Kazakhstan might not have made your family holiday list yet, but are you missing something? On a recent visit, John Lewisohn found the largest country in Central Asia to be a revelation, less than six hours from the UK, and definitely a rewarding experience to have with adventurous older kids.

Valley of fangs, Kazakhstan © Denis Ryazanov
The horizon shimmered white, the interminably flat sandy landscape was dotted with blasted dull green tussocks. Having passed thirty minutes of “nodding donkey” oil derricks we were now in a vast expanse of featureless dun coloured landscape that suggested it might not change all the way towards the Great Wall of China, thousands of miles East.
“Camels, over there, “said Dennis our indomitable driver, coming to a halt and mercifully silencing the heaving and clanking of his bulky 4 x 4, punished by the uneven and rutted track.
Outside, I was buffeted by a hairdryer hot wind allowed to roam free over the featureless plain, carrying with it, sharp particles of dust and sand. I cannot think of a worse place to don Borat’s ‘mankini’, not that I did!

Kazakhstan hybrid camels
Kazakhstan even has its own take on camels
I observed the familiar silhouette of camels with a dizzying array of back shapes. In most of the world camels come in two types: two humped Bactrian and one-humped dromedary. Here, some even had one and a half humps, although all seemed content to munch the unappetising looking shrubs. This is no accident, Kazakhstan purposefully mates both types of camel, to produce hybrids that, like Bactrians, are impervious to the freezing cold of winter, yet produce the copious amounts of milk dromedaries are famed for: a popular refreshment locally. In fact, in gas stations I noticed a large variety of camel milk in the cold section next to the Pepsi and Sprite.

Ustyurt Plateau
Kazakhstan landscapes are endless and extraordinary
The previous night we’d sampled one of Kazakhstan’s national dishes, Bechbarmak, in the main town of the West Aktau, which we’d flown into on a very comfortable six hour Air Astana flight from Heathrow. The aforementioned Bechbarmak was served either with sturgeon or stewed horsemeat, both options resting atop nests of thick noodles, which looked like deconstructed lasagne sheets. Like all meals we had the portions were huge and made with obvious pride in what is a very distinctive cuisine I grew to relish.
So, what has this got to do with family holidays I imagine you are now thinking. Well let me say this: I am well-travelled, like to think I have seen a lot of the world and viewed a lot of diverse landscapes. Kazakhstan shifted my axis on what this earth is made of, and looks like.
Vast expanses of it are totally alien to you and me, and yet just as much a part of this planet as those landscapes that are more familiar and immediately comforting.
Without getting too deep, the long hours in the car, immersed in this seemingly endless plain, play with your mind; as I suspect it will too with your family should you choose to visit. And that, I think, is a good thing: an education by osmosis, percolating your subconsciousness. Also, given the world our children are likely to grow up in, it’s important for them to see with their own eyes the landscapes inhabited by nations who may one day shape their geo-political future.