Day 13

Day 13 was the silly bit of the trip as I took a day trip out of Astana to Kargandy, another city 3 hours away by train. Why would I go there you ask? For a rather special rollercoaster, that's why. Schwarzkopf was a German ride maker who made a number of great rides a few decades ago, rides that are typically called out by the enthusiast community as being special and worth hunting out. As Health and Safety has moved on it's been harder, but not impossible, to keep the coaster running in the West. This has led to a number of rides finding new homes in less fussy countries and my holidays in the past have sometimes been to ride these, including Minsk and Botswana. It was noted a year or so ago that one of the rides had appeared in Kargandy, having previously been seen in Belarus before disappearing. So, in choosing Kazakhstan as a country this became a key reason for going.

When I first put the trip itinerary together I'd be taking a 3 hour train from the old station and spending most of the day in Kargandy, but in the weeks prior to the trip a new railway station had opened in Astana as part of the Expo investment (ironic that it opened at the end of it). That was offering an express train that would knock an hour off the time and mean I wouldn't have to take such a late train back. Perfect!

Astana is only just starting to become a tourist-friendly city. Kargandy hasn't been touched by tourists at all and is much more of a genuine city than the capital. I liked this as it meant I was seeing the real country. Some people do look down on the rollercoaster hobby but it is a great reason to travel and not many people would travel to this country, let alone this city. If that makes me weird or special, then I'm happy!

Central Park, where the rides are situated was a nice casual walk up one of the main roads, directly opposite the train station. It's very easy to reach the park. With the rides opening at midday I had a bit of time to explore before getting my rides in.

The day started with an early start and I always plan contingency which was needed as I couldn't find the original bus stop to the train station despite it being a straight drive east. There are a small number of sights along that drive but also a lot of development opportunity.

With it being a brand new station there is still some work to be done on the exterior including signage to the entrance which I figured out by walking around the corner from where the bus dropped me off.

There are a number of eating places on the first floor, some are still to open up but I was able to buy some breakfast including a chocolate filled croissant that burnt the roof of my mouth. Stay safe people! When it's time to catch your train staff appear above each escalator with signs indicating the carriage numbers that should make their way down at that point.

This train was fully carpeted and each passenger could get a blanket to keep warm. They have a guard in each carriage to ensure we don't steal the carpet I guess. 

The train journey was fine and passed with no hitch whatsoever. My journey was spent confirming there wasn't much to see outside of the train and playing solitaire. The train arrived bang on time in Kargandy.

The walk to the park was taken very casually just taking in all the stuff around. I liked that during pavement works they made no attempt to put anything else down and you just walked over the gravel they were putting down.

It was great to see communist art in the city. This is is always one thing I try to find when I travel to this bit of the world.

The park has two coasters, the Schwarzkopf (the largest one) and another stupid wacky worm. The Schwarzkopf was running very well, my car seemed to have been fitted with a selfie stick attachment for some reason though. The little coaster was one I rode and quickly moved on from. I had that to myself :)

Elsewhere the selection of rides looked a little bit sketchy.

There's a beach here with a nice selection of car-themed pedalos. 

They do like their little spin rides in these countries. I've never been small enough to give them a go but I suspect they'd be pretty sickly.

More communist art.

The circular building is the city circus, which is a big deal here. Unfortunately their circus tend to feature animals so I never attend these. Human-only circuses please? (This is one reason why I like cirque du soleil so much).

Typical Communist style tenements.

Thirsty pigeons

  

Back in the station where I had arrived in good time for my train back. I loved that they had a room just for people with kids which would mean peace and quiet elsewhere in the station. Unfortunately the shops selling food and toys weren't that way but in our bit of the station. I also loved that they have no bridges or underpasses to reach your platform. You just cross the tracks.

Back at the Astana station and a slightly better photo of the exterior. The train back was slower as it had more stops and didn't have as nice a carpet, but still got me back quicker than the original trains would have.

How would you like your steak? Raw, Medium or Ultra-Violent?

Obligatory visit to the supermarket for chuckle-worthy products.

This was an easy day and a fun one but I was hesitant around whether to drop it to fit more sightseeing into Astana but I had gotten around so much of the city on the previous day that I thought let's do it.

next