Tonight at 23:00 we boarded an over night train to the Kazakh city of Taraz so the days activities were intended to entertain us until that happened. First up was a visit to some of the cities iconic tourist attractions, starting with the Ascention Cathedral. This is a magnificent all wood building that during soviet times was used for a variety of public purposes, being returned to the Russian Orthodix Church in 1995. Its current good condition is a result of extensive renovations during the period 2017 to 2020. Near the Cathedral is Panfilov Park and The Statue of Panfilov's Heroes. The somewhat intimidating statue celebrates the 28 Almaty soldiers under a General named Panfilov who resisted attack by German tanks during the battle of Moscow.

Late in the day after a rest and opportunity to pack we all checked out of our hotel and headed for Kok Tobe Hill a mountain to the East of the city of Almaty which we were promised would give a good view of the sunset. Little did we know that at the top of this hill we would find all types of 1950s style carnival rides, be able to dress up in traditional Kazakh clothes and hold a hunting eagle, or indeed have a meal at the mountain top restaraunt. But we did see the sunset, and also the monumental traffic jam that is the standard Almaty afternoon rush hour.

We boarded the train as scheduled at 22:55 made up our beds and were quickly asleep. Thus ended our time in Almaty.