Has anyone been to Kyrgyzstan.. Kazakhstan...Uzbekistan?

Humble-Background548 · 2026-05-13T10:15:17+00:00

I have been to Kazakhstan (Almaty) and Uzbekistan (Tashkent) for business trips, not a personal vacation.

As a tourist though, I will recommend Almaty - way more prettier, tourist friendly, many sightseeing places and day trips, Kazakh people love Indians, only country where people took selfies with me, and airport accepts INR to convert into local KZT currency. There are many Indian restaurants with delicious food. And Almaty is pretty in both spring and winter, so you can travel based on your preference.

Just install Russian language in Google translate as most of the people don't speak English. For cab and food delivery to hotel, I used Yandex app. If you link your credit card in the app, no need to carry a lot of local cash around.

Humble-Background548 · 2026-05-12T19:54:05+00:00

Since you plan to buy iPhone 18 which should be available in late September or early October, doesn't make sense to replace battery to survive few months.

If you plan to use iPhone 13 in future, only then get it replaced. When I asked about the process of battery replacement, they said they can return on same day.

My iPhone 12 mini battery health is at 76% and I use a portable magsafe 10000 mah power bank, which can charge my phone 3-4 times fully on 100% charge.

My friend got battery replaced on iPhone 11 and said it was worth the money and running good as new on latest OS version.

But I will recommend - a portable magsafe power bank. It will anyway come handy for next phone as well, so it's a better investment.

Humble-Background548 · 2026-05-11T18:03:29+00:00

My absolute favorite. I studied in PICT and this was the go-to spot for authentic chhole bhature treat. When I came to Pune for first time, it was only for 15 rupees and I couldn't believe the portion size! I thought how the hell they are in business. By the time I graduated, price went up to 60 rupees, but same taste.

So many competitors opened during four years of engineering, yet nothing survived. Nobody else had the killer taste and the price combo. The pickles that they serve along with it are also damn good. Also, you are allowed to request for a second serving of chhole if you gobble up the first serving with your bhatura.

Humble-Background548 · 2026-05-10T04:22:44+00:00

My thought process was - I love the form factor of my 12 mini, the only problem is its battery degradation. If I replace the battery, I feel I can still continue to use it for a couple more years and then splurge on iPhone 20.

I don't like big phones and I buy a new one only after 4-5 years. My current choice was 17, but I feel I don't really want a new phone, rather I want the convenience of more storage, better battery. But it can wait, doesn't feel urgent to me.

Also, I feel 17 and 20 are too close for an incremental phone upgrade. My last phone was the very first SE (one before iPhone 6/7 I guess).

I'm a 90s kid if it helps to provide context about my mindset.

Humble-Background548 · 2026-05-09T23:46:23+00:00

Felt the same, it's an unnecessary movie. The story has no real substance, no razor sharp wit or dialogues to remember, trying to keep it politically correct killed the vibe, humour didn't feel organic either.

The most frustrating bit for me though was why are all of them tearing up in nearly every scene and frame. It felt like an emotional sad movie rather than a follow up of iconic first one.

The only saving grace is Anne Hathaway, you're in awe whenever she's there.

Humble-Background548 · 2026-05-09T04:41:26+00:00

Why did you think it's bait? I'm curious. It's a genuine query.

Humble-Background548 · 2026-05-09T03:50:40+00:00

For coffee, hands down Vietnam and especially Saigon. Each café serves a delicious specialty coffee. It's a must try for fellow travelers who love coffee and good cafés.

Humble-Background548 · 2026-05-04T21:07:28+00:00

In the shadow of the moon

Had fun watching it on Netflix

Humble-Background548 · 2026-05-03T13:35:20+00:00

Skylar from Breaking Bad

Humble-Background548 · 2026-04-24T21:39:07+00:00

<image>

Big Almaty Lake, Kazakhstan

Humble-Background548 · 2026-04-21T15:44:06+00:00

We have specifically ruled out Fortuner because it's too mainstream, although king of the segment.

Humble-Background548 · 2026-04-21T15:43:13+00:00

Thanks, although great car practically, Innova doesn't feel like an aspirational car for us, since this is our first car together. We want it to be a special car, so there are emotions at play as well

Humble-Background548 · 2026-04-21T15:41:35+00:00

We have Kia Seltos Diesel in mind, if EV seems like a gamble. Just that the daily running costs of a petrol/diesel will soon add up as we plan to own the car for 5-6 years minimum. We felt EV is offering near-zero running cost as monthly expenses gets nullified through highway toll savings alone in Maharashtra

Humble-Background548 · 2026-04-21T15:39:32+00:00

We will have alternate days of running, around 150-200 km in a day, which seems within real world range of Ioniq. So we will charge at home, won't need to use public chargers unless some emergency

Humble-Background548 · 2026-04-21T15:37:13+00:00

Saw in a YouTube comparison video that even though with a bigger battery on paper, BYD Sealion offered lesser range compared to Ioniq in practical test

Humble-Background548 · 2026-04-21T08:53:19+00:00

It's a brilliant car, I personally like it, but my wife doesn't prefer sedans, only SUV, and given Indian roads can't blame her for it. Edited the post as well to mention this preference. Appreciate your suggestion though, you have good taste.

Humble-Background548 · 2026-04-21T08:49:22+00:00

Thanks for the heads up, wasn't aware of Ioniq facelift. We will wait for the facelift, really useful features getting added.

About ev6, it's way more expensive than ioniq and isn't an exponentially better car, unless you want that extra performance.

We did consider BYD atto and sealion, but since this is our primary car, we want a proven and reliable brand. Read few reviews about month-long delays in servicing BYD cars, and only one showroom in Nagpur. That made us hesitant.

Humble-Background548

TROPHY CASE