Visiting Kazakhstan

Since TT is populated by such well-traveled people, I figured I'd at least give this a shot. At the end of April I'll be going to Kazakhstan for 18 days to visit my best friend, who is there with the Peace Corps. I'll be flying to Almaty with KLM. My travel arrangements have already been made with one exception: my visa.

Extensive research online (Kazakhstan embassy and consulate websites for Germany, the U.S., and the U.K., as well as websites of travel agencies specializing in Kazakhstan) indicate that since 2004 normal tourist visas do not require a letter of invitation. However, upon calling the honorary consulate for Bavaria* (which, though it carries the name "Munich", is actually in Wolfratshausen) the employee there told me (in German even more broken than mine) that I need to come with an invitation letter. After contacting others it seems this is incorrect, but how do you deal with a consulate that doesn't even seem to know its own country's rules?

The other option is ordering a visa through KasachstanReisen.de, a travel agency in Berlin, but in order to do that I would have to put my passport in the mail--something I've never done and which makes me a little uncomfortable. Any advice from people going with "off the beaten track" visa experience?

Also, in the event any of you have been there, any specific advice on sightseeing/traveling? Any experience with any of the CIS countries is welcome as well, as this will be my first visit to any of them. My friend's been in KZ a year and a half and between the two of us we have a tentative list of plans, but any first-hand advice is of course most welcome.

Thanks for any help. I'm bracing myself for the most certainly forthcoming Borat jokes.

* Took me 45 minutes to get through. After finally being connected, I was greeted with a heavily Russian-accented "Hjeallo!"

Seen your passport registered and you should be fine.

Have you read "In Search of Kazakhstan: The Land That Disappeared", a fantastic read and certainly a lot more to the country than that idiotic movie. Are you only going to be in Almaty or anywhere near Petropavlovsk? (I will send you to visit some kids I know in an orphanage there, just kidding!)

No travel tips from me, but have a great time. Can´t lend you the book either as I left it with my Dad to read!

Edi: Found this interesting looking travel blog

I'm still waiting for the Borat jokes...

I'm reading that book at the moment...would love to go there. I'm jealous!

@ ThePigsInBlankets

I was on holiday in Kazahkstan and Kyrgyzstan in 2006. I flew British Airways Munich-->LHR-->Almaty and got my visas done through an agency affiliated with the holiday company in the UK. Main reason was entering Kyrgyzstan which was way easier to do on a Group visa. Sent my passport off recorded delivery to London and had it couried back ...wasn't the cheapest route but it was hassle-free. There were also some time issues with when Visas could be issued for both countries so I had to take that into account ...in fact, I couldn't apply 3 months in advance it had to be done within 4-6 weeks or something. As far as I remember, invites were required.

So I spent a few days at the beginning and end in Almaty which is a fairly typical CIS kind of town ...impressive backdrop though with the foothills, then the Alps-sized moutains, then the Himalaya-sized moutains in the background. The reason I chose to go on an organised tour was because I was trekking through the Tien Shan mountains which required horses, porters, helicopters, off-road vehicles, basecamps, back-ups and other such things when you are in the middle of nowhere.

Kazahkstan is not at all Borat-like. Just from my time in the countryside and the city of Almaty, it is the up-and-coming superstate in Eurasia due to to oil, natural resources, cosmodromes and other such stuff. It really is a crossroads where you'll see Russians, Turkmen and Chinese walking past huge Orthodox churches, Islamic cemetries and the old communist statues. Like Monogolia, the horse still plays a big role in the countryside, but in the city you'll see SUVs, western cars, etc. To give you a small idea of prices two years ago ...the hotel in Almaty was circa USD 120 a night (probably a 3/4 star oil-worker hotel), an imported beer was about 6 or 7 USD but a Russian beer was around USD 3 or 4.

Would happily go back again but I guess I'd probably check out Uzbekistan and Tajikistan first though.

We are too.