Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
seabass. A shashlyk grill flames in the mid-
dle, and a nice pop/rock/jazz band plays
nightly except Sunday. There are plenty of
Belgian and other beers, including unfil-
tered varieties.
Rafè¨ EUROPEAN $$$
(Bokeykhan 16; mains 1300-3500T; h 8am-
midnight mon-Fri, 10am-midnight Sat & Sun;
W ) This cosy, relaxed cafe/restaurant is
great for coffee and delectable cakes/des-
serts but also good for mostly Italian main
dishes, from risotto or pizza to duck with
tagliatelle and cherry tomatoes. Salads are
overpriced. It also has a branch ( h 8am-
midnight mon-Fri, 10am-midnight Sat-Sun; W ) on
Nurzhol bulvar.
Food¨Courts
Mega¨ Astana (Korgalzhin taszholy 1; h food
court 10am-midnight) , Keruen¨Mall (Dostyk 9;
h food court 10am-midnight) and the Khan Sha-
tyr (p98) all have convenient food¨courts
(dishes 400-1800T), good cafes and branch-
es of Assorti (mains 900-3500T; h noon-mid-
night) , which does good pizzas and grills in a
relaxed ambience.
6 ¨Drinking¨&¨Nightlife
Face control and dress codes are the norm
at the better clubs, and don't go before
midnight.
Insomnia¨ CLUB
(Dostyk 3; h 10pm-4am Tue-Sat) Insomnia
pulls in a more progressive, free-thinking
crowd than the general hipsterish run of
Astana clubs, and focuses less on stylish de-
cor than on a big dance floor and top sound
system - a place to dance to house, pop and
rave. 'Expats welcome,' says management,
and admission is a reasonable 1000T.
Pivnitsa¨ BAR
(Saryarka dangyly 2; h noon-2am; W ) This Czech
cellar-bar - stone walls, wooden booths and
long wood tables - is a convivial place for
mugs of the unfiltered house beer, Kelly
(700T for 0.5L), and sausages, steaks and
other meaty fare (dishes 1400T to 4000T) to
soak it up. It's entered from the riverside just
below the Radisson Hotel.
Chocolate¨Room¨ CLUB
(Shokolad; % 701-550 0017; Saryarka dangyly 2;
h 11pm-5am Fri & Sat; W ) Once past the face
control (look your smart-casual very best)
you'll have a wild time dancing to hip-hop,
dance and '80s DJs with Astana's beautiful
20-somethings at the coolest club in town.
Admission is free but you'll have to get a
place at the bar unless you can pay 75,000T
for a table (with food). It's entered from the
riverside below the Radisson Hotel.
8 Information
Astana is home to nearly all foreign embassies in
Kazakhstan; see p124 for more information.
Internet Kafe Best ( % 21 11 67; Respublika
dangyly 8; internet per hr 200T; h 9am-2am) A
well-equipped place with scanning, fax, photo-
copying and Skype.
Main Post Office (Auezov 71; h 8am-7pm
mon-Fri, 9am-6pm Sat, 10am-3pm Sun)
8 Getting¨There¨&¨Away
Astana is well connected with the rest of the
country and the rest of the world. The train
and bus stations are side by side, 3km north of
centre. Astana International Airport (p132) is
14km south.
EXPO¨2017¨ASTANA
Atana expects to gain its bigget proile boot yet when it tages the Expo 2017 world's
fair. Perhaps surprisingly in a country whose economy relies heavily on oil, gas and other
minerals, the theme of Expo 2017 Atana (www.expo2017atana.com) will be 'Future
Energy' - alternative energy and energy-saving technology. Kazakhtan oicialdom has
been at pains to argue that the country is ultimately committed to a green economy.
The Expo site, in the southeat of the city, is planned to be self-suicient in energy, with
solar cells and its own wind farm.
With something over two million visitors expected during the three months of the fair,
it will certainly be a big boot for Atana's development. Kazakhtan hopes to attract €1
billion in foreign invetment for Expo on top of €250 million from the government. A new
motorway and a new high-speed railway from Almaty are planned to be ready for the
fair, cutting the driving time from around 12 to eight hours, and the train journey to ive
hours. A futuritic new tation is to be contructed near the Expo site.
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