Transport here is an adventure! Almaty, alas, does not have a metro, although there are plenty of buses and tramvai clogging the streets. Forget about a bus map. There isn't one. You are just going to have to ask around until someone gives you directions on which bus to take, which may or may not lead you where you want to go. Buses and tramvai are also generally to be avoided at any hour approaching rush hour, unless you favor being flattened to a pancake forever. It's common to see buses, packed to the rim with passengers, rattling along at high speed, with people spilling out the doors and hanging on for dear life.

My most common method of transport is the "taxi" system. For the most part, there aren't marked taxis here, so every local looking to make an extra 200-300 tenge (about $2.50) is a taxi driver. The price (which will depend on the time of day and where you are going) is negotiated before you get in; It's also quite common that your driver will pick up other passengers enroute without your permission. On occasion, I have wanted to jump out of a taxi the minute, I've gotten in, but, for the most part, it's been a chance to gauge how locals react to foreigners. In addition, many drivers don't speak Russian well so it's my one chance to practice Kazakh. I've had a number of marriage proposals ("You know, we Kazakhs always have two wives," one driver jokingly told me), pleas for English lessons, free taxi rides (Kazakh language skills come in handy for more than just research! ) and heart-felt assesments of the economic situation here. Most commonly, I'm picked up by the rusting old Ladas that trundle along, but, on occasion, even the drivers of spanking new Mercedes pick up passengers. This is a crazy place: Where else can one be driven home in style in a new Mercedes for the grand sum of $2.50?!