Shymkent, South Kazakhstan Province, Kazakhstan
Today after four nights in Shymkent I was leaving on another overnight sleeper to Almaty the original Soviet capital of Kazakhstan in the SE. My train was at 19.35pm and was an overnight sleeper till 8.10am the next day.
Normal check out from my hotel is 12 noon. They said they would allow me late check out at 2pm. When I reconfirmed the time with them yesterday they said they would allow 3pm.
That was good as it was too hot and I didnt want to walk to see anything else in Shymkent preferring to rest. I'd been enjoying watching retro Soviet cinema or local dramas.
Soviet cinema are musicals, comedies, historical dramas, or contemporary art. There are no subtitles but its interesting watching, especially in mute when you are awake at 4am.
Leaving the hotel and walking past the old local cinema is a big shopping mall. I wanted to go in here to keep cool and find some lunch.
The food court was at the top level of the mall by the movie theatre. Opting against the western pizza and burgers I found a restaurant with a local food combo. They served pilow, samsa, naan, and fruit drink for 890T ($2.50).
I tried to sit it out for an hour as I had till 8pm to kill and it was only about 4pm. Then I slowly made my way to the station.
The station was full of locals as there were other evening sleepers on the more economical trains. I had opted for the VIP Spanish Talgo train which was $50 USD.
Tickets were again purchased on the Advantour site as the Kazakhstan rail site would not accept online payment with my card.
The upper level waiting room was steaming hot. There were few benches outside in the cooler air to sit.
The first local train that arrived seemed like a prison train. People were sticking their heads out of windows due to heat and the men were topless. I knew mine would be more comfortable with A/C and private rooms.
Announcements were being made in local language so I didnt know what was going on. Another of these long 'prison' local trains pulled up on the next platform.
Quietly my train had pulled up on the track behind. I dont know if an announcement was made as there was such a commotion with the locals and I had no idea what was being said. Luckily I spotted it.
I had chosen the top bunk again on my ticket. I was sharing this time with a Kazakh business man in a suit but spoke no English. He tried asking me in German for my occupation but I didnt know the word for it.
I tried to sleep but this journey was rough and the train kept rocking from side to side so I woke up.
2025-05-22