Watch your steppe

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)

- Rachel Lopez [e-mail]

So, the videos are usually 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).

They miss the big picture. The Central Asian country and former Soviet republic shares a border with Russia and China, with the six other stans huddled south. It gives Almaty an unusual vibe: Persian warmth, Soviet town-planning, the mountain-town feel of Colorado, the crispness of Europe in autumn, the chill luxe feel of a region that isn't dying to be discovered. Visit for...