Yesterday I got back from Karaganda. We left Monday night and we arrive back Friday morning. It was a good trip. The train was very nice. I was a little worried about long trips, thinking the trains here may be similar to in Romania, but they were much nicer and more comfortable. The 18 hour trip from Almaty to Karaganda went by surprisingly fast both ways.
There are three levels of trains in Kazakhstan. The Spalnee (or CV) is the expensive compartment. There are two beds and a private bathroom. The next rung down is the Koopeh. There are 4 bunks to a compartment. This is where we stayed. From what I understand, because Kazakhstan is so huge, most trains that cover any distance are night trains. Then there is the Platzkart. There are still bunks, but they aren’t in a compartment. I didn’t see any of these this time around.
Karaganda was nice. We all felt like the vibe was more relaxed than Almaty. We spent the remainder of Tuesday walking around town and seeing the sites. Wed. we went to 3 different organizations to talk with volunteers and counterparts. And Thursday we went to one more organization and then jumped back on the train. It was a whirlwind, but was a good trip.
It was dark by the time we got on the train in Almaty, but when we woke we were staring at the Kazakhstan steppe.
There are three levels of trains in Kazakhstan. The Spalnee (or CV) is the expensive compartment. There are two beds and a private bathroom. The next rung down is the Koopeh. There are 4 bunks to a compartment. This is where we stayed. From what I understand, because Kazakhstan is so huge, most trains that cover any distance are night trains. Then there is the Platzkart. There are still bunks, but they aren’t in a compartment. I didn’t see any of these this time around.
Karaganda was nice. We all felt like the vibe was more relaxed than Almaty. We spent the remainder of Tuesday walking around town and seeing the sites. Wed. we went to 3 different organizations to talk with volunteers and counterparts. And Thursday we went to one more organization and then jumped back on the train. It was a whirlwind, but was a good trip.
It was dark by the time we got on the train in Almaty, but when we woke we were staring at the Kazakhstan steppe.
We had language class on the train. 8 of us were jammed in one compartment. Here is a picture of our teacher, Lena, attempting to teach us how to tell time.
This is a statue of Nurken Abdirov. He was a pilot in WWII. His plane was damaged above Stalingrad in 1943 and instead of saving his life, he crashed his plane into a German column. He was posthumously awarded the title of Hero of the Soviet Union.
One of the landmarks of Karaganda is it’s large statue of Lenin. Lenin is still well thought of in Kazakhstan and once during our trip our ethnic Russian PC guy referred to him as a “good man”, which sounds odd from our point of view. But from the Kazakh perspective, he is the one who brought everything to Kazakhstan. Before Lenin it was just steppe and nomads. Lenin built the cities and brought Kazakhstan into modern times. The feeling is not shared for Stalin however. Several years ago the city of Karaganda wanted to tear down this statue, but the citizens made such an uproar that they decided to keep it.
Another of Karaganda’s statues is the Coal Miner’s statue. The picture isn’t that good, as the sun was directly behind the statue, but I still thought you may like it. They are of course, rising a large block of coal above their heads (read previous post for history on coal).
Soviet style murals can be found on several buildings.
Lena, our language teacher for the trip, bought a drink called “Let’s Be Black” that we all thought was funny.
This is supposedly a statue of the Kazakh boy who first found coal near Karaganda.
Another of Stalin, alongside Maxim Gorky, an author. The two were personal friends.
The Karaganda OCAP group.
All in all it was a good trip. The week here continues. We had the morning off but had a session yesterday afternoon and today. Our site announcements are this coming Friday. I think we are all ready for training to be over and be off to bigger and better things. Below are a couple of videos: one of the KZ steppe passing by and one of what the train looks like. 