Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
you. The 600T set lunch (Monday to Friday)
is good value.
Maslenitsa¨
RUSSIAN $
(
%
25 09 00; Kaysenov 117a; mains 320-850T;
h
9am-11pm;
nv
)
The house speciality, ham-
and-cheese-stuffed
bliny,
are unique in this
neck of the woods. It's an informal two-level
place, decorated in pine from the counter
to the rafters, and does a big choice of good
bliny,
soups, salads, cakes and main dishes.
Order at the counter.
BarBQ¨
EUROPEAN, RUSSIAN $$
(
%
20 89 60; Auezov 43; mains 1000-2300T;
h
11am-midnight;
WE
)
Relatively upscale
but still with a relaxed feel, BarBQ occupies
spacious but discreetly arranged upstairs
premises with expansive views, and is excel-
lent for steaks, sausages, kebabs and other
grills.
twice each day to Almaty (4500T, 22 hours),
Astana (5000T, 17 hours), Karaganda (4000T to
5000T, 21 hours), and Barnaul (3350T to 4200T,
12 hours) and Novosibirsk (6000T, 17 hours) in
Russia. Shared taxis to Semey from the bus sta-
tion cost 2500T - you're most likely to ind one
earlyish in the morning.
Buses to Ürümqi, China (9000T, 28 hours),
also go from the bus station at 6.15pm Tues-
day, Thursday and Sunday, via the border at
maykapshagay.
TRAIN
Ust-Kamenogorsk's main train station is Za-
shchita, of Tauelsizdik 7km northwest of the
centre. One daily train heads south to Almaty
(4130T, 24 hours). Other trains from Zashchita
head initially north into Russia to meet the
Semey-Novosibirsk line: at the time of writing
foreigners are not allowed to take these trains
(although they can cross the same border,
north of Shemonaykha, by bus or car!). For
other trains heading south, get a taxi (shared/
charter 2000/8000T, 2½ hours) or occasional
bus (530T, three hours) from Ust-Kamenogorsk
bus station to Zhangyztobe, 150km southwest,
where at least three daily trains head to Almaty
(3520T to 3810T, 16 to 18 hours). You can buy
tickets for trains from Zashchita or Zhangyztobe
at El Tur Vostok.
8
Information
Staf at the
American Corner
(Room 28a,
Pushkin Library, Kazakhstan 102; internet per
hr 220T;
h
9am-6pm Tue-Sun), a US cultural
centre, let visitors use the web free for the irst
30 minutes.
Altai Expeditions
(www.altaiexpeditions.
kz; Office 122, gorky 46, Ust-Kamenogorsk;
h
10am-7pm mon-Fri) Run by experienced,
enthusiastic Andrey Yurchenkov, highly-rec-
ommended Altai Expeditions offers a big range
of active trips and nature tours with English-
speaking guides. Trips run in the Kazakh, Rus-
sian, mongolian and Chinese Altay and areas
nearer to Ust-Kamenogorsk, from day trips to
serious foot or horse treks or 4WD tours with
hotel or guesthouse accommodation.
Imperia Turizma
(
%
7232-26 11 08; www.
imper-tour.kz; Burov 20, Ust-Kamenogorsk;
h
9am-6pm mon-Fri) Offers activities in the
Ridder area north of Ust, 10-day treks to the
foot of mt Belukha (75,000T per person), and
more. Office staff speak some English.
8
Getting¨Around
Buses 2 and 39 (80T) run to the airport from
Auezov in the centre, and bus 12 from Kirov. A
taxi costs around 2000T.
From Abay dangyly outside the bus station,
trams 1, 2, 3 and 4 (55T) run to Ordzhonikidze
and Kazakhstan on the east side of the Ulba;
bus 6 (60T) will take you to Auezov for the Hotel
Irtysh. Bus 1 and tram 3 link Zashchita train
station with the city centre.
Semey (Semipalatinsk)
СЕМЕЙ
(
СЕМИПАЛАТИНСК
)
%
7222 / POP 304,000 / ELEV 200M
Though sadly best known to the world
for the Soviet nuclear-testing ground
nearby, the Polygon, Semey (formerly
Semipalatinsk), has an unusually rich cul-
tural heritage that makes it one of Kaza-
khstan's most interesting provincial cities.
Founded in 1718 as a Russian fortification
against the Zhungars, it stands 200km
down the Irtysh from Ust-Kamenogorsk,
in the heartland of the Kazakh Middle
Horde, noted for their eloquence and
intellect. The area has produced several
8
Getting¨There¨&¨Away
AIR
From the airport Air Astana lies daily to Almaty
(from 20,760T) and Astana (from 17,360T);
SCAT lies to Almaty (from 16,380T), Astana
(from 17,380T), Karaganda (from 14,000T), Zay-
san (6000T) and moscow (from 50,830T) two
to four times weekly. S7 Airlines lies to moscow
three times weekly. A useful ticket agency is El
Tur Vostok.
BUS
From the main bus station buses run six times
daily to Semey (1300T, four hours), once or
