My Trip to Kazakhstan-Updated - part-II

 I am going to update this post later with my experience of being in Kazakhstan after 2.5 years. In this post, to start with, I am going to write only few lines about my recent trip.

After I left Kazakhstan in March, 2019, I could not visit Kazakhstan soon. I had a plan to be there in January/February of 2020 but by that time, the COVID-19 corona virus pandemic had almost engulfed the whole world. Then, flights to Delhi was cancelled by Air Astana, and borders were sealed by various governments. So, I had to wait for a very long time to go back to Kazakhstan. Finally, I landed there in late August, 2021 but not without difficulty. I lived in Astana (Nursultan) for a month and returned to my home country in late September, 2021. 

After my this year's visit to Kazakhstan, my passion to write about Kazakhstan and my life there has been reignited. I will update this post slowly, surely and steadily.

Few Things about my recent Kazakhstan trip:

1. I flew to Istanbul, Turkey and thereafter, I was supposed to go to Uzbekistan but Uzbekistan COVID-19 rules did not allow to enter me there or transit via them. That's why I had to change the flight to Almaty from Istanbul. It was a very difficult, expensive affair. Ultimately, I landed in Almaty and then, headed to Astana by Air Astana. I hope this situation would not have to face by anyone ever.

2. My residence permit in Kazakhstan got expired as I had lived more than 181 days outside Kazakhstan. The official process of Residence Card cancellation was undertaken after going to Migration Police Office located in Amangeldi Street. I had taken C-2 (Family Reunion Visa) from Delhi, India before flying to Kazakhstan and there was no issue about Visa.

******

To help expats in Kazakhstan, I regularly post on two sites: expat.com (https://www.expat.com/en/blog/asia/kazakhstan/astana/astana-almaty.blogspot.com). I post with a username Hyderabadgermany on expat.com forum, and on Caravanistan Forum. My user Name is IndianGuy there. You can read my posts, experiences there too. https://caravanistan.com/forum/memberlist.php?mode=viewprofile&u=1190

My recent trip in Kazakhstan - in August & September, 2021

 I am going to update this post later with my experience of being in Kazakhstan after 2.5 years. In this post, to start with, I am going to write only few lines about my recent trip.

After I left Kazakhstan in March, 2019, I could not visit Kazakhstan soon. I had a plan to be there in January/February of 2020 but by that time, the COVID-19 corona virus pandemic had almost engulfed the whole world. Then, flights to Delhi was cancelled by Air Astana, and borders were sealed by various governments. So, I had to wait for a very long time to go back to Kazakhstan. Finally, I landed there in late August, 2021 but not without difficulty. I lived in Astana (Nursultan) for a month and returned to my home country in late September, 2021. 

After my this year's visit to Kazakhstan, my passion to write about Kazakhstan and my life there has been reignited. I will update this post slowly, surely and steadily.

******

To help expats in Kazakhstan, I regularly post on two sites: expat.com (https://www.expat.com/en/blog/asia/kazakhstan/astana/astana-almaty.blogspot.com). I post with a username Hyderabadgermany on expat.com forum, and on Caravanistan Forum. My user Name is IndianGuy there. You can read my posts, experiences there too. https://caravanistan.com/forum/memberlist.php?mode=viewprofile&u=1190

Some Photos from Astana, Kazakhstan - Clicked in July, 2017

I am not a Professional Photographer. I am just like any other ordinary person who likes to click anything interesting that comes on the way. While walking on the river side (on the river bank of ISIL/ESHIM River in Astana on the right bank), I clicked above photos by using my very old iPhone 4. All the photos were clicked on a single day, I guess in the month of July, 2017. And, I am yet to figure out how to correctly pronounce/write the name of the River. Is it an ESHIL River, or is it ESHIM River?

So far as I remember now, the day must have been warm, not very hot and Sunny, with mild pleasing breeze.

1. The first photo shows three top buildings of Astana which are collectively called "Grand Alatau". They look cool from a far distance. From close distance, I did not like them in terms of modernity, they are little old now.

I usually go around these buildings as it houses a bicycle shop (but not very helpful one as it refused to refill my tyres with its airpump and in another occassions, it overcharged me for some bicycle oil. Therefter, I stopped going there.), the famous O'hara Irish Pub (Where I have never been to), many cafes and restaurants including Rumi-Plov Center (Rumi is highly overrated Plov Center. I have been to there many different branches and they have not been able to impress me.). The area around it is good for walking, bicycling though bicycling on the river bank is not allowed anymore.

In the above photo, you see the pavement along the river, river ISHIL/ESHIM, and in the far distance, Hotel Radisson and the building adjoining it which houses Fitness Center and Gym "World Class Fitness". The Building is also called Business Center Arman on Saryarka Street.

Pedestrian Zone on the right bank of River ISHIL/ESHIM - it's truly a pedestrian area. You can see many people during the summer freely walking here. Many mothers with young children and with their trollies/prams/buggies are easily spotted. You could ride bicycle here until 2015 but from 2016 Summer, it has been off-limit for the bicycle users. During the Summer, you will see few traffic police here to manage the crowds and especially to warn and stop bicycle users.

The area is same as above. It's the other side. You can see the Kazakh Flag which is in Central Park, the new hotel (I think it is call St. Regis) and the bridge which connects Samal Micro-district to Kabanbai Batir Street.

The round structure is for water fountain and light show.

Kazakh's traditional musical instrument is "Dambra/Dombra" but it does not look like it.

The photos and commentaries above are nothing special as you may have noticed by now. They are just normal ramblings of a foreigner who calls this city as his home until he flies again. Feel free to suggest, comment, propose ideas if you have any.

How to travel from Astana to Borovoe (Бурабай көлі) in Kazakhstan

On the first week of January this year, I was in Borovoe (Бурабай көлі) in Kazakhstan. I was in Borovoe (Бурабай көлі) in Kazakhstan for three days and soon, I will be coming with a travel blog on it. For those of you who have not heard about Borovoe (Бурабай көлі) in Kazakhstan, Wikipedia has this to say: "Borovoe (Бурабай көлі) in Kazakhstan is one of the Burabay lakes in the north of Kazakhstan, in the Burabay District of Akmola Region, in the eastern foothills of Kokshe Mountain."

You can read more on Borovoe (Бурабай көлі) in Kazakhstan From HERE

I will be back with more information soon.

So, how did we plan?

We had many days for holiday at the end of 2016 and on the first week of January this year. WE were roaming around Astana for few days and then, decided to head to Borovoe. We celebrated New Year on 31st December Night-morning of 1st January and left to Borovoe on early morning of January 01. We took the electric train from Astana. It was 3.5 hours journey and reached Kurort-Borovoe  Railway station around 10.30 am. So, if you are going to Borovoe by train, the station where you should get off is Kurort-Borovoe.

Regarding Railway tickets, we bought them online from Kazakhstan Railways Website (From the website of Kazakhstan Temir Zholy). We had tried to book ticket online few months ago from Kazakhstan Temir Zholy website but we were not successful but this time, the process was easy. We booked the tickets on Second Class of Electric Train (электропоезд) and got comfortable sitting chairs. The train was full but there were no people standing. Everyone had their seat. The ticket per person was around 1200 Tenge which is quite cheap/reasonable.

When we reached the Kurort-Borovoe Railway Station

It was our first trip and we didn't know how to reach our hotel. Our hotel was booked in Advance in Borovoe. It was Park Hotel, Kokshetau in Shchuchīnsk, Borovoe.

The hotel had informed us that there will be shuttle buses, generally from Kurort-Borovoe Railway Station to a place near to our hotel but they had also cautioned us that the buses might not be plying on the day of January 01. So, we had to take a taxi. When we came out from the Kurort-Borovoe Railway Station, we did not see anything like Shuttle Bus. So, we decided to bargain for a taxi. We caught a taxi driver, and started our bargain. He started from 3000 Tenge but we agreed for 2000. He took us to the hotel but the taxi driver (His name is Talgat/Талгат) cheated us and charged extra 500 Tenge.

On the way, there was a barrier on a road and a guard came to let our taxi enter. The driver told us that there would be a camera and each taxi entering this area should pay 500 Tenge. They will not charge immediately but when he returns, he needs to pay. So, we had to pay him 2,500 KZT and later, we found out that it was all bullshit ! bullshit !! bullshit !!! Anyway, we were in a holiday mood and did not make the fuss of that extra 500 tenge. (While returning back to Railway Station from the hotel after three days, we ordered the taxi through hotel reception and it was 1500 tenge. We talked with the taxi driver on the way back about 500 tenge and he laughed. He said us that only the taxis registered outside the region will have to pay around 200 tenge per passenger but it is not at all imposed.)

So, we found out the standard price from Kurort-Borovoe Railway Station to any hotel in Borovoe/Shchuchīnsk should be 1,500 KZT.

Borovoe, Kazakhstan - a holiday spot which is located almost 200 Kms from Capital of Kazakhstan, from Astana

When we reached Hotel

Park Hotel, Kokshetau in Shchuchīnsk, Borovoe is a good hotel but I have mixed reviews/views about it. The location is good and the hotel rooms were nice but I think the Restaurant and its service was disappointing to say the least. Food was not tasty at all and the service was quite slow. But, I must credit to their breakfast which was a buffet one and was surprisingly a good one. I will write more about Park Hotel, Kokshetau in Shchuchīnsk, Borovoe and its reviews in my other blog posts.

I have posted few photos in this blogpost and you can see that there is snow, snow and snow around Park Hotel, Kokshetau in Shchuchīnsk, Borovoe. We can not find fault with Park Hotel, Kokshetau in Shchuchīnsk, Borovoe at least for this. Most of the time, we walked around little bit. There was a lake nearby and we walked to see the frozen lake. We did sliding on ice seating on Round Tube/Balloon. We saw people skiing and skating but we did not do it by ourselves. We are little bit scared of winter sports. At the end of three days, we came back to Astana by train from Kurort-Borovoe Railway Station. As I already mentioned, we took taxi through hotel reception from Park Hotel, Kokshetau in Shchuchīnsk, Borovoe to Kurort-Borovoe Railway Station.

The journey from Kurort-Borovoe Railway Station to Astana Railway Station on 3rd January, 2017 at around 15.00 Hours was not so great and pleasant. Why? I will come with another blogpost on it.

Banya and Sauna of Astana, Kazakhstan/Баня и сауна Астаны, Казахстан

It's good to be back in my blog so regularly and so frequently. I have already wished you a Happy New Year in case you do not know yet. :) Today, I will be wishing you "Happy Orthodox Christmas Day" on 7th January if you celebrate it.

Today, what am I talking about? Nothing in particular to be honest but some of my ramblings and rants for sure. The end of December, 16 and the first week of January, 17 were great for me. Holiday season is always good. We went to Banya/Sauna in Astana, Kazakhstan, and went around the city and finally, to Baravoe/Shuchinsk. I would like to talk about our Banya/Sauna experiences in Astana.

What is Banya and Sauna? (что такое баня/сауны?)

Banya/Sauna are same in principle. There will be a small room to heat your body and once you get heated sufficiently, you come out from the room and take bath in hot/warm/cold water as you wish. This process is repeated for 3-4 times or more depending on how much time and money you have. When you are in a heating room, you start sweating profusely and you have to come out from that room to pour cold water on you. Again, you enter with your wet body back to the heating room. The wet body helps you to sit there longer and sweat more. I think in average, a person sits inside the heating room for 10-15 minutes before he comes out to pour water. This is only in case you do not know what Banya/Sauna is.

For me, it is one of the best ways to relax in Astana, Kazakhstan when outside temperature is always around -10 degree Celsius in the winter.

We did internet search and took recommendations from few friends. and we decided that we would try a new place.

We generally found following problems in Banya and Sauna of Astana, Kazakhstan/Баня и сауна Астаны, Казахстан:

1. Most of the Баня и сауна in Astana, Kazakhstan cater to the groups. They expect minimum 4-6 people at a time. The pricing is done in such a way that if you have a group of 4-6 people and can take bath together without feeling any shy in semi-naked condition, then, the price is okay, reasonable and in fact cheap.

2. We were two people (husband and wife) and we were looking for private place where only two of us can use the place without entry of any third party, without any disturbance from outsiders. It was difficult to find a decent and good place meeting this criterion. Most of the Баня-сауна в Астане (Banya and Sauna in Astana) were not only for two people or were costly. We love to hear any recommendations from any of you if you know such a private Баня-сауна в Астане.

3. I realise that the problem in us as well. We both grew up in little conservative families and we are not very comfortable with unknown people especially they are dressed minimum. Actually, I was shocked to see boys/males taking bath naked (completely naked) in a shower room/changing room in Fitness Center. We had membership of Duman Hotel, Apriori Fitness Center, Astana (фитнес Клуб АПРИОРИ) and we faced this unpleasant situation in changing room. It may sound funny but this was so unpleasing that we stopped going to the Fitness Center (фитнес Клуб АПРИОРИ). My wife reported the same scene in Ladies Changing room and we have heard complaints about it from many of our colleagues who go to other Fitness Center such as "Fitnation" in Central Park of Astana (Астана Центральный парк). Of course, it seems there are many who don't mind flashing their assets - big or small- in changing rooms of fitness center. Funny it may sound but it was too hot for us to handle and we left that Fitness Center, Duman Hotel, Apriori Fitness Center, Astana (фитнес Клуб АПРИОРИ). We did not use their Sauna and now, in search of new Fitness Club/center.

4. So, now back to the Баня-сауна в Астане where went in Astana and our experience.

We went to Баня-сауна «Кит» which advertises as "Русско-финская баня, печка на березовых дровах, хамам". It is located at little bit outside city on the right bank but not far. From Radisson Hotel on the Right Bank of Astana, it would be about 6-7 Kms. drive. It is located at  Адрес:
ул. Бейсекова, 9/4, Астана and was not difficult at all to find it.

We were four: my wife, her parents and I as our attempt to find exclusive place only for two of us failed. In phone, we understood that there would be two seperate rooms for parents and for us but when we reached that was not the case. We all four had to use one сауна for two hours and the cost was 10,000 KZT in total. There must be some misunderstanding on the phone but we did not make any issue.

What we decided was parents will go first and we went upstairs to watch TV for an hour. Parents finished washing in 45-50 minutes and dressed and came up. They sat in TV room, watched TV and drank tea while we were taking bath downstairs for another 1 hour and 10 minutes. To be very honest, 1 hour 10 minutes was more than enough and we were satisfied with the services. In the meantime, they charged another 500 KZT for hot water. That was strange for us! The overall experience was good for us.

So, do we go to that place - Баня-сауна «Кит» "Русско-финская баня, печка на березовых дровах, хамам" Адрес: ул. Бейсекова, 9/4, Астана again? The answer is: NO. Why?

Let's talk good things about the place:

1. It was a private one. Once you close the door, you have your own space. No one knocked the door, disturbed us for another two hours. We had cupboards for our clothes, two or three showering places and sufficient space, good and clean heating room. From the stairs, you could go up, sit around the table, watch TV and if you want lie on the bed. Now, I realise that the TV did not have remote but it was not a big deal. The most important thing was that it was clean, no one disturbed us once an old man came out after putting fire inside the oven/chamber. There were extra woods and we could add more when we wanted.

And, what we did not like?

1. Since we were looking for two private "сауна" for parents and us and we wanted to take bath at the same time at two different places, we were denied that opportunity. Instead of two hours, we could wash ourselves only for an hour.

2. And, the biggest problem was their customer service. The place is managed by two old people. Two old husband and wife (два старых дедушка и бабушка) and I think they have hearing problem or rather their manners. They were shouting all the time at the top of their voice. We were met by loud and noisy answers for our every questions. They were polite but there was a cacophony. I can easily handle such noises, perk of being from India :), however, it is not so pleasant when you go for relaxation and leisure. We chased them quickly from our room by literally shouting them back to leave the place so that we can start and slammed the door. Thereafter, things proceeded fine though we could hear still some noises from outside Sauna room. The wooden walls were too thin to stop their loud voices.

So, that's all. It is unlikely that we will go there again but when we were in Sauna, we forgot all the problems, the noisy cacophony before we started. It was a hot room and we were too busy cleaning, washing and relaxing.

Suggest us the place you have been!

Happy New Year 2017

Dear All, this post is being written in the intervening period of December 31-January 1. At least, the start was made on the eve of New Year. However, by the time it is published, I know that a lot of time has passed. In my opinion, the post will be published only on January 3 or 4 of 2017. Nevertheless, the post is intended to be a closure of 2016, and to welcome a New Year - 2017.

So, the first thing first: I wish you a very Happy New Year, 2017 to all my readers of the blog. I know that I have very few and limited readers from Kazakhstan  but everyone is very valuable to me. I hope you continue reading my posts in this year as well. I hope to get your continuous supports, reviews and feedbacks to make my blog more useful and updated.

Dear Readers, I hope you had a very good vacation and party to welcome New Year. I wish you all the best. I hope that all your dreams, wishes, desires, wants, needs and everything that you have thought of will come true in this year - 2017. My only the best wishes!

Talking of me, I had a hell lot of good times on the eve of New Year and thereafter. I was moderately busy in partying and meeting my new and old friends in Astana, Kazakhstan. That is the reason in part why I am late with my post.

When I look back to 2016, I consider it to be a moderately successful year. I learned the few tricks of entrepreneurships in Astana and somehow, surviving in Kazakhstan. In December, 2015, I joined a language school as an English Teacher but my tenure there was short lived. I had to leave the school in March, 2016 but these 4 months of experience was very valuable to me. I felt exploited in the job handed by someone, but, at the same time, I did not see any light at the end of the tunnel. I understood the business culture, working style and business approach of different nationality. I took the learnings from there and started my own small venture. Slowly and steadily, it is marching ahead. I am not yet fully satisfied but things look much more brighter now in Astana, Kazakhstan if not the clear signal in the tunnel.

That was it on my professional front.

Apart from professional and job life, there are not many things which need any special mention at this time. I have learned to live in Astana, Kazakhstan. Surprisingly, without much difficulty, I have got used to winters of Astana. Except those few days (those may be a month ago) when temperature dipped to -31 degree celsius in Astana for a week, cold has not really affected me. I have not tried many winter sports yet but I am definitely looking forward to them. I am not sure of skating in ice rings in Astana but I am very keen to trying Skiing. Most probably, I will soon head to Astana Park (Central Park in Astana) for skiing. From the list of winter sports, the one thing I have already tried is "sliding on the ice on a air filled tube". It's little bit scary if you don't balance properly but is it truly entertaining. If you are not sure of what I am talking about, I shall post few photos of it later.

New Year 2017 and Resolutions

When we talk of New Year, the resolutions are part and parcel of it. There are many jokes relating to New Year Resolutions. The first one is, "You need to make some New Year Resolutions so that you can start breaking them from the very next day." But, on a serious note, I have three very simple New Year Resolutions for 2017. They are:

Read More,
Write More, and
Exercise More

When I look back and see the things that I did in 2016, I feel that I should have written more, should have read more and should have exercised more. I did not do them adequately. I have fallen shortage of my own targets, but I hope Year 2017 will be different. I will be writing more about these topics in the future covering mainly the types of books I read and the types of sports/exercises I do. I hope I will write more blogs so that my resolution to write more will also be a realistic one.

Before I sign off for today, I visited Zerende (Near Kokshetau) and Baravoe (Burabai, again near Kokshetau) in my year end break. I will be back with travel posts soon.

Once again, a very happy new year to all of you. Stay blessed, and stay happy!

Kazakhstan Taxation - some questions and some reflections

Since I am not an expert on Kazakh law or Kazakh taxation law, this post should in no way be construed as legal opinion or advice. These are solely my reflections after discussing with some of the tax accountants in Astana and Almaty and I am only summarising what they told me in our informal chat. I am not sure if they were/are right and therefore, request anyone who knows anything on the matter to share his/her views.

The origin of the talk:

I along with some of my friends, citizens from different countries and not from Kazakhstan, wondered one fine day if we could start some business in Astana, Kazakhstan. We had questions in mind about the legal and tax implications of doing business on a "freelance" basis, or through formal partnership.

Since we are not the high net worth individuals and have thin pockets, we were thinking of opening something small. A small enterprise which mostly works on teaching, tutoring, selling of travel and tour packages and visa and documentations like notary, and legalisation and so on. The business which mainly focusses on the service aspect.

Then, we wondered what would be our tax liability as an individual, and the tax liability of our small firm (Partnership Firm or Limited Liability Partnership - LLP).

We did bit of internet research. We downloaded "Doing business in Kazakhstan" document prepared by almost all of the Big4s. Some of our doubts were answered and some remained unanswered. The target of the Big4s (if you do not know who they are, they are the world famous big accounting and consulting firms namely EY (Ernst & Young), KPMG, Deloitte, and PwC) was obviously the deep pocketed multinationals and their heavily paid "expatriates". For poor "migrants" like us, they offered too little and in any case, we could not afford their services.

Hence, we started using our local contacts - wonderful Kazakh people - who are working in different companies and firms. They were kind and listened to our problems and offered their gratuitous advice and knowledge over a cup of coffee. Based on our conversations with few of those accountants, we have prepared this small "note". The focus of this "note" is mainly the freelancers - both local and immigrants and should be read in that context.

So, the main takeaways are:

1. The good news is that Kazakhstan's tax rate in general is flat 10%. I would say that the rate is pretty low and favourable for entrepreneurs.

2. For freelancers and for service providers, you have the option of selecting "simplified tax regime". That gives you even better deal where you have to pay tax at 3% rate. The downside of this scheme is that you can not deduct any expenses from your total income while computing taxable income. That means whatever you have earned/collected, you must pay tax on that entire amount. The rent amount , the salaries of the employees to name a few are nondeductible.

3. In both the above schemes of 1 & 2, if you have employees and if you pay salary to them (of course!, you will have to pay), then, you have to deduct income tax on their salary at 10% rate and deposit to tax office. This is a worldwide concept known as TDS (tax deduction at source).

4. In both the schemes of 1 & 2 above, in addition to TDS of 10% (that you deduct from the salary to be paid to employees), you should also pay pension contributions at 10% rate and the social contributions at 5% rate. The computations can be pretty tedious to explain on this post.

5. In Scheme 1 explained above and in the scenario of TDS on the employee's' salary, there is an exemption on minimum monthly wages. That is no tax has to be paid on Minimum Wage Amount which is 22,859 KZT for 2016. To make it simple, If you pay salary of 60,000 KZT per month to your employee, you have to deduct income tax amount of 3,115 KZT from his salary and deposit it to tax office. This amount of 3,115 KZT is calculated as follows:

TDS = (Total salary - Minimum Wages stipulated by government - Pension Contributions at 10%)* 10%

= (60,000-22,859-6,000)*10% =3,115 KZT

6. The most scariest part of Kazakh Tax system is that if you earn (as a freelancer) more than 22,859 KZT per month (i.e.  more than 68 USD per month, or 807 USD per year), you have to pay tax at 10% with permissible business deductions or at 3% without any deductions in your total earnings. IS NOT THAT SCARY?

Let me give little perspectives from India as I come from there. In India, you have to pay your income tax only if you earn more than 3,732 USD. Therefore, I feel that paltry exemption of 274,308 KZT is in effect an incentive for many not to complete the tax laws. I think Kazakh government should look into it on the light of inflation and currency devaluation of last year.

For a rough calculation of how Income tax is computed in India, you can follow this link:
https://cleartax.in/guide/income-tax-slabs

7. Now, who can resort to "simplified tax regime" of 3%? I understand that only the Kazakh Citizens and the foreigners having Kazakh residence permit can open such venture opting for 3% tax regime.
One of my accountant friends has to say this:

"According to Article 6 of the Law of the Republic of Kazakhstan "On legal status of foreigners temporarily staying in the Republic of Kazakhstan", foreigners are not entitled to carry out entrepreneurial activity as subjects of small and medium entrepreneurship without forming a legal entity. Individual entrepreneurs can only be the subjects of small or average business, and can not be in accordance with paragraph 8 of Article 6 of the Law "On private entrepreneurship entities of a large enterprise. Therefore, the registration as the individual businessman of an alien not having a residence permit belonging to any state, is impossible.

I have copied the response without making any grammatical or other changes and I am not very sure of everything but I understood that foreigners can not opt for 3% tax regime unless they have permanent residence from Ministry of Internal Affairs after approval from National Security Council (NSC).

8. With respect to minimum Wages, I understand that it is 22,859 KZT per month for 2016. This is based on the information received from my accountant friend but I am not sure about the source of the information. I think the Kazakh government announces minimum salary/wage level every year by notification.

By the way, I found KPMG Tax Alert "Doing Business in Kazakhstan" and it confirms the above view. You can access the document from here:

https://www.kpmg.com/KZ/ru/IssuesAndInsights/ArticlesAndPublications/Documents/Doing-business-in-Kazakhstan.pdf

9. The link below gives the tax code of Kazakhstan, 2015 in English. It is a bulky document and needs special skill to go through it. In case you are interested to learn more:

http://kgd.gov.kz/sites/default/files/npa/Kodeks/the_tax_code_of_the_rk_2015.pdf

10. And Finally, the entrepreneurs who opt for simplified tax regime of 3% need to declare the transactions only twice in a year and need to pay tax twice for respective six months' period.

So, it is as follows:

1. For the business income of January-June: Declare the income and amount of taxes by 15 August, and Pay the tax by August 25
2. For the business income of July-December: Declare  the income and amount of taxes by 15 February, and Pay the tax by February 25

EDITED ON 10/01/2017: The Minimum Wages stipulated by the Government for the year 2017 is: 24,457 KZT. I read it somewhere on the internet but I am not able to verify it independently.

At the cost of being repetitive, Since I am not an expert on Kazakh law or Kazakh taxation law, this post should in no way be construed as legal opinion or advice. These are solely my reflections after discussing with some of the tax accountants in Astana and Almaty and I am only summarising what they told me in our informal chat. I am not sure if they were/are right and therefore, request anyone who knows anything on the matter to share his/her views.

"Beşbarmaq" or "Beshbarmak": Kazakh National Food made from Horse Meat

I have come back to my blog after a long time. There is not much happening in Astana, in my life and is there hardly anything that I can write. It is cold in Astana and this year, temperature has dropped till -25 degree Celsius. However, many people are saying that this year is not as cold as previous years and they say that there may be early spring. If things go, as they say, it is great.

This is my first year in Astana/Kazakhstan and I have mixed reactions about life here. I don't consider this city really to be great in terms of ease of life but again, which city does not have problems? So, we need just to be happy wherever we are.

In the post, I am going to write in short about Kazakh National Food and would like to share a photo. My information on Kazakh National Food "Beşbarmaq" or "Beshbarmak" is really short as there are plenty of other sites from where you can read about it.

It is a food made from boiled horse meat, traditional Kazakh National Pasta, and Onions. It is the best and most sought after "Beşbarmaq" or "Beshbarmak" but instead of Horse Meat, you can also use Goat/Sheep (mutton) meat.


For more information on the Kazakh Foods, Kazakh cuisines, you can read from the following links:
1. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Be%C5%9Fbarmaq : Wikipedia Page on "Beshbarmak". Has only the little information. Very limited information.

2. http://www.kazakhstandiscovery.com/beshbarmak.html : Kazakhstan discovery.com provides a complete recipe for preparing "Beshbarmak". So, if you are interested in preparing "Beshbarmak", the Kazakh national/traditional food, in your home, this link will help you a lot.

3. http://www.pinchofcinnamon.com/2012/09/home-made-kazakh-dinner-and-beshbarmak.html : Another link which has very good information about preparing "Beshbarmak" with a lot of photos of Beshbarmak and other popular Kazakh dishes, Kazakh Foods, Kazakh Cuisines. So, if you are interested in preparing "Beshbarmak", the Kazakh national/traditional food, in your home, this link will help you a lot. This link will be additional link for you to understand the making of Beshbarmak.

4. Another Link which gives some more information on "Beshbarmak" can be found here. https://prezi.com/906ym6h_ibju/kazakh-traditional-cuisine/

So, read the links given and tell me what you think of Kazakh National dishes/Kazakh traditional Cuisines "Beshbarmak".

Blinchiki, Kismis, Bread, Butter and Tea in Astana

They have always said, (I do not know who they are) that a man should eat breakfast like a King, lunch like a decently rich man and the dinner like a pauper/beggar/poor. I understand this has been said by keeping a health and dietary issues in mind. Heavy dinner before sleep is not good as per them.

To a certain extent, the above proverb has been followed by me in Astana, Kazakhstan. I have always started my day with heavy breakfast and with many cups of tea. Today, I will show you in my blog what I am eating in Kazakhstan, Astana. As there are different food items which have been consumed, this series will be a long one. Stay tuned to this blog to know food items of Astana, Kazakhstan.

Here you can see BLINCHIKI (блинчики). I understand that Blinchiki are also called Blini and are Russian Pancakes. I like Blinchiki very much and we regularly eat them at Astana, Kazakhstan. I do not know how to make Blinchiki. If you want to learn, you can visit the recipe in the given link below.
http://allrecipes.com/recipe/blini-russian-pancakes/

On the table, you can also see the butter (/Masla/ in Russian, масло), bread (/Khlep/ in Russian, хлеб) in Kazakh Language NAN, Sugar (/Sakhar/ in Russian, сахар) in Kazakh Language KANT, Chocolates (/ Konfeti/ in Russian, шоколадные конфеты), dry apricots (/Sukhiy Abrikosi/ in Russian, сухие абрикосы) and Raisins (/Isyum/ in Russian, изюм) in Kazakh Language KISMIS. In many languages, like in my native hindi language too, the Raisins are called KISMIS.

In subsequent photos those which I clicked in Astana, Kazakhstan; you can see Honey (/Med/ in Russian, мед) and Curd (/Tyorag/ in Russian, творог). I see that my table also has Cake (/Tort/ in Russian, торт) and Home Made Jam- made from Apricot- in Astana, Kazakhstan. Home Made Jam in Astana, Kazakhstan is called /Bhareniya/ in Russian. Jam = варенье

In Astana, Kazakhstan, I like the culture of drinking tea with all family members and guests together. It will not be just tea or /CHAI/. The table will be full of dry fruits, Chocolates, Raisins etc. and multi-cup of teas make the environment warm in Astana, Kazakhstan.

Please Share what are you eating in your breakfast in Astana, Kazakhstan or in any other parts of Kazakhstan or Central Asia/Eurasia/CIS Countries or in Russia.

Astana and Khan Shatir Shopping Mall

I went to Khan Shatir, the famous shopping place of Astana, Capital City of Kazakhstan today morning at 10 AM. I have clicked some photos from the area which I am sharing now with you. First of all, let me narrate the background.

I met one Indian friend via http://www.expat-blog.com/ yesterday and agreed to meet today somewhere in Astana. He was Indian, and So, I was. He is staying now in South India where I was few years ago. He said that he has come here for the very first time and in his words, "dying to meet some Indians". We straightway exchanged our Indian numbers and started sending messages via Whatsapp. Since he was here for the very first time, he said that he wants to talk with someone on many questions that were on his mind. I agreed to meet as I was also looking for someone from South Asia. We generated a vibe in Whatsapp that we are going to have a great talk. So, we agreed that we should meet somewhere which is equi-distance from his place and from my place.

We agreed the time that we would meet at sharp at 10 am in main gate of Khan Shatir, the famous supermarket of Astana. Since we both did not have active internet and working mobile phone outside WiFi zone, we agreed the dress code and reminded ourselves not to be like in India, i.e. to be sharp on time.

I stay near Radisson Hotel in Astana in Kenesary Street and I have to take a bus. I had already searched little bit in Internet to find out which one to take. I went to the bus stop this morning located just in front of (on the other side of road) Hotel Park INN. I looked at the transport map placed there and took a help of a girl waiting for her own bus. In our broken English-Russian, she helped me to figure out that Bus Numbers 12, 43 and 46 will go from that place to Khan Shatir. I took bus No. 46. Everything was easy and smooth except that the bus was very very crowded at that time of 9.30 AM. I reached 10 minutes earlier than my Indian friend and once we saw each other, we instantly recognised. We were quite different from the masses and it was very easy to recognise.

We just strolled inside Khan Shatir for some time to find a good cafe/Coffee Shop. As it was only opening at that time, few coffee places declined to serve but we found a good one soon. We sat and ordered hot milk latte and started talking on different things.

The issue of culture, family, cultural adaptations, cultural shock, family expectations, Kazakhstan Job Market, Potential, Possibilities, religion etc. were some of the topics. We both shared our views openly, candidly, frankly and laughed together on many issues. We parted at lunch time as we both had lunch time engagements at different places.

Before leaving, we paid the bill. Two Coffees costed 1980 KZT (Kazakh Tenge, i.e. 5 USD for each cup and certainly little expensive for both of us).

I took again bus number 46 and returned back to Kenesary Street. I have posted below few Photos taken around Khan Shatir. (The photos are taken by iPhone 4 and on the bright sunny day, the quality is naturally enhanced.)

 (The above Photo should be some Ministry and the surrounding areas!. I have not much idea on the buildings.)

 (Above Photo is of Astana Opera. It looks magnificent from close. Will be taking some more pictures on another visit to this place.)

 (The photo above and many photos below will of iconic Shopping Mall - Khan Shatir! the jewel of Astana, capital of Republic of Kazakhstan)

 (Photo taken from the entrance of Khan Shatir)

(In the far distance, you can see another iconic - "Baiterek Tower". There is I LOVE ASTANA written on the other side of the road but not clearly captured in this photo.)

Learning Russian in Astana, Kazakhstan

I am a beginner in Russian. I am doing elementary Russian Course. I completed my beginner RU-1 Level in India and now, in Astana doing RU-2 Level. In India, I studied in Russian Cultural Center with a Russian Tutor in a group but in Astana, Kazakhstan, I am doing self study at home.

I use various websites to connect with native Russian speakers in Astana, Kazakhstan and am doing my homework, practice and I am sending it to them for correction. I have started meeting one or two people in Astana Park/Astana Central Park in Kazakhstan and have started interacting with them. I help them in English and they help me in my Russian.

I am attaching few images of how I am learning Russian and what I am practicing currently.

If you think that you can help me in learning Russian in Astana, Kazakhstan or if you need help in English in Astana, Kazakhstan, do let me know. We can be help to each other in Astana, Kazakhstan.

A Runner in Astana in Kazakhstan

Last week of May, 2015 and this first week of June, 2015 have been great for Astana, Capital of Kazakhstan. The Sunlight has stayed till late. It is just a little hot and the rain and the cold has stayed away. That means the summer has been truly a summer with all its characters and features.

The weather has also given new wings in people's lives. Now, there is only to be seen if a man can also fly.Otherwise, people have come out of their homes for walking, strolling, running, bicycling, skating, road skiing and for all sorts of sports and activities.

The below two pictures capture the mood of Astana, capital of Republic of Kazakhstan. A man is running on the bank of RIVER ESIL on the pedestrian zone on the river side of Hotel Radisson. It is little dark and the lights are already switched on in the nearby sky touching buildings but the runner is in no mood to give up! A great sight to behold.

Photos of a roadside in Astana, Capital of Kazakhstan

I think the advantage of being tourist in any country is that you can click anything and everything under the Sun. You can simply take out your phone or Camera and start taking pictures of roadsides, Houses, Churches, Parks, Museums, Advertisement Boards, flying birds or anything for that matter. This is exactly what I am doing in Astana, in the capital of Republic of Kazakhstan, in the heart of Eurasia/Central Asia.

Since most of the road signs are in Russian, I do not easily get them or can not remember them for a long time. I will not be able to tell you where exactly I clicked these pictures but most of them are from a place near of YANUSHKEVICH STREET in Astana. I remember the name of this street, though I may not have spelled it correctly, because we have our flat there. We were walking near to this place while going to polyclinic (поликлиника in Russian, pronounced as /Poliklinika/) in Astana, Kazakhstan and I randomly clicked these pictures.

1. By looking at the almost empty pedestrian zones, can you guess where the area is from in Astana, Kazakhstan? I know it is not an easy job!!

2. The billboard/advertisement board highlights the tourism of Georgia. Is anyone looking for going to Georgia on Summer as a tourist? Have you seen this board somewhere in the city in Astana, Capital of Kazakhstan? I do not understand much of Russian/Kazakh but I can read "Summer in Georgia" written in the advertisement board.

3. A man and a pigeon: The man in the picture offered some corns/fodder to pigeon before making his way towards his destination. The pigeon in Astana was impressed with man's kindness.

Roaming around Astana, Kazakhstan

I am roaming around  Astana these days clicking photo of anything that I can see. I have a brand new Poland made bicycle as my friend and it has been very helpful to take me around. I will write more about culture and foods of Kazakhstan later in my blog posts. For the moment, You can see new photos of green Astana which is a rare sight to see. The wonderful climate and sunshine has magnified the beauty of Astana. Have a look:

Above two images are about my bicycling performance of a day!!