Budget Travel9 min read
A Week in the Altai Mountains on 30,000 Tenge
Glacial rivers, eagle hunters, and a guesthouse that cost less than a city lunch — here's exactly how I spent a full week in East Kazakhstan without breaking the bank.
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written by a local who lives it.
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18Regions Covered
100{e864db06ede5fa196be4ba9d775a454442d37a49f8f03ecd9e965219e67183e8}Written by a Local
Based in Astana, Kazakhstan
The person behind the stories
Hi, I'm Dimash —
a local telling the truth about Kazakhstan.
I grew up between the vast steppes and the modern skyline of Astana. For years, I watched travellers arrive clutching advice that was outdated, inaccurate, or simply written by someone who had never actually been here. I started dimash-serikkul to change that.
Every article comes from real experience — the roads I've driven, the yurts I've slept in, the border crossings I've negotiated, the local families who shared their table with me. No press trips. No sponsorship fluff. Just honest, practical stories from someone who calls this extraordinary country home.
60+Destinations explored
5 yrsOf travel writing
14Kazakhstan regions covered
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Real accounts, honest advice, and the details that don't make it into guidebooks.
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Practical Guides
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No fluff, no sponsored lists. Four categories covering everything I wish I'd known before my first trip across Kazakhstan.
All guides are based on personal experience travelling Kazakhstan between 2019–2024. Always double-check visa rules before you travel.
Fresh from the Road
Latest Posts
New dispatches from Kazakhstan — honest, firsthand, and always specific.
01
HistoryJune 12, 2025•7 min read
Inside Turkestan: The City That Time Forgot to Modernize
The minaret rises before you even see the city — a pale blue needle against an impossibly wide sky, announcing that Turkestan plays by its own rules of time.
02
Steppe LifeMay 28, 2025•9 min read
What a Week Living in a Yurt Actually Teaches You
By day three, I had stopped reaching for my phone first thing in the morning. I'm not sure when exactly that happened — I only noticed its absence.
03
OutdoorsMay 14, 2025•6 min read
Charyn Canyon at Sunrise: A Logistical Guide to Getting It Right
Every travel blog will tell you to go at sunrise. Very few will tell you exactly how to get there without a car at 4am, or what to do when the shared taxi doesn't show.
04
City LifeApril 30, 2025•8 min read
Almaty for First-Timers: The Honest, Unsentimental Version
Almaty will confuse you at first. It looks like three different cities occupying the same grid: Soviet, Soviet-aspirational, and aggressively new money.
05
Off the PathApril 11, 2025•10 min read
Baikonur: Getting Permission, Getting There, Getting the Point
Baikonur is not a place you visit casually. It is a closed city that requires an official permit, a specific entry process, and a willingness to be slightly uncertain about all of it right up until you're there.
06
FoodMarch 25, 2025•5 min read
The Dastarkhan: Everything You Need to Know Before Someone Invites You to One
If a Kazakh family invites you to a dastarkhan — the spread of food that precedes any significant meal — say yes. Immediately. Whatever else you had planned, cancel it.
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DIMASH SERIKKULPersonal Travel Blog
Honest stories and real tips from the heart of Kazakhstan — for curious travelers who want to go beyond the surface.
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