Almaty

We arrived in Almaty early morning and had booked our hotel so we could check in straight away and get at least a couple of hours sleep before today began.

After breakfast, we went on the hunt for toiletries and a change of clothes whilst we awaited news of our luggage (see yesterday’s blip). Rosie flew down from Astana where she is studying currently to join us in Almaty for the weekend, we met up mid-morning and then took the cable car up to Koktobe for lunch and a great view over the city and the mountains. We always love a tv tower too. After lunch we came back into the city and had a wander. It’s a clean, friendly place and it was nice to just walk and take it all in. We ended up at Zenkov's Cathedral (see extra).

A nice meal tonight, catching up with tales of Rosie’s time in Kazakhstan over the past few months. A lovely first day.

We’re hoping our luggage might get here tomorrow, fingers crossed.