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Across Kazakhstan by rail

theguardian.com

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Re: Across Kazakhstan by rail

#51

Post by lottin »

malermeister wrote: post #32
Ansil849 wrote: post #16

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I tried watching a couple, and the guy just comes off as an insufferable douchebag. Acting like a twat and mugging for the camera. edit: having watched a couple more videos, this just reinforces my theory that the most popular youtube channels are also the most mediocre. This guy's formula is basically 'travel to $random_CIS_country; check-in to a hotel; go on a short walking tour within a few blocks of the hotel whi…

I think your impression is right - there's some indications that guy might be at the very least have questionable morals, or might even be a straight up sexual predator - https://old.reddit.com/r/BaldAndBaldrDossier/comments/judnlm... tl;dr internet sleuths have connected him to a since deleted account on a "pick up artist" forum where that person has bragged about going to Eastern Europe to find desperate women to h…

They're basically saying that he's a terrible person because he... has sex with women.

Re: Across Kazakhstan by rail

#52

Post by distances »

ryanlol wrote: post #45
deanclatworthy wrote: post #21

All the sentimental comments here around travelling by train make me wonder if Europe is just not good at this. I did the interrail about eight years ago and some of the worst nights sleep were had on the cramped bunk cabins. Arguments over air conditioning (too cold low down, too hot up top), people staying up late when you want to sleep, bad hygiene etc. Even the night trains to the north of Finland which are seen…

There are ridiculously nice rail travel options in Europe, but they are expensive. https://www.belmond.com/trains/europe/venice-simplon-orient-... https://www.belmond.com/trains/europe/scotland/belmond-royal... https://www.goldeneagleluxurytrains.com/trains/golden-eagle-... Bonus trans-sib option, technically starts in Europe: https://www.goldeneagleluxurytrains.com/journeys/trans-siber...

Quite luxury price indeed, $18k for the two-week Trans-Siberian ride.

Re: Across Kazakhstan by rail

#53

Post by iso1210 »

BoxOfRain wrote: post #43
chadcmulligan wrote: post #12

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Trains are very comfortable to travel in as well imho. Better than planes, because no airport hassles and the seats are better, and you can move around if the baby next to you is crying; better than buses because a smoother ride; and better than driving yourself because you can relax and read a book.

>Trains are very comfortable to travel in as well imho. Depends on the train, for example the British government had a "temporary" solution in the 1980s of putting train wheels on Leyland buses and using them as substitutes for proper trains in the poorer parts of the country. These were about as fast and comfortable as they sound and were only taken out of service for good this year. Honestly British rail travel in…

> it's usually very crowded and unreliable but it's also ruinously expensive

Given there are many alternatives - including coach (national express + megabus), air, driving, and not going at all - in addition to competition on many lines (for example you can do Manchester-London in first class at high speed for £500 return, or you can choose to pay £45 return and spend an extra hour traveling), it can't be that expensive.

Re: Across Kazakhstan by rail

#54

Post by iso1210 »

w1ntermute wrote: post #4

Reminds me of this great travel blog from 2008: http://vienna-pyongyang.blogspot.com/ The writer traveled from Vienna to Pyongyang by train, giving him 36 unsupervised hours in North Korea.

> The writer traveled from Vienna to Pyongyang by train, giving him 36 unsupervised hours in North Korea.

He hacked the north korea visa entry and used his entry visa in an unexpected way - arriving at a different entry point, which was technically not disallowed, but not set up to handle western travel.

The normal Beijing-Pyongyang train is set up for westerners, and the loophole has since been closed.

Previous HN discussion: https://news.ycombinator.com/from?site=vienna-pyongyang.blog...

Re: Across Kazakhstan by rail

#55

Post by maeln »

anticodon wrote: post #49

Traveled several times across Kazakhstan by rail and my impressions are quite the opposite. You wait to arrive to your destination for days and nothing changes outside the window: just the same scenery with endless sand or steppes with no sign of trees or animals or people. Probably the most boring experience I had in my life. Funny how western media can't resist poking the dead enemy at every occasion: > Adylet: ‘An…

> Well, if you'd really talk to people, you'd find out that significant percent of population still mourns the Soviet Union and they have all the reasons to.

It really depends where and who you ask. You probably not going to find any sympathy for the USSR in central Europe. But it is true that in Russia and central Asia, you still find people, those who were mostly kids/teenager during the "golden-age" of the USSR, who fondly remember the USSR. Considering that the USSR got replaced by various dictator in those places, its not that hard to understand.

Re: Across Kazakhstan by rail

#56

Post by skocznymroczny »

soylentnewsorg wrote: post #17
hardwaregeek wrote: post #10

There's something so beautifully romantic about trains. Perhaps that's why filmmakers love them. I can't help but think of the characters in Days of Heaven, migrating across the Texas Panhandle for work and a new life. Or the wonderful opening scene of Clouds of Sils Maria, with Kristen Stewart ducking and weaving, the barrier between Juliette Binoche and the frenzied celebrity culture of the outside world. Or the sc…

Let me introduce you to old soviet trains, from my memories of a couple of cross country trips. Cozy, you line up by the window in the hallway as it pulls away while your parents unpack and put the suitcases in the high-up compartment in the little room - 2 bunk beds. You get the top one where you hang out and later fall asleep watching the window and listening to the train. There are 4 spots, so you have a guest joi…

I had a similar experience in Egypt. I was on an organized tour with tour office and part of the trip is a long overnight train from Aswan to Cairo. The train looked terrible from the outside, very dirty. Insides were horribly cramped, no running water, toilets were unusuable. But the beds were surprisingly comfy and we managed to sleep all the way to Cairo.

Unfortunately, as I later learned, they are very unsafe too over there. Just two weeks after my trip a train crash happened with multiple fatalities, and months after it happened again.

Re: Across Kazakhstan by rail

#57

Post by noduerme »

vbezhenar wrote: post #48
hannob wrote: post #39

I crossed Kazakhstan by rail+bus in 2013, I wrote a few blogposts: https://blog.hboeck.de/plugin/tag/kazakhstan

Thanks for your blog, it's always fascinating to read about my city. I'd like to comment to "Astana is quite the opposite. Nothing here is old, large parts of Astana were build within the last two decades. Dirt or waste in the streets was almost zero and the traffic seems pretty civilized. Until 1997, Almaty was the capital of Kazakhstan, due to some complicated political compromises, it was moved to Astana and there…

If that street view is the poor part, it looks pretty wealthy based on the cars and houses. Much nicer than a lot of places. It could be somewhere in Argentina. The only giveaway that something is weird is the mess of electrical lines in one place and the absence of them somewhere else.

Re: Across Kazakhstan by rail

#58

Post by rahoulb »

lottin wrote: post #51
malermeister wrote: post #32

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I think your impression is right - there's some indications that guy might be at the very least have questionable morals, or might even be a straight up sexual predator - https://old.reddit.com/r/BaldAndBaldrDossier/comments/judnlm... tl;dr internet sleuths have connected him to a since deleted account on a "pick up artist" forum where that person has bragged about going to Eastern Europe to find desperate women to h…

They're basically saying that he's a terrible person because he... has sex with women.

Well, in that Reddit comment it says he uses lies and threats.

Re: Across Kazakhstan by rail

#59

Post by NamTaf »

namibj wrote: post #50
rantingdemon wrote: post #35

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Great photos! I see there seems to be a stairway to go into the Buran rocket. Can you go inside and have a look?

While not quite the real deal, the aerodynamic test vehicle OK-GLI is at the Technik Museum Speyer in the same-named German City, open to the public (the nearby (30min; car) museum in Sinzheim has a both the french and soviet supersonic passenger planes (Concorde/Tu-144) in it's exhibit). I can recommend both museums (interests have to match, of course). [0]: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/OK-GLI

Seconding this recommendation. Spend a day each at both Sinsheim and Speyer; I spent about 4 hours at each and I was practically jogging around the place to see things.

Re: Across Kazakhstan by rail

#60

Post by arpanetus »

the weakest apa in central asia vs the strongest male in europe

> “You can’t even defend yourself if you don’t eat meat. Kazakhs are born to be warriors; that’s why they eat a lot of meat!” she says and promptly challenges me to an arm-wrestling match, which I accept but quickly admit defeat.

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