Our Kazach friend from Aktau mentioned that he went to a sanatorium. We were immediately intrigued. What is it? What can you do there? Is it like a hospital? So we decide to visit one ourselves. We have come at the end of our 8-month trip and a last couple of days of relaxation before we go back home is exactly what we need. And luckily for us near lake Issyk-Kul is one of the most beautiful Soviet Sanatoria in the region.

Our stay includes 3 meals and some old-fashioned procedures. Many of the facilities and instruments look unchanged since the eighties, but for us that is part of the intrigue. The meals are surprisingly healthy and tasty. Our first afternoon we spend walking the pine and lilac scented grounds and next to the beach of lake Issyk-Kul.