Dreaming of a White Christmas

Yes, we can only dream, coz alas, we didn’t get to see snow this season! Here’s a photo from our last white winter – in Kazakhstan last year!


The Ascension Church in Panfilov Park, Almaty, Kazakhstan

Anyway, Merry Christmas everyone! May God bless you and your loved ones with love, joy, peace, success and good health wherever you are!

Just got back to Dubai from a short family trip to India, to be with the mother and sister-in-law. Was planning to let them see some snow, but as luck would have it, the parts of India we visited (Himachal Pradesh) was all nice and sunny… Perfect. For a cosy holiday! But not much for snow. Don’t get me wrong, we saw snow, high up in the mountains, inaccessible, except if we climb, or hire a jeep to go up the mountains. We did play with some ice though, which is what old snow becomes when you leave it for ummm… a week? A month?!?

Nope, I haven’t downloaded anything from our recent trip. So, here’s something from when our winter was truly white! The missus and the kids are snow-freaks. They absolutely love snow, for some reason!


Anyone for a snowball fight? Near our hotel, the Edelveis Hotel, on Gornaya Street, the road that leads to Medeu and Shymbulak, Almaty’s ice skating and skiing centres




By the Esentai River in the woods near the Edelveis Hotel


Gornaya Street at night – That’s Samal Hotel, the plush hotel beside our ummm, budget one, hah! But it ain’t bad at all, the Edelveis!




Back to town, this is the First President Park, dedicated to the first president of an independent Kazakh Republic, Nursultan Nazarbayev


Another snowball fight? Ya, go ahead!




Back to Panfilov Park – its full name is the 28 Panfilov Guardsmen Park – dedicated to 28 guardsmen from Alma-Ata (the Soviet name for Almaty) who died in WW2 during the Battle of Moscow


The Museum of Musical Instruments, Panfilov Park, Almaty, Kazakhstan




Ascension Cathedral, Panfilov Park, Almaty, Kazakhstan, Dec 2024. This church is purportedly a wooden church built without nails!... (It doesn't look like it, but that's what Wikipedia said!)


That’s it for the post. Merry Christmas and Happy New Year in advance! (Just in case I don’t find time to post before the New Year)