Watch your steppe

No one talks about Kazakhstan, and when they do, most people get it wrong. Here are Almaty's unexpected delights

- Rachel Lopez [e-mail]

For Kazakhstan, don't listen to the influencers. They tend to be young, penniless students, enjoying the rupee's advantage over the tenge and India's visa-free status. (And the fact that a direct flight to Almaty, the biggest city, is barely three hours from Delhi)

So, the videos are about discount bins at clothing markets, and which food stalls offer free samples inside the historic Green Bazaar. And, they pronounce it Kazz-aak-iss-tan, when it's really Kuzz-ukh-Stan (no i) and say Al-maati, when it's Al-ma-tey.