Many people came here “from over the hill” with a less romantic goal – to make money. This publication contains some impressions of Aktau from foreigners who came from Italy, America, and Malaysia, which, however, did not prevent them from making very valuable observations. They all look at our country and city as if from the outside, focusing on what people usually do not notice in everyday life.
And it is not always that an outsider’s gaze turns out to be evil, and the assessment of our existence is not always derogatory.
ABOUT THE CITY, SECURITY AND POLICE BRIBS
• In summer it gets dark around 10 pm. You can organize a trip to the desert. The sea is a great place for evening walks; there are many restaurants on the coast. Regarding safety, there are a lot of single women walking around here, and as long as you stick to public places, you have no reason to worry about safety.
• Efforts to refresh and modernize the city are visible throughout Aktau. Despite the sandy wind, it is noticeably clean here.
• Unfortunately, you cannot have fun anywhere on the seashore, as well as in the outskirts of the city – it is prohibited to drink alcohol outside the beach bars, and it is impossible to find out about this before the local police take advantage of the situation. If you are caught doing this, they will only take 1000 tenge as a bribe, even if you don’t speak Russian or Kazakh. The police do not pay attention to most locals drinking on the street.
• Remnants of Soviet apartment buildings are found throughout the city. There are no street names – only neighborhoods. A remarkable fact is that even without knowing much of the language, it is enough to tell the taxi driver a set of numbers for him to understand where to go.
• The houses don’t look very good from the outside – they’re kind of decrepit. But I was surprised by how modern some of the apartments look from the inside, even though the building is of a very dubious appearance. Lots of new office and residential buildings screaming with petrodollar wealth.
EXPAT WOMEN: ABOUT MEDICAL CARE, BREAD AND CONTRACEPTIVES
• There is a huge gap between classes – this can be seen even in the standards of both health care and education – from a deplorable state to world class, and most expats use the services of non-government institutions. I had no other choice but to send both children to an American school in Aktau. I am very impressed by the level of teaching in this school, where children of foreigners and local rich people study. Medical care is heaven and earth: private services are indeed expensive, but usually the employing company pays for them. And it is better to deal with a doctor who speaks English. These places have very high standards.
• Of course, you can easily buy sunscreen and oral contraceptives in Aktau. Sometimes even around the clock. Here you can buy most of the things you are used to buying in Europe. This is not a jungle, you know.
• It is convenient that there are shops in every microdistrict. In one of them we bought fresh bread every day.
EXPAT MEN: ABOUT LANGUAGE, PARTIES AND WAITRESSES
• The staff in the restaurants really tries to help, they speak English, especially since my colleague knows a little Russian.
• I was in the toilet, locked the door, a man about 50 years old (about like my father) knocked loudly on the door… after I relieved myself, came out and began to wash my hands, he began to swear in Russian – something like, why did I lock the door? I replied that I didn’t understand him well – he hit me forcefully in the chest, saying: “You understand everything!”
• Employees of not all establishments know how to accept payments by credit cards – they charged the same amount of the bill from my card twice without returning the money. Scary waitresses with the appearance of corrupt women.
• A good mix of people hanging out (age, nationality, mentality, gender), live music, friendly staff, sociable professional security guards. And one more thing: the most beautiful woman in one of the establishments became my wife for several nights!
ABOUT WEATHER AND WIKIPEDIA
• Instead of the standard four seasons, Aktau has very cold winter months leading to endless hot summers.
• Don’t believe the lying Wikipedia, which says that Aktau has moderate temperatures in winter. It’s terribly cold here!
• During the day it is very hot – about 36 degrees, so it is better to walk in the evening.
ABOUT FIGHTERS AND BEACHES
• The attractions here are usually monuments such as the War Memorial, MiG fighter jet and statues.
• I like to walk here along the seashore, along the main street (I think it’s called “Lenin Street”). Aktau has European-style wide streets, and I was pleasantly surprised by the courtesy of the drivers when I walked along the pedestrian crossings! I breathe in huge amounts of sea air with great pleasure (my lungs are finally breathing after the dirty air of Almaty).
• The sea has good water – you can swim all summer, although glass shards and debris on the beaches are a very risky experience. Locals frequent the beaches below Renaissance. Despite the presence of kebab shops and clubs, the beaches are sandy and quite clean, you can lie down.
ABOUT FEARS
• It appears that Aktau and the surrounding areas are currently experiencing an oil industry boom, with many Western companies and people moving here. They even seem to be planning to build a city with artificial islands, like in Dubai. I just never found out how dangerous it really is to live here – after all, many people know about Koshkar-ata and all the nuclear dust. But for most visitors, this doesn’t matter, given the great career opportunities here.
• It depends on you, but I was very afraid of getting lost here – all the houses look the same, and the numbers are the same when you get to a new neighborhood. Luckily, a taxi within the city costs 200 tenge, or about $1.33, so even if I get lost, I won’t have any problems finding the house.
• Don’t be afraid to eat Kazakh food!
ABOUT TRADITIONS, ETHNIC GROUPS AND TAP WATER
• Arriving in this city, you will be faced with the paradox of having a large reserve of hydrocarbons, uranium and the sea, combined with brown water from the tap or its complete absence.
• Ethnic groups from all over the Caspian region inhabit Aktau, most of these people were born in the brutal regions of Dagestan, Ingushetia, Chechnya and Ossetia, and if you are willing to listen, taxi drivers, mainly of these ethnicities, will tell you their wild stories.
• The other day, my colleague, a good local guy, was leaving on vacation and came up and said: “Come on, dude, I’m doing Jolayak today.” It turns out that there is such a healthy tradition – when a person leaves, he calls friends and colleagues to treat them to something tasty as a sign of goodwill and hospitality, in honor of the upcoming trip.
• There are only two things cheaper than everything else – vodka and cigarettes.
• Last night, when we were returning to the city, a herd of camels clumsily crossed the road in front of our Land Cruiser, there were quite a few of them – about 50 camels. I liked the reaction of the driver – a local guy – he leaned back in his seat and dozed for about ten minutes. This is the norm here!
LIFE TIPS
• I had a very good life in Aktau – I received about 200 thousand dollars a year. Although there are some nuances here – food, living conditions, personal hygiene, work activities, the availability of goods and services, the level of official corruption, morality and character – this is sorely lacking here. I advise you to always take your money up front, in cash. Of course, international treaties are enforceable to a certain extent, but if something happens, it is very expensive to hold local ones accountable. And be sure that you have the appropriate documents to leave this country before you enter it!
• Take with you all your books in English or whatever language you use, because you won’t find any books to read here. Try shopping online because there is not as much variety as in Europe.
• In Aktau people are friendly. Make friends because life without friends is impossible.
• Be interested! The region is rich in places to visit. I think this country occupies a high position in history and culture.
• Be sure to buy caviar at low prices, try the amazingly tasty fish shashlik (kebab) – it is offered in coastal cafes.
• Aktau is a small developing town. You should stock up on as many household utensils and favorite foods as possible. Of course, you can get the basics here: meat, rice, sugar, etc., but Western delicacies are probably not sold in jars and bags. There is a local SOS clinic, but it is better to fly somewhere else to get the best quality medical care. I hope you are paid very well if you decide to come here with your family. Good luck.
Sources
http://expats-club.com
http://www.tripadvisor.com/
