Basking in the warmth of winter paradise

Going for vacation to a cold place in winter isn't really my cup of tea. But, on the insistence of my friends, my wife and I relented to become a part of the group of friends headed to Kazakhstan in December.

- Dr Rajiv Sharma

Preparation began well in advance. We bought heavy woollens, snow jackets, thermals and thick-soled shoes before embarking on our venture. A four-hour flight from Delhi took us to Almaty, where we were welcomed by gusty winds. We could feel the chill even inside multiple layers of woollens.

Though Almaty literally means 'a city of apples', it happens to be in a seismically active zone and experiences an average of 47 earthquakes a year. That resulted in the shifting of the capital of Kazakhstan from Almaty to Astana in 1997.