Almaty, Kazakhstan

Time for Almaty which seems to be the favorite city of every Kazakhstani I met. Everyone is so proud of their country and everyone likes Almaty and after a few days here I understand why! The city is simply beautiful both in terms of walking around as it's quite green, one one side of the city are the mountains with its year round snow capped peaks and on the other side is the big steppe and flatness. 

It also has amazing restaurants and bars so pretty much it has everything, including skiing within 30 mins of the city in the winter (the ski season is from November to end of April so 6 months of great skiing)

The first day I joined a 16 hr tour to Kolsay lake, Charyn river and 3 other canyons to see the nature's beauty of the Almaty region and it definitely didn't disappoint! Beautiful places with stunning views. 

Charyn canyon or valley of the castles because the scenery looks as if there are castles on the side of the canyon. You do a relaxed 2.5 km walk with cool rock formations along and you end up in the Charyn river. 

The closest you get to the Charyn river the color of the views and rocks change. Something to do with the mineral contents of the soil closer to the river

Moon canyon (also called yellow canyon) - the view resembles as if there are yurts as the small mountains look like many yurts being there. 

Black canyon or valley of death. Due to the high iron content the rocks look black. And the reason it's called valley of death is that at night the black rocks make it seem to be simply part of the soil and people and animals would keep walking and falling into the canyon and hence valley of the death. It's 7kms long and it's actually the beginning of the Charyn canyon which runs for a couple hundred kms. 

Kolsay lake. - beautiful stunning lake in between mountains. In reality there are 3 lakes but only visited the first as it's a 4 hr hike to lake 2 and then another few hours to the 3rd lake. Plus you need to go from 1800 meters above sea level to 2800+ meters above sea level. The views here are simply phenomenal. What a beautiful place. 

One can rent paddle boats to go around the lake and it's definitely worth it. As the lake isn't that big one can go around the lake in 30 min or so. Bear in mind that the size of the boats aren't made for a tall person so pedaling isn't as nice when you are tall…but it's a nice time along the beautiful lake with the snow capped mountains as a breathtaking view. 

After a long day going to all these places the only drawback is the 5 hours bus ride back to get back to the city. But it's definitely worth it. 

Cool things to see in Almaty include:

Panfilov park which is where the Ascension cathedral is at. A beautiful Russian Orthodox church with its typical decorations 

Also on the edge of the park is the eternal flame and memorial for the fallen soldier 

Green bazaar - a pretty decent size bazaar where one can get anything from fruits, vegetables to clothes, souvenirs. You name it, it can be found there. Including a whole section on the butchery to buy horse meat which is a delicacy here and something part of the diet. It's really tasty and pretty much offered in every restaurant in some form or another. 

Kok Tobe - it's a short cable car ride to go to the top of the mountain for some breathtaking views of the city and there's a little fair at the top with games and stuff. Also a tower which is very nicely illuminated at night. I got an amazing sunset from the top. 

While I didn't get a chance to go see Big Almaty lake, I decided instead to go to Medeu and Shymbulak. 

So Medeu is during the winter the highest open air ice skating rink at over 1800 meters above sea level. It happened that when I went there was a car expo of pimped out cars so I had to go check it out. It's funny how people pimp out any car!

But the highlight is actually Shymbulak. During the winter this is actually a ski resort but in the summer one can ride the cable car to the first station from which you can ride two other cable cars further up. On one of them are actually two different rides and it takes you to the top station at 3200 meters above sea level and here even after the summer there's snow and the views are simply breathtaking. And yes it's a bit chilly even in September. 

The other cable car is actually a ski lift to a different part of the mountain and well ..it gets chilly being on the ski lift after a while. 

There's even a pretty hard core mountain bike trail all down the mountain so you see a few people bringing their bikes up the ski lift. 

This is the type of place that words won't do it justice to be honest. It's just beautiful!

At the bottom of the different cable cars and close to the Medeu ice rink, one can find Auyn which is a neo-kazakh restaurant with the typical dishes with a modern twist. And probably the best food I tried in Kazakhstan. 

They also have Kazakh inspired cocktails and some Kazakh wine (the Cabernet franc ain't bad)

As for food the horse meat tartare was phenomenal as well as the Horse meat Beshbarmak (the most typical Kazakh dish which it actually translates as five fingers food as it's meant to be eaten with your hand) which consists of some big wide noodles at the bottom with different cuts of meat on top. These included a mini rib, a sausage, steak and I guess horse bacon. 

Simply delicious. To top it off, their honey cake was also very tasty. 

Almatyis also know for its nightlife and there are plenty of options in that respect as the famous Barmagalot bar or bla bla bar.

And to top it off a nice sunrise sendoff at the airport

Astana - world nomad games in Kazakhstan

Astana

A very interesting city as it developed after independence from the Soviet Republic when it was decided it will be the capital of the country and it was built up, even though it's really in the middle of nowhere in Kazakhstan.

I don't think it has much to offer on the tourist side unless you are into new buildings and new things as most things have been built in the last 30 years or so. I think their inspiration is a bit in the UAE as they built big and shiny monuments and buildings all over. And for a city that's been planned and it has big avenues, it has plenty of traffic. 

Some key highlights of the city include:

• Baiterek tower which you can go up and get pretty good views of the city, plus right at the top there's a handprint of the first president of Kazakhstan 

• Opera - some people say it's one of the most beautiful ones in the world and it has a capacity for over 1200 people (sadly it was opera performance or nomad games opening ceremony)

• Ataryu bridge - made in the shape of a sturgeon to honor the second type of Kazakh gold after the oil: Caviar 

• Khan Shatyr - a massive shopping mall designed by Normal Foster. It gives the mall of America a run for its money. 

• There are a few cool parks, a massive mosque, national history museum and the palace of peace and reconciliation among other things to visit. 

While there are plenty of things to visit they are all spread out across the city and it's all new stuff. 

But I didn't come to Astana for its touristic appeal but to watch the 5th World Nomad Games. 

These are the Olympics for nomadic culture but it's not just about sports but also about nomadic traditions and there's even a science program (e.g. research into nomadic diet)

But the cultural part it's a huge part and as important as the different sports competitions, which from a fan perspective is just amazing as one gets to watch competitions while also being exposed to the country culture and nomadic culture. 

Another interesting fact is that there are many traditional board strategy games which are considered sports (e.g. their version of what chess would be in terms of sports)

Disclaimer: it's hard to get great photos of sports event and I don't know how to embed videos yet to show things)

• Opening ceremony - the ticket said 4pm but nobody explained to me that from 4 to 7pm they just have some music and the actual opening ceremony only starts at 7pm. 

It was held at Astana Arena and the ceremony is done in the same spirit as the Olympics with each country's delegation parading with their flag on the stage but led by a horse as after all these are the Nomad Games.  And yes, Mexico had a delegation. 

There were 80+ countries participating! Which makes me think it's time for me to start training for the next nomad games in 2026!

After the countries had their time it was time for an hour long show that showcases Kazakhstan nomadic culture. Pretty impressive production that combined lights, projections and 120+ artists performing. Absolutely beautiful and impressive. 

• The ethnoaul village is the main area where the cultural program happens and just visiting this made it worthwhile coming to the games. Some of the medal ceremonies are also held here each evening. 

  
  Within the cultural village, there are a couple sports grounds for different events (horseback archery, horseback wrestling, powerful nomad, eagle hunting, etc. and across the road it was the traditional archery and the famous Kokpar and Kok boru fields)

The ethnic village contained 50+ yurts and each or a few of them would represent a different region of Kazakhstan and they showcased their particular culture as well as their traditional dresses which are overall simply awesome. Some yurts were mini museums, others had 360 movie projections, others were shops and many were simply a way to show Kazakh hospitality and they would offer sweets, food, tea, camel and horse milk, etc. Many also performed music, puppet theater, dancing, a bridal welcoming to the family, etc.  so the whole experience was so much fun especially if you took time to talk to the people and realize that while traditions are similar there are also differences. 

There were also a massive yurt for cultural performance and music as well as a big stage where different performances from there traditional music to opera to a kids orchestra, dancing, etc. 

• Archery - this is done with a bow and arrow….no fancy Olympics equipment. There are 4 modalities and depending on the modality is the type of target they shoot at. (Some are like a typical bulls eye, others are round things which hang and due to the wind are moving and rotating adding difficulty, other is the kind of shape of a fat person and others are narrow bulls eyes top and bottom)

• And men shoot from 70 mts and women from 60 mts.  It's super impressive to see this. 

  

• Kokpar and Kok boru - this is the highlight of the games and central Asia takes this super seriously. It's like playing polo but the difference is that the two teams need to take a headless goat carcass (for the games it's a plastic dummy one) that weights 33kgs and be able to pick it from the ground and then take it to the small circle (kokpar) or the cauldron (Kok boru) to score a point. 

While there are 12 horses/people per team, it's played 4 vs 4 and it involves a lot of strategy as to how to first pick up the goat carcass from the ground while on a horse to then how to attack in order to score a point. And how to defend as the team defending will use their horses to block the other horses path and it gets kind of aggressive. Quite a spectacle. 

And even the USA has a Kok boru team. Just for the sake of it as clearly they are not good…. To the point that the stadium announcer and narrator offered 50,000 tenge (~100 usd) to each American player if they scored one point. It was super funny…..I don't think the American team ever had the goat in their possession in the whole game…but great effort!

And the two best teams are Kazakhstan and Kyrgyzstan which have a very fierce rivalry even though Kyrgyzstan normally wins. Both finals were between these two teams and Kazakhstan pulled an upset winning the kokpar final 5 to 4 amid plenty of controversy but then lost 10-4 the Kok boru final

• Horseback archery - if you think archery is difficult, try doing so while riding a horse. Super cool sport to watch. Some targets are on the ground, others are 5mts up and you need to hit them from below. Lots of skills involved. 

  

• Horseback wrestling - you need to fight the other person and throw them off their horse. Really cool to watch as clearly this ain't easy

  

• Asyk Atu - this is similar to what canicas would be in Mexico and it's a traditional game played by kids. It used to be played with the spine bones of a goat and the idea is that you put 9 bones in a line and there's a big circle of like 3mts in diameter. And then you stand a few meters behind the circle and you throw another bone with the intention of hitting one of the 9 bones and getting it out of the circle to score a point. 

Super cool game and there were many countries competing (Spain, Hungary, Czech republic, etc). What I really love about many of these competitions is that manybare about skills that don't require being born as a super athlete to be good at. 

• Wrestling (in its different modalities) is one of the most popular events and I saw the belt wrestling in which each opponent grabs the other by a belt that's around them and by just using the belt needs to throw the other to the ground and put his back against the floor. Crazy impressive the technique and how they do this. And there's men and women categories.  

  

• Powerful nomad - part of the world's strongest competition. Includes throwing a 13kgs javelin; doing squats while balancing a 100 kg wood pole and other events. 

  

• While watching one of the events, I ended up meeting Dikanuly Shaman who happens to hold a few Kazakhstan records and some Guinness world records for some crazy strength stuff. 

He pulled a vehicle with many people on top of it by just using his mouth. Or he climbs up a platform in which the steps are sharp knives all while carrying I don't know how many kgs in each hand and then while on top of the platform standing on knives edges, he carries someone with his mouth. Crazy crazy stuff. 

• Mas wrestling. Two people grab a stick and the idea is to pull it off the other person to win. Sounds easy but it's super difficult.  I tried it for fun and got destroyed. 

  

• Other cool events include eagle hunting, beige (horseback races but the rider needs to move little obstacles from the ground while riding) and a couple other sports

• TOGYZQUMALAQ (TOGUZ KORGOOL) - Let's not forget the 3 or 4 different strategy board games (kind of like chess and checkers) of which Togyzqumalaq is the most popular and one that its popularity has been steadily increasing worldwide and one I will start playing as I already bought my board game. 

The other super cool thing is that all the athletes are walking around and also going to watch other sports so you can go and talk to them. Very interesting talking to people from all over which one wouldn't expect at the nomad games such as Switzerland, Ireland, Ecuador, Zimbabwe, etc. 

My most important takeaway of the world nomad games is that it's already on my plans for 2026 or maybe even the version of games that apparently happens in Mongolia next year. 

As highlighted in terms of food and traditional Kazakh food I can recommend both Qazaq gourmet restaurant and Arnau restaurant. 

At Qazaq their mini starter of flaky bread with white honey to dip it in is amazing and you can accompany it with a shot of Arkyn - a 45% drink made from horse milk. I would say it's a very tasty vodka. 

As for what to order, definitely try the Chsheke of horsemeat (traditionally it's the whole head but here they just serve you the best parts)

The classic beshbarmak is different cuts of horsemeat over some flat noodles. Really tasty and the Kazakh specialty. 

Kyrgystan - Magical nature

First of all my trip here is just a glimpse and a very short trip which doesn't do justice to the beauty of this country. 

Kyrgyzstan is a mountainous country with 94% of it being mountains so it's a nature lover's dream, full of hiking opportunities including the opportunity to climb Lenin's peak at over 7100 meters which is a tough peak to summit apparently due to its steepness and glacier top. 

The country is simply beautiful and its main attraction is nature. You can even do a hiking trip to search for snow leopards over a week. 

My short evening in Bishkek, I went to the main plaza Ala Too square in which there was some concert happening. Kind of kyrgyzstani rap/hip hop. 

Saw the opera theater and panfilov park, which is kind of an amusement park. 

Had an amazing dinner at Frunze restaurant with a very cool outdoor seating in which they do traditional dishes in a modern way. The Horse ribs were spectacular. 

Next day in the morning, on the way to the Kok Moinok canyon we stopped at Burana tower which is the most important monument in the country. In the 8 to 10th century there used to be a city here and the watchtower (which has been reconstructed) is what remains. 

The interesting thing is also the cemetery there as the tombstones have the image/face of the person carved into their tombstone. Something very peculiar. 

Kok Moinok canyon is a pretty cool gorge which was created by wind eroding the mountain and creating a small canyon. Really nice views from it and pretty impressive how wind and rain can create such beautiful places.  

And in what is a very relaxed chill day with not much wind, when walking in the canyon, clearly it intensifies and one can feel the wind. 

While on the way, my guide Beksultan was following on Instagram the horse trekking competition part of the world nomads game as one of the riders of kyrgyzstan is from his village. He told me that since he was a kid, he started training his horse. 

So horseback riding is done on teams of 5 and it's a 5 day race in which each day they need to do 100kms. 

For a team to win, 3 out of the 5 riders must finish. 

We continued a few more hours driving to Issyk kul lake (south shore) which is the second largest mountain lake in the world after lake Titicaca. Amazing views on one side with the lake and the other with snow capped mountains.

We got to our yurt camp and then drove a few minutes to the shire to take a swim in this beautiful lake. The water was a bit chilly but very enjoyable. 

Then we had a home cooked dinner from the hosts of the yurt camp. 

Next day it's time for more adventure but waking up to rain outside the yurt is not the most inviting thing to venture out to and feel the damp cold morning. 

But it was time to go eagle hunting. 

Eagle hunting is one of the key nomad ways of living. People look for them in the mountains when they are babies in order to start training them. 

Eagles grow to their full size in 6-7 months and it takes around 3 years to train them so they can start hunting. Their eyesight is so good that they can find prey up to 4 kms away when flying. 

Traditionally the way they hunt with them (mostly in winter) is to go horseback riding with the eagle master taking the eagle with him and others with horses looking for prey before they release the eagle. 

It's quite a spectacle to see the eagle take flight and catch a prey. 

The eagle I got to know was named Sirgac (or something like that)

I also saw dog hunting with the local Eaigan dogs. Damn these dogs are fast. They can run and once they catch something they seem pretty vicious. And they look so cute when chilling. 

Then it was time to try some archery. Looks so easy to just use a bow and arrow and I didn't do that bad. At least I hit the board around 40% of the time. But I will just blame it on the cold day and my fingers being numb from coldness. 

Maybe my Olympic dreams never materialized but I might have a chance in two years for the world nomad games. 

Now it was time to visit Aksai canyons which are simply spectacular the way they look when one climbs one of the small hills and look at the canyons. Ok one side the beautiful lake and on the other the snow capped mountains. What an amazing view and gorgeous place. It's simply hard to describe nature's beauty to make it justice. 

Then we went quickly past the Chon Kemin Valley which as it says it's just a valley past the mountain range where the lake is. 

And that was my quick trip in this majestic and beautiful country. 

Uzbekistan - Samarkand and quick visit to Tashkent

Another magical city in Uzbekistan. I'm surprised there aren't more tourists coming here as every city is a great place to visit and Samarkand is no exception. 

The difference between Samarkand and Bukhara and Khiva is that Samarkand as the old capital through History is a big city and hence most places to visit are more spread out and there really isn't an old city per se.

So I will just tell you about the highlights. 

Mausoleum Amir Temur

Amir Temur was an impressive ruler who created an empire in around 30 years that extended from Egypt to Moscow to the great walls of China. But he believed in living with justice even though every war he fought he pretty much won and a part of his empire simply became part of the empire skipping the wars as they knew they didn't stand a chance against his powerful army. 

Another interesting fun fact is that many generations later, it was one of his descendants who actually built the Taj Mahal in India (the Temur empire at some point moved its capital to India)

His actual tumb in the mausoleum is made of Onyx and if you shine a light on it, it will shine! 

Another interesting fact is that inside his tomb there was a message stating that if he were to rise from the dead, the world would shake. And as history has it, Russian scientists decided in 1941 to open his tomb for research and the next day is when the Nazis invaded Russia in WWII and allegedly the scientists who opened his tomb died shortly thereafter. 

Registan square

This is the main square and I will go back to it later. Pretty impressive mosque and two identical madrassas opposite each other. 

Inside one can find a museum with artifacts from the era but also a room dedicated to Amir Temur grandson who was an astronomer and for his time someone visionary. He was the first one (in the times before Galileo Galilei) to be able to measure time accurately in terms of seconds and minutes. Plus he also was instrumental in understanding and naming many constellations and stars. 

The mausoleum of the king. 

This is a collection of mausoleums and it's a stunning place to visit and see the different structures. 

There's a legend that one should make a wish and count the number of steps in the way up and then on the way down and if they match your wish come true

Each mausoleum has a different design. The level of details super interesting and cool

The first mausoleum has a phrase of life is flesh. First ones start of the 14th and 15th century.  

The second pair are from Timur sisters. 

There are many more, one which has gold and copper line which create a cool shiny visual effects with the sun

One is of the last person who saw the prophet Muhammad alive.

At the end there are two mausoleums made of terracotta. Pretty impressive and wow... That's patience for every mosaic

We stopped for lunch at the Plov #1 restaurant to try their specialty - Plov. It's a dish made of rice with meat which is extremely tasty and como all throughout the region. Then we stopped at the Bazaar which sells from touristic stuff to everyday stuff and food. Cool place to wander a bit and also look for souvenirs if interested in that. 

Amir Temur (bibi-khanum) mosque made for his 3rd wife. 

It fell apart during the earthquake and it's been pretty much rebuilt in its majority. It used to have a height of 80+ meters but now it's only 40.

She died by being poisoned

I went to see the small Gumbaz sinagogue which was built over 100 years ago. No longer functioning due to lack of people. 

After a long day exploring the city, I went to the wine museum to learn about Uzbekistan wine and honestly this was a comolete rip off. Tasting bad wines and cognacs and they had no idea about anything they gave you to taste. The next day I went to another tasting at the Bagizagan hotel by the train station which is at least a better experience even thou the wines still leave a lot to be desired. Just look at how it started and how it went. My face says it all.

At night, it happened that my hotel is in front of a wedding venue and since people were arriving, my curiosity won and decided to take a peek to see the wedding celebration. As soon as I walked to the entrance someone asked me where I'm from and he happened to be the uncle of the bride so he invited me to join. 

So I ended up having a feast of food from all traditional dishes to sushi. 

The wedding, it turned out was a 2 for 1 deal as two brothers were getting married (to different brides!)

So let's just say I ate and ate and ate some more and then pretended I could do traditional dances.

I started my second day at the history and Jewish museum as both are on the same premises. In 1998 there were around 30k Jews in uzbekistan; today very few remain. 100 in Bukhara, 150 in Samarkand and 1500 in Tashkent. Most have emigrated. Even thou today there are good relationships with the country and no issues against Jews.

Then I ventured to the Somsa street where dozens of restaurants and vendors make Somsa at Kokanskiy street. Really tasty the different ones I tried. 

Paper making village

It's actually a little village made now for tourists with different small workshops to see how things used to be made. 

While the paper mill is the most famous, one can see jewelry making, candle making, knife making, a rice mill and other stuff....most of which it seems I came at nap time as people in these workshops were having a big snooze. 

The paper mill which actually has been operating for over a thousand years gives a quick tour on the paper making process and explains why paper made this way can last hundreds of years and one can even put it in water for a bit.

It all starts with the mulberry tree. The small branches are cut and then put to soak in water to soften them. Then clean the outside and keep the pulp in strings which is then boiled for 5 hours to soften it. Also while boiling one can add spices as walnuts or other fruits for coloring. 

Then the pulp is pressed for 8 to 9 hours to make it proper pulp.

Then the pulp in water gets into paper form sheet by sheet.  

Then it's pressed with 40 kgs to dry it and once dry it's brushed with a horse hair to make it nicer. 

Then it is made smoother on a marble table which is pressed with a shell for extra smoothness. 

Another workshop is the ayurvedic oil which is made from cotton, sesame, melon and other seeds and which creates a black oil apparently good for the skin. Will know tomorrow if it works or my skin is all destroyed. Next day I have nothing to report on any visible improvements or rashes. 

Further to that side of town is the silk road complex and ethic center where all the top hotels are in a park area which is 20-30 minutes outside of the city. 

During the day it's pretty much empty. It feels a bit artificial and a bit tourist trap but a cool place for the evening as many locals come hang out here. Not exactly my cup of tea but plenty of good restaurants, handicrafts and eveb some traditional shows. 

The Bagizagan hotel has a very cool wine cellar. It's a 4th generation operation and they own one of the largest of not the largest wineries in the country producing 2 million bottles per year.  

Our sommelier was Ilhan who is 3rd generation from the family and he's really passionate about his wines. As for the wines, let's just say Uzbekistan should probably focus on cognac and vodka. Although the 2013 Saperavi wasn't that bad.

As I went back to the hotel to change as the nights get chilly, the hotel owner was with his friend and invited me for some vodka and well...one cannot say no to a host. 

Back to Rajistan square as I wanted to see it at night. Only problem is that as soon as I arrived I realize it's closed for some special show….not good!....but somehow I convinced the guard to let me in and he even got me a chair to watch the show. It turned out to be an amazing 3D projection show that made Rajistan square look out of this world. 

I don't know how often they do this show but if you are in Samarkand, try to find out as it was spectacular. 

Plus after the show as there were only a couple hundred people there, one has pretty much the place to yourself to walk around without all the people as in the day.

Then the next day was an early morning train ride to Tashkent. It's important to note that Uzbekistan trains are actually amazing, including the Afrosiyab bullet train (there are Spanish trains) in which I rode. Great trains with great service and a perfect way to travel around the country. 

The other photo was an interesting occurrence as I was walking and I'm the middle of the city there were three brand new rolls Royce parked just like nothing. No restaurant or hotel or anything of importance around. Go wonder!!!

Restaurants 

Samarkand restaurant - they also host weddings here so it can be a fun experience I heard

Orzu mahmudiv street. Lots of café and some bars

Blues bar

Where to stay

Around silk road are all the high end hotels including Hilton and a few others, only drawback is that it's 25-30 mins outside the city

Arka boutique hotel was my choice for its location and it was a magnificent choice. Cute rooms and amazing staff. Plus conveniently located

-------------------------------------:

I had a quick stop for a couple hours in Tashkent. Whatever I write won't do much justice to this city as I was there only a few hours. But It seems like a very vibrant and happening young city. 

The Hotel Uzbekistan which is set to go remodeling soon is a typical Soviet eyesore and one can still stay there and reminisce and feel back in Soviet times as apparently the rooms are in need of some modernization. The one thing that they haven't taken out were all the surveillance and spying devices that were there during Soviet times to spy on people and eavesdrop on anything they said. 

Next to the Soviet looking hotel is a complete contrast with the recently built convention center which cost half a billion dollars to make (because they can!) as they imported all the white marble from Greece. 

Very cool looking building but I'm sure most citizens weren't happy about this expenditure. 

These and other buildings are around a big roundabout and park which in the middle it has Amir Temur statue on his horse. the statue here has been changed countless times depending who was in power. From Lenin, Stalin, communist monuments to nowadays Amir Temur. 

Other places quicky visited were the victory Park, opera house and the old part of town which has the few remaining historical sights and where there's a mausoleum inside of which there's a tree that's been fossilized inside the structure. 

Last, Tashkent has 50 metro stations, many of which are decorated incredibly and definitely worth riding the subway just to experience them. (Besides the point that the subway is a great way to move around and it's quite cheap. )

Some of the stations feel more like museums than the subway...beautiful columns, decorated ceilings, paintings, etc.