Kamenskoe Plato @ Almaty

Having spent enough time in downtown to feel like I'd be wasting time by exploring further there, today I ventured back into the hills. Without too much information to go on, I hopped onto bus 5 and held on till the last stop. The route went as though it was going toward Medeu until hanging a right onto a curvy one lane road; from this point it was a couple of minutes before rising out of the hotels and restaurants up into a snowy suburban community of poor Kazak hill dwellers.

Breweries in Almaty

Equipped with a list of addresses compiled from google, I set to the streets of Almaty today to explore and find any local beer I could get my hands on. The walk was long and strenuous; the first couple addresses turned out to be out of date, one replaced with a sex shop, another boarded up and under construction. On the south side of town I managed to find one place called John's, unfortunately after a test glass I decided that it was undrinkable.

Random street on my walk

Shymbulak Ski Resort @ Almaty

Just south of Almaty lies the Shymbulak Ski Resort, one of the most popular attraction in the near vicinity. To get here you can catch bus 12 right across from the Kazakhstan hotel in downtown Almaty, this will drop you off near the famous Medeu Ice Skating Rink (the highest in the world) where you can find a gondola which takes you right up to the ski resort.

Outside Medeu Ice Rink

Gondola from Medeu