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Date of the journey:- November 2019
Distance travelled:- 511 miles
From Tashkent to Almaty
Our journey was via the overnight train. Tickets were booked in advance using the Russian booking portal Tutu.ru. We found this the easiest site to use. Pre-booking train tickets is essential if you want a seat or bed on a specific train as they sell out quickly.
Despite the journey being 18 hours overnight, we booked seats on this particular train and not beds in a couchette. Because the train was the fast Talgo train and the cost of the couchette was, in our opinion, expensive. The seats cost 311,500 Som per person.
The train was due to depart Stantsiya Tashkent Pass Tsentr at 1412 hrs. As with most Uzbekistan train stations, Tashkent station is located outside of the city centre. The Tashkent metro system has the Tashkent Metro station immediately outside of the train station.
To get to the train station, we had to use the Tashkent Metro System. From the Yunus Rajabiy Metro station at the intersection of the Red and Green lines, we needed to travel to the Tashkent Metro station on the Blue line. Travelling one stop on the Green line to Ming Urik station. Transfer to the Blue line station of Oybek. Travel one stop on the Blue line to Tashkent Metro station.
The Tashkent Metro is open every day from 0500 hrs until 0000 hrs. Made up of three lines, the Red (Chilonzor) line, the Blue (Ozbekiston) line, and the Green (Yunusobod) line. There is a ticket office at the entrance of every metro station which is indicated by a sign “Kassa”.
Tokens for the metro are purchased at the ticket office for 1,400 Som each.
Entry to the metro is by a turnstile which is operated by the token purchased at the ticket office. One token allows unlimited use of the metro, provided you don’t exit a station.
The Metro system was clean, fast, and empty. Slightly confusing at the station that we changed trains at because the intersection station has a different station name for each of the lines! The stations themselves are large architectural masterpieces. It’s not uncommon for the stations to have chandeliers hanging from the ceilings.
Expect to have your backpacks and luggage put through a scanner on entering a station.
With the train leaving Tashkent Uzbekistan at 1412 hrs. After arriving at the station and passing through the security checkpoint, we had something to eat and drink before boarding the train.
There were very few passengers on the train when it left Tashkent.
Border controls
It was a slow start as the train crawled along to the border crossing point, 15 miles away. The crossing of the border from Uzbekistan to Kazakhstan was a simple process.
The train stopped, the Uzbek Police and Immigration officers boarded the train. The immigration officer set up at an empty table in the carriage and proceeded to process each passenger individually.
Uzbek immigration completed, the train lurched forward and crawled towards the Kazakhstan checkpoint.
The Kazakh Police and Immigration officers boarded the train in force, complete with dogs.
The immigration process was completed in much the same way.
The border guards spent quite a bit of time chatting with us and practicing their English before the train was ready to depart again.
The crossing of the border took approximately 2.5 hours to clear both the Uzbek and Kazakh checkpoints.
Upgrade scam
Once the borders were cleared and we were on our way, the carriage steward discreetly asked if we wished to be in a couchette. After some negotiation, we agreed to a price of 27 US dollars for us to be on our own in a 4 berth couchette.
Unfortunately, this was too good to be true. We settled into our couchette and wandered up to the dining car for something to eat. Despite the steward agreeing that we would be on your own in the couchette, it was not going to be the case. We were badgered all night. The steward knocked on the door saying someone else had booked a berth in the couchette. Our advice, don’t do the upgrade unless you want to be hassled into submission.
Arrival in Almaty
The journey other than that was quite pleasant and arrived at Almaty 2 train station at 0810 hrs the following morning. Staying a few days in Almaty, we used Airbnb to book the Modern apartment in the heart of Almaty.
Metro
To get to the apartment meant travelling on the Almaty Metro system. It is open every day from 0620 hrs until 1130 hrs. Trains run every 10 minutes on weekdays, every 8 minutes during rush hour and every 15 minutes at the weekends. There is only one line on the system. Ticket offices are at the entrance of every metro station which is indicated by a sign “Kassa”.
Tokens for the metro are purchased at the ticket office or machine for 80 Tenge each. A prepaid card is also available for 100 Tenge and can be loaded with a max of 60 trips. The card is valid for 3 years.
Entry to the metro is by a turnstile which is operated by the token purchased at the ticket office. One token allows unlimited use of the metro, provided you don’t exit a station.
From Almaty 2 train station, it was a 10-minute walk to the Raiymbek Batyr metro station. From there we took the metro to Alatau metro station. Exiting the metro station onto Abay Avenue, it was a further 10-minute walk to our accommodation.