I made this video for a contest KIMEP University is running for some ski passes to the local resort, known as Chimbulak. If you notice the ambiguous statement at the end, you get extra points. More noteworthy is that it features some of the GoPro footage from my climb up Amangeldi Peak last October
Category: Activities
Sampling Seoul’s Architecture
I meandered back down the street, now heading south towards Gyeongbokgung Palace. Along the way, I passed Cheongwadae, or the Presidential Residence. Similar to Almaty when the President is in town, there were police on every street corner, standing around completely unoccupied. You may have heard that I have not had very good luck with Kazakhstani police, so I did what I've trained myself to do, which is keep my head down and act normal. When I glanced up, one smiled at me (smiled!) and said with a friendly tone, "Hey! How are you? Where are you going?" I cautiously answered, "Ge-ong-bok-gung? The Palace?"
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Пик Амангельды (Amangeldi Peak) – Autumn
Turns out I was to stay on the second floor of the shack, which turned into a night from hell. Russians and Kazakhs have a firm belief that heaters need to be on full blast at all times, and windows should never be opened for any reasons (this is also causing some sweaty problems at my apartment in Almaty). It was a long night between trying to sleep in a sauna and the sound of mice scurrying in the walls.
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Valley of Castles
Time was getting close to 4pm, which was when we were supposed to be back at the bus. All of the crew was ready to head back, but I spied some cars further away that looked like they were at a pretty good viewpoint. I left the others in a slight jog to check it out, and sure enough, it was probably the most beautiful views of the entire trip.
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Big, Militarized Almaty Lake
The date was September 2nd. This was an important date for me because my visa, as well as the visas of my hiking companions (all three were foreign students) expired on September 1st. In addition, none of us actually had our passports because our new visas, and therefore our passports, were in processing with the immigration police. This information was telepathically realized between the four of us after seeing the gun, and after a few quiet conversations about it, we all started to feel pretty uncomfortable in the given situation.
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Пик Кумбель (Kumbel Peak) – Summertime
To see and hear such amazing energy generated from hiking and seeing mountains, from people who hardly knew such things before that exact moment, was a simple reminder about why I am here and who I am. While I love traveling and I am really starting to enjoy teaching, I realized four years ago while hitchhiking across Norway that when I am in the mountains, I am completely at home.
