Today was a long day of driving. The first stop of the day after 2-3 hours driving was a National Park called Charyn Canyon, which as you might expect is a large and picturesque canyon carved by the Charyn/Sharyn River. Nina and I visited this site in 2013 and since that date it has acquired a boom gate to ensure visitors pay the entry fee, a number of accommodation buildings, and a "main" facility that includes a cafe. None of this improves the natural experience of the place. But Kazaks like Australians cannot go anywhere without a cup of latte.

Despite the rain and wind Nina and I walked to some of the lookouts. The canyon is interesting. Then another long drive to a restaraunt at a truck stop for lunch (interesting choice).

After lunch another long drive this time south into the mountains which form part of the natural border between Kazakstan and Kyrgyzstan. Our destination was glacial fed Issyk Lake. Unfortunately by the time we got to the parking lot we were experiencing drizzle and low cloud. While the lake could just be seen the surrounding mountains were obscured by the cloud. It would be interesting to come back on a nice day as the drive up and back gave tantalizing views of majestic mountains.

The final leg of this long day was then a drive down out of the mountains and into Almaty to our hotel. Since this part of the day happened during evening rush hour we got a full-on view of the density of Almaty traffic. Seems just like every other major city.

At first glance Almaty seems to be in a different century to the other smaller towns and villages we have seen since arriving in Kazakhstan. There are large dealerships for prestige cars along the entrance highway, bightly lit supermarkets and generally all the trappings of a 21st century city. Very different to the mountain villages we passed through this afternoon. Our hotel is the Mildom Premium Hotel. The room is only marginally larger than the bed, and we are clearly in a "cool" part of town with lots of coffee shops and bars.