I Wanna Go to Kazakhstan!

A while back, I wrote a post about Borat. When the movie opened, Kazakhstan officials raised a fuss about its disrespectful depiction of the country. However, they soon recognized the value of all the free publicity and tied the film in with their growing tourist trade.

Having done some research on the country, I recently realized that I need to visit Kazakhstan. This place is amazing! A former Soviet republic, Kazakhstan is in the process of transforming itself into one of the most futuristic places in the world. The architecture alone is mind-boggling. For example, in the capital, Astana, there is a building, the 344-foot-tall Baiterek (or Byterek) tower, that is designed to represent the tree life. Clasped in its "branches" is a 300-ton glass ball that houses an observation deck. Here's what it looks like:

And here's what it looks like at night:

Inside the Baiterek sphere, there's a palm print embedded in a gold and silver triangle:

Touching the palm print causes the Kazakh national anthem to play.

Now, honestly, how cool is that?

And that's not all. Here's the ministry of transportation:

Some people call this building "the cigarette lighter," for obvious reasons. But it looks so damn cool!

Here's the "Astana Tower":

I need to point out that this is a real building, not a virtual-reality mock-up. At least, I think it's a real photo. Here's another shot:

Check out this one, which is imaginatively titled the "Building of Oil and Gas Companies I":



Additionally, the President of Kazakhstan, Nursultan Nazarbayev (isn't that an insanely cool name? Way better than "George Bush"!), has built a huge pyramid in Astana, and is in the process of constructing Khan Shatyry, a gigantic, transparent tent that will cover 100,000 square meters of the city and raise the temperatures in the districts it protects. This is necessary because of one of the major downsides to Kazakhstan: it's incredibly cold. During the winter, the temperatures drop to 40 degrees below zero, and the city regularly freezes for six months of the year.

Okay, that's a serious shortcoming. For that matter, it's also somewhat disturbing that Nursultan Nazarbayev (seriously, what a cool name! Try saying it aloud.) is essentially a benevolent dictator. Still, nobody's perfect, and given my own president's prediliction for undermining the Bill of Rights, I have to admit that I might not be in a position to talk about dictatorships. Besides, I'm not planning on moving there.

At least, not until they build the big-ass tent.