Kazakhstan (A) - general (Fri 07/09/12)

**Junior** · 05/08/2011, 8:53 PM

Originally Posted by paul_oshea

Id say ill head if i can convince someone else to come with me.

But i think its a place where i would have to consider doing a little trip or something. Even for me #650 is a lot to justify, not for you though junior

Hey, one things for sure a long break will be out of the question for me and �650 for a flight is pushing the limits (the mrs would say its way off limits) but personally I'd possibly forfeit trips to Austria and Germany to try out Kazakhstan, which would broadly (I use the term loosely) even itself out in cost.....

The problem is, when the Germany and Austria games come around, Ill be itching to get there as well...........................

Any chance of the sub Paul?

**ArdeeBhoy** · 05/08/2011, 10:46 PM

Originally Posted by pineapple stu

I did go figure. Economies of scale is the reason. I even explained it for you.

Well thank you for such insightful input. Though it was neither needed or wanted.

**ArdeeBhoy** · 05/08/2011, 10:51 PM

One for the train travelling constituency.
http://www.seat61.com/SilkRoute.htm

Unsure how viable it is, apart from Moscow? Or northern China, FFS.....

**pineapple stu** · 06/08/2011, 9:05 AM

It's not viable at all unless you have a lot of time. It's a 2-day train journey from Moscow to Astana, and longer from China. If you want to maximise your time in Kazakhstan, then while the train would allow you see the scenery (as Spud noted), you're better off flying into Astana.

Plus the train from Moscow presumably means you've to get a Russian visa on top of the Kazakh one.

**Spudulika** · 08/08/2011, 10:47 AM

Good point PS about the visas - you only need your Russian visa and can pick up a Kazakh one in a day in Moscow - it's very, very easy.

Also flying to Moscow might work out cheaper - if you use, say, BMI. There are lots of direct flights down from Moscow.

I've taken the train only once from Russia down, it was an experience I'd repeat but I'm used to doing 36 hour round trips by train of a weekend, so no biggie. It's a good way to chill, catch up on reading, meet some new people and basically enjoy yourself. There is the Russian Railways site - www.rzd.ru - on the upper left you'll see what in any lingo is the origin-destination-date spot, after that just have a dictionary handy :-)

Very cheap by train, also airfares out of Moscow (earlier this year) were 120e return.

**paul_oshea** · 08/08/2011, 11:27 AM

Is it relatively safe?

**pineapple stu** · 08/08/2011, 11:46 AM

Kazakhstan? It is, yeah. Probably the most stable of the Stans. For an insight, try reading In Search of Kazakhstan, by Christopher Robbins; really enjoyable book. You could argue the author spends a bit too much time getting a biased view from chatting to the President, but I think it'd be nit-picking to mark it down too much because of that.

**paul_oshea** · 08/08/2011, 12:11 PM

Ya I meant, that and also the actual train(s) as a form of transport, not the actual trains themselves!

Certainly fora 20 hour journey both ways for a saving of 500 it would be worth it. How much would the train itself be?

**pineapple stu** · 08/08/2011, 12:15 PM

It's a 50-hour journey each way per bahn.de.

seat61 is also excellent for train info; it gives �200 for Moscow to Astana

Edit - that's just for the train of course. A flight via Moscow could well be a good call.

**Junior** · 08/08/2011, 12:39 PM

Not looked in to this but based on the above posts, if you could nick a return flight to Moscow for say �200 - �300, then a return to Kazakh for say �150 (based on spuds �120 comment) - That would be a fair saving on the �650 price from UK (which has connections anyway in Vienna).

Issues/hassles obviously with Transit Visas etc.. but would be worth looking in to properly.

I did the Trans-Siberian, 7 days on a train which was fabulous and would definitely do a long journey again in a heartbeat....problem as Stu says, not a cats chance in hell Ill get 7-10 days for an away game!!!!

**Spudulika** · 08/08/2011, 6:39 PM

POS, very safe on trains. I can verify this from an average of 2x36-40 hour round trippers each month, and never a bother. My other half headed off this evening on an 11hour trip down to visit her Dad and she's never had a bother. The Kazakh trains are surpringly better than ones to the Ukraine, one poster on here can rubber stamp this, but the Kazakh ones are grand.

Junior, it might be as cheap to fly in via Vienna, though for sheer adventure it's the only way. Also it's a brilliant way to catch up on reading, and do something totally different. I would love to do the Trans-Siberian, though I never have had the time though it's something I want to do in the next couple of years.

**paul_oshea** · 08/08/2011, 10:38 PM

Junior sure cant you bring your wife? you will need her to communicate with the locals in moscow anyway....

the trans-siberian i would love to do also, but i wouldn't really want to do it on my own. I don't read, as anyone here can tell

And i'd enjoy the company of another english speaking person

**pineapple stu** · 09/08/2011, 7:54 AM

Originally Posted by Spudulika

Also it's a brilliant way to catch up on reading

Not a phrase commonly associated with Ireland away games...

**Spudulika** · 09/08/2011, 11:50 AM

Originally Posted by pineapple stu

Not a phrase commonly associated with Ireland away games...

Reading can be easily substituted by - drinking/chatting up members of the opposite sex/chatting up members of the same sex (if you're from Cork)/chatting up livestock (if you're from Connacht) etc.

In June I was on an overnight trip with a work colleague who was taking his first long journey on a train (on his 2nd time in Russia). He booked into 1st class, so he had a 2 bed cabin all to himself. I was in platzkart (open plan 60 bed) and he was laughing out loud when I told him. He strolled down with me for a visit, and saw a bevvy (real Benny Hill word isn't it?) of ladies in short shorts and small tops had him looking to swap. And the sad thing is, I didn't notice - I guess I should put down my book every so often!

**Junior** · 09/08/2011, 12:34 PM

Originally Posted by paul_oshea

Junior sure cant you bring your wife? you will need her to communicate with the locals in moscow anyway....

the trans-siberian i would love to do also, but i wouldn't really want to do it on my own. I don't read, as anyone here can tell

And i'd enjoy the company of another english speaking person

Haha - you've a good memory Paul - I can see I'm gonna have to be careful what I tell you!!!!

The one thing for sure on the Trans Sib, there will be no shortage of English Speakers down in the buffet carriage. Its quite popular now on the back packing trail and you get all nationalities in there, we even met 3 Dubs, one with a fiddle with him - Great Craic.

Anyway, sorry to pull this off topic. 30 odd posts on a fixture yet to be arranged in probably about 2 years time !!!!

**pineapple stu** · 09/08/2011, 12:36 PM

Originally Posted by Junior

Anyway, sorry to pull this off topic. 30 odd posts on a fixture yet to be arranged in probably about 2 years time !!!!

Pfft - well on topic. This is how the Faroes thread started, and that turned out to be about the best trip ever!

**paul_oshea** · 12/08/2011, 10:15 AM

http://breakingnews.ie/ireland/dubli...rs-516273.html

Doesn't sound like the place ye were describing above...murdering a trade union leader, jailing their lawyer etc etc. Wasn't it Kazahk where Prince Andrew made a serious Gaffe basically saying how corrupt they all were.I gather this happens in a lot of the stans, especially those rich in natural resources.

**pineapple stu** · 12/08/2011, 10:25 AM

England doesn't sound like how you'd normally describe it either. Yes, oil firms are corrupt. You won't be near them anyway, so I wouldn't worry about it. Sh1t happens everywhere. If we got worried about everywhere once it hit the news, we'd never leave our beds (until we read the report on bed bugs)

**paul_oshea** · 12/08/2011, 11:10 AM

Yes it does, if you saw my facebook updates over the last couple of days you would agree - dont let the media campaign to drive the London is a great city, best city in the world consume you stu. If you go conquering the world, you have to expect sh1t to end up on your door step. The indigenous and non-indigenous, disenchanted youth have been simmering along nicely. We just saw one example of the bile that can be created from this. London particularly is a broken society with divisions been driven further and further apart. They got multiculturalism and integration all wrong over here. I Would take America as a far better example of how to do something right, than wrong. We as a nation generally copy britain, i just hope that we don't in this instance and get it right early. But so far so good on that respect. I always feared the lower end of North Circ was going to end up in a little ghetto in Dublin.

Btw your point above, I had a feeling your retort would be something along those lines. I don't believe what i read all the time, but from what was posted above it was a very peaceful, serene almost naive and innocent country you guys were describing. If i go im sure Ill enjoy myself, unless I'm working for an oil company by that point....