Our agency and other families who have been here have told us many times to be flexible and ready to deal with changes in plans at a moments notice. Today was probably the best example of things that can happen.
Here we are off to the airport at the appointed time just as planned. However, the airline that runs the Karaganda Special changes to a summer schedule on April 1st, so the plane left an hour earlier than we all thought.
We arrived just in time to see the one flight a day taxiing out for take-off. As soon as we realized the situation that was unfolding, Natasha was on the cell phone with Agency headquarters to make an alternate plan.
It was decided that the best plan was to get to Astana, some 120 miles away, where we could get a flight to Almaty and still keep our departure schedule intact. (sort of)
So, Natasha called the travel agent and we stopped by her apartment to pick her up and take her to her office on a Sunday morning. She is the agent that does the travel for Karaganda families. Here she is making new reservations on Air Astana for us. She was very nice.
Road Trip to Astana
While we were waiting for our travel arrangments, Natasha's husband and daughter showed up for the trip. It was beginning to look like a full bus with all of us, and the big suitcase and the Texas stroller.
A crowded back seat. Seat belts? Car seats for children? Not here!
It was hard not to notice the similarity to the drive from Phoenix to Vegas. (Again, not like we're fixated on Vegas!) This is right before we had to slow down for cows in the road.
It turned out to be an unplanned opportunity to see some countryside.
This is the town where Katja and Artome were born. We had no idea we would be coming this way when the day started.
Here is Natasha calling the Sisters in Almaty to see what we should do now!
Jim was up front acting as co-pilot, so Nastia held Artome while Cecelia held Katja. Natasha and her daughter sat in between us.The kids did get a short nap in thank goodness!
Astana! There is a tremendous amount of new construction going on in this city. In 1999 it replaced Almaty as the Capital of Kazakhstan. Seems like a pretty hip place. A lot of fabulous architecture.
We stopped for a nice lunch in Astana since we had some time before our 4:00 pm flight. Forgot to get a picture inside so here we are finally heading for the airport.
The blue building is the Russian Embassy.
The entrance to the Astana Airport. A recently re-built terminal was very nice inside.
Cecelia was not sad to fly on a brand new Airbus 320 instead of the AN-24. They also served us a nice dinner. Jim, however was disappointed at missing another flight on the old and reliable warhorse.
This is our apartment in Almaty. It is very nicely done, with a mini gourmet kitchen and a huge playroom for the kids in addition to a nice size bedroom. It is only a couple of days here, but it will be nice for the kids to have more room.
What a day! We all are exhausted after our marathon day of travel. It was so bizarre to show up at the Karaganda Airport this morning in a thick fog and nobody in sight. We all looked at each other in a panic as we could hear the ancient turboprop taking off. Natasha was mortified that the travel agent hadn't mentioned the time change and was very apologetic. We felt like it was partly our fault since we didn't bother to check our tickets yesterday. Anyway, it turned out to be a really fun day. An unplanned adventure for our last day with them and we had a good time on our road trip. There is more to this day than we care to describe in our blog, so we will update you when we get home! Oh, and by the way, we tried horse meat today at lunch. Natasha's husband seemed so excited for us to try it and we didn't have the heart to say "Eww... Gross!". I can't believe I am saying this, but it was really good! Very similar to roast beef. The kids liked it too. However, that is most likely the last time for us as My Friend Flicka just seems wrong! :)
We are having trouble with our phone line here in Almaty, so it is possible our last few days here will not be published until we get home on Wednesday, the 5th. We will try to update soon.
Gee, why is there nobody at the airport? Hmmm.....
A magnificent main boulevard under construction with fountains, offices, shops and condos that will be ready in a year or two.
This is a building that (how do you say?) they call "the whore of Astana". It is a replica of The University Building in Moscow and will be apartments and shops when completed. It is sort of Las Vegas-like in it's appearance and scale.
We passed an expansive synagogue,
And then an even grander Mosque. By now we were wishing we had more time here.
