You can find some tips for Central Asia countries in the end of "About me" section.

A lovely married couple from Shymkent (originally we lived in Almaty).
We like cooking, eating and having fun. We're also interested in reading, art, drawing, photography and many other things.
Can speak almost about everything and are always ready to show our guests around the city if we have time. We like meeting new people and making friends all over the world. Come and know more about us!
We also love CHEESE, good alcohol and good coffee. So, don't hesitate to bring your best cheese ;-)

Say hi to our cat so we can see you've read our profile (it's not a joke).

Please read the rules of our house in "home" section.

We're not vegetarians/vegans. If you are - you'd better tell us in advance so we can prepare some food or find a suitable place.

We don't have a car and don't drive.

Central Asia tips (all *stan countries except Pakistan and Afghanistan):
1. Avoid to eat near bazaars (marketplaces, farmer markets), bus stations and railway stations. You'll get something from food poisoning to food dissatisfaction most of the time.
2. There is a tradition where men and women don't sit near each other if they're not a family or friends (in a taxi, for example). Like everywhere else traditions are more obligatory in rural areas and less in big cities.
3. There is also a tradition to take off your shoes inside a house. It goes everywhere.
4. Turkmenistan. Forget about it. It's a big challenge to get a visa there.
5. Transportation. People travel between cities by shared taxis. Usually there is a fixed place where you can get a taxi for a particular destination (bus station or nearby). Ask locals about a price, it's not fixed, bargain.
5a. Train system is highly developed in Uzbekistan, developed in Kazakhstan and useless in Kyrgyzstan and Tajikistan.
5b. For some destinations you can find cheap flights inside the country (e.g. Bishkek - Osh, Almaty - Shymkent). International flights are rather expensive.
5c. Intercity buses work, but not everywhere and sometimes in mysterious ways. Ask locals for help.
6. Don't take a bus, a taxi or a train that goes through the border. You will lose your money and time in most cases. Cross the border by yourself.
7. Aral Sea. If you want to visit it, go to Uzbekistan. There is no infrastructure to do it from Kazakhstan.
8. Tajikistan is underrated.
9. There is no such thing as a national cuisine of a *stan country. It's mostly the same for the region with a couple of dishes and variations here and there. Uzbekistan is the best country for food.
10. 2gis is a useful app with offline maps of cities, a lot of information and bus routes. They work in most of big cities in Kazakhstan and Kyrgyzstan. Also they work in Tashkent. After downloading an app you need to download a city from the app menu. The downside is that it isn't really in English, you need to know some basic navigation words in Russian. Alternatively you can use yandex maps - not so precese, but works offline and still better than Google in many areas.
11. Yandex taxi app is very useful in big cities of Kazakhstan, Uzbekistan and Kyrgyzstan. If you're going to use a taxi, it's worth to buy a cheap second-hand Android smartphone. You can't install it and 2gis on your iPhone because of the sanctions (if your home region is Europe or USA)
11a. Alternatively you can use browser versions of yandex taxi - taxi.yandex.ru and 2gis - 2gis.kz, but it will be in Russian language.
12. Why do you people go to Uzbekistan during the summer? It's freaking hot and a lot of tourists. Try winter instead. It's not so cold there during winter and it's a low season with all the benefits of it.
13. There is a good website to check events in Almaty, Astana, Shymkent, Turkestan and Bishkek. It's in Russian, but you can browse it through translate feature in a Chrome browser. It is sxodim dot com. It's a great portal with a lot of useful info. But they get money for cafes' and restaurants' ads and their tours are usually 10-30% more expensive than market prices.
14. It's mostly nothing to do in Astana (Kazakhstan), so don't plan your stay there for more than a couple of days.
15. Drones are prohibited in Uzbekistan. If you carry it through customs it will be confiscated

Why I’m on Couchsurfing

To have fun, actually, yes, we do everything for fun, even work. Also for meeting new people, leaning about other countries and exploring our city from a different perspective.

Interests

A little bit of everything. Every time we find sth new to be interested in.

• animals
• books
• theater
• photography
• wine
• cheese
• coffee
• anime
• video games
• painting
• psychology
• art
• food
• abandoned places
• theatre
• museum
• museums
• games
• abandoned buildings
• alcohol
• halloween
• fortune telling
• walks
• cheesecake
• manga and anime
• cemeteries
• plush toys
• people and their stories
• coffee and tea
• haunted places
• cooking together
• haunted houses
• poetry writing
• playing musical instruments
• spooky stuff
• pineapple on pizza
• runology
• taro reading

Music, Movies, and Books

We're music lovers, listen to many different genres. Reading is out great love, it's hard to say about favorite books, there are a lot. We love reading in English. We love movies and theatre, it's great going there together with someone!

One Amazing Thing I’ve Done

I live. I think, every day is a wonder by itself. We tried paragliding above three different mountain ranges. Loved it a lot!

Teach, Learn, Share

Art, English, Russian and painting, art therapy, cooking Chinese cuisine. Also we can show you around the city and maybe mountains and give you some tips about nearby countries.

What I Can Share with Hosts

We can cook, teach English and painting, and solve computer problems. We're ready to share our experience and give you some tips about travelling in Asia. We're good at mixing drinks and making snacks. We also can play a bit of music.
If you want to learn some spoken Russian, feel free to ask.

Countries I’ve Visited

Albania, China, Czech Republic, Georgia, Kyrgyzstan, Montenegro, Nepal, Russian Federation, Tajikistan, Turkey, Ukraine, United Arab Emirates, Uzbekistan

Countries I’ve Lived In

Kazakhstan