Getting to Kazakhstan

We flew out of the SLC International Airport with our route taking us from Salt Lake to New York to Istanbul to Astana.  Our first leg of the trip was on Delta Airlines and the last two legs were with Turkish Airlines.  Wednesday, July 30 was a busy day of finishing packing, picking up some last minute items, such as shoes for the twins.  We also were able to get a little walk in before it started raining.  The thing that we didn't get in the afternoon was a nap.

We needed to check Yuki (our dog) into Delta Cargo before our flight, so we planned on getting to the airport at around 8:00 p.m.  My older brother came with his van with the seats out to load our bags.  We had 22 bags total, including the girls' carry-on bags and the backpacks for Yulia and I.  The checked bags were all between 35 and 50 pounds in weight, which is okay on international flights, but heavier than you can take for free on domestic flights.

We pulled into the airport at around 7:45 p.m. and went straight to cargo.  It took us about 30 minutes to check in Yuki, and while Yulia and I did that the girls watched the airplanes taxi by, land, and take-off with Ben and with Oma. Our next hurdle was to stop, unload 22 bags curbside, and then park.  We unloaded the bags and Yulia and Oma stayed with them while Ben and I made a loop around the airport to return to the parking garage.  We parked and took the kids to the bags.  It took three trips and some coordination to get all the bags from curbside to check in.

Unloading our bags at SLC

Delta isn't Turkish

And they don't work together.  This meant that we could only check our bags (17 of them) from SLC to NYC.  We also had to pay $800 dollars in extra fees for the extra bags. The check in process went smoothly and we were checked in in no time at all.  That is when we hugged Ben and Oma goodbye and then headed for security.

Through Security and on to our Gate!

We had practiced going through security at home a few times, and that process went smoothly. This meant that we were checked in, at our gate, and waiting by 9:00 p.m.  Our flight was at 12:30.  Our itinerary (from the time our flight took off until we were scheduled to land) was 37 hours and 37 minutes of traveling. We started that 5 hours early.

New York

Our first leg on our adventure!

We arrived in New York on time at around 7:30 a.m.  We got off the plane and went to the luggage area.  We were wondering how we were going to handle the bags and the kids and the change of terminals.  It turns out that there are porters there waiting to help you out for a small fee.  Ours helped load the bags and also helped us get some cabs.  The cabs were not happy when we told them we were just going to a different terminal.  They thought they had hit pay dirt.  Another porter at Terminal 1 helped us move our bags inside to where they were still setting up the lines for the Turkish Airlines Check in.  It only cost us about $80 dollars to do things with help.  We like being independent and doing our own thing, but in this case the money was well-spent.

Waiting to Check into Turkish Airlines in NYC (JFK Terminal 1)

About the time we got everything piled up at the head of the line, I received a call from our dog courier.  Jim had picked up Yuki and was bringing her over.  I met him outside and he helped me cut the ties that were keeping Yuki's cage shut.  Then I walked her for a few minutes before taking her inside.  Check-in had started for Turkish, so when it was our turn we started the process.  They were not terribly efficient at check-in, but the agents were friendly and helpful.  For our extra bags and dog it cost us another $900, but it was cheaper to move from New York to Astana than to get the same things from SLC to NYC.  They told me that I couldn't check in Yuki until 11:30.  Our flight was scheduled for 12:30, and we were finished checking in at about 10:00.  I asked if I could leave her crate at the counter and bring her back, which they allowed me to do.

Yulia was brave and took the girls through security herself.  She said that she got very relaxed treatment and a lot of help because she had four very tired and unruly children all by herself.  She went to the gate and waited.  I walked all around the airport and Yuki got a good workout and took care of all of her necessary functions.  While I was at the bottom floor waiting for an elevator (I couldn't find any stairs) to go check in the dog I heard my name called to report immediately to Turkish airlines.  It was still 10 minutes until the agreed upon time, so I was worried something had happened with the flight or girls.  The elevator wait was interminable and my name was called three more times.  When I showed up, it was just them wanting me to check in the dog.  We had to get a special check from TSA for her crate and then we loaded her and they took her away. I got through security and met the family with about 10 minutes before we boarded.

Waiting for the flight to Istanbul

Turkey

The long one! Flight from NYC to Istanbul

Our flight to Turkey was long, but uneventful.  None of us slept a lot, maybe three or four hours. The entertainment options were good and the kids were well-behaved on the flight.  The food  was really quite good.  When we arrived at Ataturk Airport at 5:30 a.m. on 1 August, we felt like we were in a whole new world.  There were many groups of Muslim pilgrims there and the airport was very busy.  We arrived and found a bathroom.  Sometime in those first twenty or thirty minutes Lina was being naughty and Yulia had to reprimand her in public.  She started crying.  A man and his wife, who were either Chinese or Japanese, came right over and the man began to make a paper crane for Lina from a bunch that he had started.  By the time he was finished the girls had 6 or seven cranes of various sizes and a paper ball to boot.

Paper Cranes

The rest of the day in Turkey (from 5:30 until our flight at 7:45) was spent hanging out in as quiet of spot as we could find.  The girls slept.  Yulia and I took turns sleeping as well.  It had been a pretty grueling bit of travel up to that point and we still weren't finished.  We also did lunch and a little dinner snack before heading to our gate.  At the gate we met some of my new colleague who were on the same flight.

Tired Kids and a long wait in Istanbul

A long, long day for all!

Arrival in Astana

We arrived in time in Astana at around 2:30 a.m.  By the time we disembarked and got through passport control many people were already headed through customs.  We began getting our bags and putting them on carts.  Yuki's cage was also sitting off to the side of the luggage carousel so we picked her up as well.  She was happy to see us and was whining to get out, but we couldn't let her.  We got all of our bags, but two, and kept waiting and waiting.  Our flight was mostly gone and another one came in.  We had to fill out paperwork on our missing bags, and there were a few people who had the problem, so that took awhile.  Once that was done we went through customs.  They told us that because we had extra bags we had to fill out extra forms.  Eventually the riddle was solved with our contact at NU - the guards would let us through for a small unofficial payment ($200).  Otherwise we would have to fill out paperwork and our bags would be quarantined for days.  We paid the shakedown and as a bonus Yuki was able to come right with us without even waiting for the vet.

We loaded our bags onto a van and then loaded onto a bus with a group of individuals all coming to NU, many from the School of Humanities and Social Science.  We arrived on campus with our bags and filled out a few papers and received keys to our apartment.

Our apartment was just like the pictures we had seen, but it seemed bigger.  We got our bags in, and while Yulia bathed the girls and got settled in I took Yuki for a good walk around campus.  The air was cool, the sun was rising, and workmen were already starting work (on a Saturday morning) on the new buildings that are going up all around our apartment.  We were home.

Epilogue

Our two missing bags arrived on Tuesday afternoon and I was able to pick them up with no problem.  We settled in to our new digs just fine.  I will write more about that later.

Breakfast on day 2 - Settling in to our new home!

Traveling to Kazakhstan with a Dog Part I

We've traveled to Russia before with the whole family.  The first time we did this was in June 2009 when our twins were just 14 months old, Polina was 2 turning 3, and Nika was just a few months past 4.  Many people thought that was crazy.  It was quite a bit of hard work, but it was doable and fun once we arrived at Babushka's house in Krasnoyarsk.  The fact that we made our first trip with the kids so young made our second trip there with everyone 3 years later seem like a cake walk.  We learned a lot about packing, organizing, and traveling together as a family. Now we are moving to Kazakhstan with the crew - plus we've added our dog.

This seems a bit crazy for us because in addition to worrying about travel for the six of us, we are having to do quite a bit of work to figure out Yuki's travel plans.  Right now we are feeling pretty confident that we are where we need to be with things, but we still have some things to do.  Hopefully this post will contain some information that is helpful for anyone else that is planning on something similar with their own pet.  I would also like to add that we've gotten a lot of good help and advice from one of my colleagues at Nazarbayev University.  He and his wife have a couple of dogs and they have been our main source of information on what we should plan on as far as pet supplies and dog ownership in Astana.

Yulia putting boots on Yuki

Veterinarian

Kazakhstan doesn't have a lot of onerous regulations on importing pets, but traveling with dogs requires quite  a bit of veterinary preparation. We've gotten her shots updated and needed to do a new rabies shot for her because Kazakhstan requires that the rabies shot is given within the last year, but not less than 30 days before you enter the country.  

Yuki will also need a veterinary check up and pet passport that is done within 10 days of traveling.  We are working to schedule this in Utah since we will have moved from Vegas by then. In addition to vaccines and some documentation we picked up a year's supply of worm medication.  

The veterinary process has not been quite as onerous as we were expecting.

Transport

This has been our biggest issue.  We are flying on Delta from SLC to NYC, and from there we are on Turkish airlines the rest of the way.  Delta does not fly pets as luggage between April 15 and September 15.  They will fly her as cargo as long as the temperature at take-off is below 85 degrees Fahrenheit.  We are fairly confident we'll be okay because our flight leaves SLC at 12:30 a.m.  Flying Yuki as cargo adds a few wrinkles to the front end and NYC portions of our travel.

Because she is flying as cargo we need to check her in early at the cargo area.  Their office closes at 9:00 so we need to be at the airport by 8:00 p.m.  This isn't too bad since we'll have a lot of bags to check and our family that is dropping us at the airport can get home at a late hour instead of getting us to the airport late night and then not getting home until it's extremely late/early.  This is a minor, minor inconvenience.

The main complication with transport is that in NYC she will be transported to Delta's cargo facility rather than luggage.  That means a separate part of the airport instead of the terminal where we are landing.  We have a five-hour layover, but are not sure if we'll have to re-check our bags (Delta and Turkish are not alliance partners), and whether everything will be on time.  Our options are for me to get a cab, find the cargo area, get Yuki, and then get back to our terminal to check her as luggage - or - for us to hire a company to pick her up at cargo and bring her to us.  We have opted for the second option to allow for some wiggle room in case things are not 100% smooth.  Once she is dropped off to me at the terminal, I'll check her as luggage and we'll be set through Istanbul and on to Astana.

Supplies

I'll end this post with some fun.  It was suggested that we bring some dog boots for Yuki to help her walk in the snow and ice (ice especially).  My colleague even sent a link to some boots.  While Yulia was picking up other supplies she saw some boots at the pet store and got them to try.  The picture at the top of this post is Yulia putting those boots on to Yuki.  

It turns out that those boots were a bit big.  She was also REALLY bothered by the long "socks" that are built in.  The ones that were suggested are just little ankle boots.  We also measured her feet and got the right size.  We've ordered those and they are on their way.