I don't think it was a scam. Regular taxi is not allowed to proceed up to the lake because of road repairs/ landslides. Yandex taxi will only take you till the Ayusai visitors center. Maybe if you would have done your research prior the trip you wouldn't have felt scammed. Locals do not speak English too well so there can be communication gaps. When one person told you the way to the lake is closed, I am sure he meant that it's closed for motors vehicles, not closed for trekking. Here's one option to do it for benefit of those who are curious. Make a lunch reservation at the Alpine rose hotel which is about 8 kms from the Ayusai Visitors center. The hotel will provide a taxi pick up and drop from the visitors center and for about Rs 3000. Upon reaching the hotel and having your meal, you can start trekking to the lake which is only 3.5 kms away and shall take you 45 mins to get there. After finishing sightseeing at the lake, head back to the hotel and the taxi will drop you back to the Ayusai visitors' center. This option will save you total of 5 hours as you would take about 3.5 hours each way if you trekked from the visitors center up to the lake and back. One thing Indian travelers must learn is humility and avoid judgment of local people when they travel. We are no good ourselves at being good hosts to tourists, so I don't think we earn the right to judge other cultures. Kazakh people are some of the most welcoming people I have seen and are usually very honest in their dealings with tourists. The same holds good for people of all the other central Asian countries and even the bordering ones of Azerbaijan, Armenia and Georgia. Its unfair to sensationalize your experience in a negative way just to get more views. People see your travel vlog thinking it's a fair and accurate assessment that you present as a tourist. They will now wonder if it's worth visiting Kazakhstan if there are so many taxi scams the way you mentioned it. Please post responsibly post proper research about local customs, traditions, policies and practices.
![Big Almaty Lake & How To Get There without Hiking [Sept ‘24]](http://i.ytimg.com/vi/7S7aYd4Ez1I/mqdefault.jpg)
I don't think it was a scam. Regular taxi is not allowed to proceed up to the lake because of road repairs/ landslides. Yandex taxi will only take you till the Ayusai visitors center. Maybe if you would have done your research prior the trip you wouldn't have felt scammed. Locals do not speak English too well so there can be communication gaps. When one person told you the way to the lake is closed, I am sure he meant that it's closed for motors vehicles, not closed for trekking.
Here's one option to do it for benefit of those who are curious. Make a lunch reservation at the Alpine rose hotel which is about 8 kms from the Ayusai Visitors center. The hotel will provide a taxi pick up and drop from the visitors center and for about Rs 3000. Upon reaching the hotel and having your meal, you can start trekking to the lake which is only 3.5 kms away and shall take you 45 mins to get there. After finishing sightseeing at the lake, head back to the hotel and the taxi will drop you back to the Ayusai visitors' center. This option will save you total of 5 hours as you would take about 3.5 hours each way if you trekked from the visitors center up to the lake and back.
One thing Indian travelers must learn is humility and avoid judgment of local people when they travel. We are no good ourselves at being good hosts to tourists, so I don't think we earn the right to judge other cultures. Kazakh people are some of the most welcoming people I have seen and are usually very honest in their dealings with tourists. The same holds good for people of all the other central Asian countries and even the bordering ones of Azerbaijan, Armenia and Georgia.
Its unfair to sensationalize your experience in a negative way just to get more views. People see your travel vlog thinking it's a fair and accurate assessment that you present as a tourist. They will now wonder if it's worth visiting Kazakhstan if there are so many taxi scams the way you mentioned it. Please post responsibly post proper research about local customs, traditions, policies and practices.
Quite nicely explained sharmaji.
R u staying der
hey there, thank you for sharing. does the Rs 3000 include return to the Visitors Center?
I love this line " We are no good ourselves at being good hosts to tourists, so I don't think we earn the right to judge other cultures. "
Is RS3000 include meal and taxi pickup?
What month was your travel?
Big almaty lake tak jaane k liye direct kuch vehicle nehi hai? Kiuki last mey to dekha achha road hai.
Beautiful Details about the location. Keep It Up 😊
How to reach the lake with kids as they cant walk/trek?
Some great information - well done.
How much time it takes to go to the trek start Point from Almaty?
Brave girls, exceptional hiking experience 👏
Heyy, great Vlog!!
Btw, then at the end, how did u came down?
I mean it would have been very hectic, must have got too tired!!🤣🤣
Niche ku nhi gye lake k pas hum to gye the Friday ko
Thanks for informative video,
Why you didn't get bus to this place, i saw in Maps there is direct bus too
At the end I felt the struggle was all worth it. So so beautiful
Ya it is so beautiful
Hello.
Is there mobile internet at Big almaty lake?
No
Hii, which hostel is best in almaty near city centre?
Are yaar when did you change channel name from Travel Tabby to Jagruti...??
Wow, it's wonder lust hostel riverside .... Even right now I'm also staying at same hostel... ❤❤❤
Hostel is really good.
Camera model ?
I miss you too 🥺🥹
Clickedon random video to check big Almaty route, found someone who also stayed at wanderlust riverside
Beautiful place ultimate 🎉
Very nice 👍
❤zabardast
🔥
Bahut Scam hota hai yar vaha par yandex mere sath bhi same yahi hua big Almaty lake jane par pahle hi utar diya aur 4000 tenge liya
Hi, which hostel is this
I wanna know too!
Wanderlust Riverside
😘🤗
Please share your email for video collaboration.
Ur face ❤
Melonsss😍😍 w
the funniest thing when an indian talks about scams 😊😊😊
Stupid things is defending scammers