change

At some point in our lives, we experience a series of events (related or not) that are likely to force us to pause, step back and re-examine our lives; with the hope of realigning to present life realities. 2024 was an eventful year that had me questioning my passions, priorities, and a few of my life decisions. In May, a friend and a climbing partner (AK) died while on an expedition to Mt. Everest; an expedition I was supposed to be part of until about three weeks beforehand. At the time, I was engaged in two court matters; divorce and child custody. I decided to put my Everest dream on pause until these two matters concluded, causing me to miss that fateful expedition. They have since concluded.

Weeks and months following AK’s death, I went through a roller coaster of emotions. I primarily questioned our passion for high altitude mountaineering and other extreme activities such as ultra running. Is it worth risking it all for a chance to stand on top of the world?

Just as I was rediscovering my love for the great outdoors, and reigniting some of my dreams of high altitude mountaineering, on the 14th of November 2024, I had a nasty motorcycle accident that left me with multiple fractures to my left leg and a metal plate drilled and screwed through the left tibia. By the end of 2024, the question I kept asking myself as I learned how to walk on crutches was ‘what next?’ I couldn't just stop everything! It would be too abrupt. Such an anticlimax to the high adrenaline life I had lived for seven years. So, I kept wondering, “was I moving too hard too fast? Was the universe signaling that I should slow down?” Earlier in 2021, I had lost five fingers to frostbite while on an expedition to Ama Dablam, Nepal.

As my leg continued to heal I felt the urge to go on an extended trip. Before the motorcycle accident, I had planned a major mountain expedition for summer 2025 that should have lasted for one and a half months. So, I decided to substitute the mountain expedition with a tour of Central Asia.

The original plan was to ride a motorcycle from Iran’s Bandar Abbas port up North into Turkmenistan. From there, I would tour all the  ‘Stan’ countries (Central Asian countries ending with the suffix “stan’) before shipping the motorbike back to Dubai from Karachi in Pakistan. I bought a Kawasaki Versys X300 motorbike in Dubai and did all the paperwork. Two days before the planned start, the 12 day Israel-Iran war started and all plans had to be reassessed. Iran was central to my riding plans.

After considering alternative riding routes, I opted to abandon the riding plan but nonetheless proceed with the tour albeit with significant adjustments. Where possible, I would rent a motorcycle and tour the country. So on 3 July 2025, I flew to Almaty, Kazakhstan from Abu Dhabi to start the ‘Stan Tour’.

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Basking in the unique beauty of Almaty, Kazakhstan

I landed in Almaty, Kazakhstan without a clear plan of what exactly I wanted to do or how long I needed to be there (Something you should never admit at immigration). I decided to ‘go with the flow’. After all, what was important for me on this tour was to step back from my usual activities and ‘listen’ to that inner voice that might whisper ‘what next?’.

I checked in at Alma Ata hostel on advice of the cab driver from the airport. Quite a number of solo travellers, mostly from Europe, were holed up here for a few days as well.

I’d had a chatty ride from the airport with the cab driver; although most of the conversation was through a translation app. He was particularly excited to meet a Kenyan since he loved Kenyan tea. I happen to have carried some premium Kenyan tea bags and was happy to share some with him.

At first, I thought of renting a motorbike for a week or two to tour the country. But the cost of renting a motorbike in Almaty was out of my budget ($150 a day was a bit on the higher side).

That evening, I took a stroll to the nearby 28 Panfilov Guardsmen Park, which honours the 28 soldiers from the Red Army who reportedly died during World War II in the Battle of Moscow.

There was a sense of calm as I strolled through the park. I was not in any rush. I met an old gentleman selling replicas of World War II Soviet soldiers' hats in various designs. I engaged him a little as he explained what rank wore which hat as I tried them on. I bought ‘The Ushanka’ which was part of the winter uniform.

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The following morning, I had breakfast at a little side road cafe where the attendant lady was curious to know what I was doing in Almaty. It was easy to communicate with her since she spoke some English. There are very few Africans in Kazakhstan, and the few that are there are mostly workers. It is quite rare to meet an African traveller in this part of the world; partly because getting visas without a secondary European, American, or Middle Eastern long-term visa is nearly impossible.

It is clear why Almaty is called 'the garden city' as it features vast well kept green spaces and parks. It was the perfect set up for someone who felt like strolling around endlessly, buried in his own thoughts hoping to calm his spirit long enough to be able to hear that whisper, ‘this is the way, walk it’.  The city is also bicycle and scooter friendly with dedicated lanes for cyclists. After walking for nearly the whole day with several stops for a beer or a kebab, I looked for a bicycle rental shop and rented one for 5,000 Tenge a day (about US$9). This would be my means around the city for the next three days.

In 2019, when I was climbing Khan Tengri Peak in Kyrgyzstan I met a Kazakh mountain guide, Yeshat. We shared a tent for a day at Khan Tengri’s North basecamp. When I landed in Almaty, I texted him to announce my presence. At the time, he was out in the mountains but promised to call once he got back.

Once he was back, he insisted that I stay at his house. I moved into his house, a nice city apartment he shared with his wife. I stayed there for the rest of my visit in Kazakhstan. Yeshat and his wife took very good care of me. She insisted on making local Kazakhstan food so that I could get to experience their food culture. She prepared Beshbarmak, the national dish of boiled meat served with square pasta and a rich onion broth, and for the first time, I tasted horse meat and drank horse milk. Delicious. I enjoyed the tasty Dolma (stuffed peppers), mountain white honey, all types of cheese, and watermelons. A lot of melons. It seemed like any idle time around the house called for several slices of watermelons!

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Almaty Peak: embracing the mountains once again

As I strolled around Almaty, I noticed some mountains around and asked Yeshat if we could do a hike. He suggested we climb Almaty peak: a 4,376m peak not far from the city that included a bit of technical rock climbing. This excited me. I had not hiked or climbed any mountain for over a year; and this was a perfect time to get back to it. I was curious as to how my leg would perform after the motorcycle accident, with the metal plate still screwed to the bones.

We accessed Almaty peak via the Medeu-Shymbulak cable car, with the last stop at Talgar Pass station where we started the trek. Talgar pass is located at 3,200m.

After a one and a half hour trek, we arrived at the Bogdanovich Glacier. Walking on the glacier with crampons was a bit challenging. I needed to step with my left foot in a specific way to keep the shoe gradient at a specific angle. My left ankle did not have the full range of motion and clearly my left leg was not fully healed from the accident. However, we pushed on and I tried to keep up with Yeshat. Shortly after, we were rock climbing at 4,000m and by 1.30pm, we were at the summit of Almaty Peak. It felt refreshing to stand on a mountain peak again after so long. I took time to savour and really take in the moment.

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Up until now, I was not sure I really wanted to return to the mountains but this moment felt right. It felt like I belonged here. It was evident that I really missed the mountains. To put it plainly, I was a bit emotional. And I was happy. It would be a difficult thing for me to simply walk away from the mountains. We have been through a lot together. Me and the mountains. The feedback I got from my leg was simple; I needed more time before I could attempt a more challenging climb. But at that point it did not matter. I was happy.

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Beers with strangers and a renewed sense of adventure

Descending was a bit laboured as the discomfort from the metal plate in the leg was more pronounced; but after two and a half hours we were back down. We spent some time at Talgar Pass as I interacted with a lively old man attending a yurt restaurant where we ate lunch. I tried on some traditional Kazakh attire (long fur coats and warm fur hats) and took turns playing the two stringed Dombra that is the national instrument of Kazakhstan. The old man played the Dombra perfectly as he sang traditional Kazakh songs and the national anthem. While I was mostly out of tune playing the Dombra and singing Kikuyu Benga music (also known as Mugithi). It was a perfect ending to a perfect day of climbing.

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Before leaving Kazakhstan, I joined a group of tourists on a day tour to the Charyn Canyon, the Black Canyon, the pristine Issyk Lake, and Lake Kaindy. I was glad to meet a few other solo travellers.

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One of the best and most frequent experiences I had while walking or travelling around Kazakhstan was random strangers stopping me and asking for a photo with them, especially when they were in groups. Because of the language barrier, mostly they would flash their phones and make a gesture suggesting we take a photo together. I took this chance to engage them and have a bit of a chat. Some offered to buy me a beer or two; offers that I never turned down. I had a lot of good, free beer with strangers. With little language communication but genuine shared fun.

When it was time to leave Kazakhstan, I had already fallen in love with the country and her people. It felt like I was leaving serenity to venture into uncertain chaos. Uzbekistan was next and I was curious what experience I would have there.