On my last trip to Kazakhstan I remember being mad I didn’t plan to visit Astana. I was so concerned with fitting all the Stan countries into my trip that it was too far out of the way to visit. In hindsight, I’m glad I skipped it because it wouldn’t have been nearly as interesting as it was this trip. The majority of things wouldn’t have been completed or even started back in 2008. Astana is a fascinating city but most of the fascination comes from the architecture and of course the mystery of this seemingly random city in the Great Steppe.

The first thing that tells you Astana is a fascinating city is flying into town. If you look out the window, you’ll see nothing but the Great Steppe for a thousand miles in any direction. Then all of a sudden as you come in for landing, there’s Astana. Seemingly created from the dirt of the prairies of the old Soviet Union.

From the pretty modern airport to town is a quick 20-minute ride. I stayed at the Marriott Hotel. I will say it’s probably the nicest Marriott I’ve ever stayed in. To be fair, I haven’t stayed in a ton of Marriott’s but as they finalize the Starwood acquisition next month I’ll be staying in a ton more as the two programs become one. That said it was a beautiful property with sweeping city views, a great rooftop bar and restaurant, and my suite was fabulous. And it was only $150 a night.

The hotel was near and overlooked the Khan Shatyr entertainment complex. Basically it’s a fancy mall in a big tent with a water park and indoor beach resort. But what’s interesting is simply the design of the building as you can see.

Inside it looks like a mall. There is a Starbucks for those who sometimes love the creature comforts of home like myself. Aside from that there’s nothing really for anyone over 12 years old. However the view as you walk outside down the heart of the city is great.

Astana is a fascinating city for many reasons but mainly because it seems to have everything and everything is world-class. For instance, they have a massive, beautiful opera house but how often is there an opera? And who’s watching it? There’s a massive soccer stadium called Astana Arena that could be a World Cup venue but the Kazakhstan team stinks and it’s rarely used. They also have several world-class sporting venues for hockey and other sports but again, who’s using them?

There are no people in Astana. They claim there are some 700,000 people living there and growing rapidly. Maybe there are as the city is fairly expansive it seems. However, you don’t see anyone on the streets, especially during the day.

When I was there it was hot but not that hot so the weather shouldn’t have stopped people from being outside. At night there were some folks out in the center of town but not many. It was a very surreal, almost creepy feeling.

For instance, in this photo I had taken the elevator up the Beiretek Tower, the most famous thing in Astana. Aside from the dirty windows, there are almost no people outside during the middle of the day in the most famous area of the city. That would be like Times Square being empty in New York. Weird.

Astana is only 20 years old as a city. The capital was moved there from Almaty and a new preplanned city in the vane of Brasilia or Canberra was to be the capital. The government buildings are beautiful and big. But who occupies them? I have no idea but I hardly saw anyone in two days in Astana.

But the big luxury hotels are there like Ritz-Carlton and St. Regis and word is Four Seasons is considering opening there. Those brands don’t open in places where people with money don’t go. So the money appears to be there but where are the people? Astana is a fascinating city and I can’t wait to return in another 10 years to see what’s changed!

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