How to get from Almaty to Bishkek

How to get from Almaty to Bishkek

You're in Almaty and you're heading to Bishkek! Cool! We spent a year in Bishkek and travelled frequently between the two capitals. We thought this post might be useful for anyone planning to make this trip for the first time. We prefer to go by marshrutka (shared minibus) and recommend this way because it's easy, inexpensive (about 1,300 KTZ) and it's pretty quick (about 5 hours). In Almaty, how do I reach the long-distance bus station from the city center? Marshrutkas to Bishkek depart from Almaty's long-distance Sairan bus station (международный автовокзал Сайран). The bus station…continue reading →

Walking Almaty: Marveling at the Mundane

The latest Pedaling Pictures production is a profile of Dennis Keen, founder of Walking Almaty. We had the good fortune of being able to spend a long afternoon in Almaty with Dennis earlier this summer, where he took us on a tour of some of his favorite neighborhoods, pigeon markets, drainpipes, rail girders, cornices, window frames, etc. For the uninitiated, Walking Almaty is essentially a well-organized collection of overlooked items that make up everyday street scenes in Almaty. Dennis likes to walk, and he has a keen (that's right) eye for noticing the unnoticed, and finding patterns in things…continue reading →