17 trains, 11 buses, one plane — and a Welsh win at the end of the line
Most fans book a flight, grab a scarf, and call it a trip. John McAllister took a different route. To back Wales in a World Cup qualifier against Kazakhstan on September 4, 2025, the Welsh travel YouTuber stitched together a marathon journey: 17 trains, 11 buses, and one plane, covering more than 5,000 kilometers before stepping into the Astana Arena.
He didn’t just pass through. McAllister spent two weeks on the ground in Kazakhstan before match day, turning an away fixture into a slow, detailed look at a country many fans only see from an airport window. While thousands of Welsh supporters flew straight to Astana, he went the long way, choosing time over convenience and curiosity over speed.
The trip began with a hop into Atyrau from Georgia — his one flight — and then shifted to tracks and roads. From there, he zigzagged across the country, using a web of long-distance trains and regional buses that locals rely on every day. It wasn’t quick, but that was the point. He wanted to see the places in between: the oil towns in the west, the big-city bustle down south, and finally the fast-growing capital in the north.
By the time he reached Astana, he’d tasted the country’s scale. Kazakhstan is massive, and the distances are real. If you’ve never crossed a steppe by rail, you don’t quite get it. He does now.
McAllister’s early stop in Atyrau gave him a softer landing than a capital city rush. He found a smaller, calmer place that was easy to settle into after days on the move. People had time to talk. Cafés weren’t crowded. He liked the rhythm — simple, steady, not loud.
Then came Almaty. Different energy entirely. Almaty lives at a faster pace, with packed streets and mountain air right on the edge of town. McAllister took a break from the heat and went up to the Shymbulak ski area, the kind of place where summer feels like spring and the city noise falls away in minutes. Cool air, long views, and a reminder that Kazakhstan is more than just flat, dry land.
He said the country was far more modern than he expected — “digital and fast-paced,” in his words. Contactless payments were everywhere. Service felt quick. The daily grind ran smoother than the picture held by many Westerners who have never been. He kept coming back to the same point: people were welcoming, patient, and proud of their cities. The hospitality stood out.
That sense of surprise matters. Central Asia still carries old stereotypes in Western pop culture — dusty, slow, stuck in the past. McAllister’s experience cracked that image. He found a place that looked forward, not backward, and he met people who wanted visitors to see the real thing, not the postcard version.
Match day delivered the big stage. The Astana Arena, a modern bowl with around 30,000 seats, felt like it could be anywhere in Europe — clean lines, sharp sound, slick operations. The home crowd packed it out and made a wall of noise for Kazakhstan. It didn’t rattle Wales. McAllister laughed as he told friends after the final whistle: the stadium was impressive, the fans were loud, and yes, Wales still took the win.
For Wales supporters, Kazakhstan is one of the longest trips on the fixture list. Most go via a simple flight path and save their days off. McAllister built a different kind of away-day memory. He rode the local rails, sat on regional buses, and talked to people who weren’t wearing red shirts. That’s not just fandom — it’s fieldwork.
The numbers tell the story of effort:
- 17 trains across wide, empty stretches and through big transport hubs
- 11 buses linking smaller towns and shorter hops
- 1 flight into Atyrau to start the overland leg across Kazakhstan
- More than 5,000 kilometers before the first song in the stands
Those trains aren’t background scenery. Long-distance journeys in Kazakhstan roll on sturdy carriages built for comfort, not speed. You eat, you chat, you watch the land change slowly. Buses fill the gaps, running the less glamorous routes that still stitch the map together. The whole thing demands patience, a bit of planning, and a willingness to wait.
What kept him going? The small moments. Finding a late-night place open after a delayed bus. A clear morning on a high ridge near the city. A stranger who insisted he try a local dish. He talked about character as much as sights — how people treated him and how the country showed itself in motion.
He also kept circling back to how easy the basics were. Buying tickets on the go wasn’t a nightmare. Getting a ride didn’t mean haggling for hours. Mobile payments worked. The more he moved, the more he felt the country ran on a modern setup that reduced friction rather than created it.
Astana itself felt purposeful. New buildings, straight lines, big ambition — the capital likes order. It’s designed for scale, and the stadium fits that mood. Even with a full crowd, getting in and out didn’t feel chaotic. The energy was pointed at the pitch. The home support did its part; Wales did theirs.
Wales fans travel well, and this trip was no exception. Red shirts showed up across the city on match day, scattering through cafés and squares. They mingled with locals, traded photos, and compared routes. Most had flown; a few had mixed in trains. McAllister’s path stood out, but it wasn’t a stunt. It was a choice to make the journey count as much as the destination.
What does a trip like this change? For him, a lot. He now talks about Kazakhstan with specifics, not generalities: which café he liked in Atyrau, which viewpoint in Almaty beat the rest, which train ran smoothest. For fans watching his videos, the country becomes a real place with real rhythms, not a distant dot on a schedule.
And for Kazakhstan, stories like his help reset the frame. A visitor says the country was “more advanced than people think,” and shows how and where. A modern stadium draws a loud crowd for a major qualifier, and the away team’s fans feel safe and welcome. That’s the kind of word-of-mouth money can’t buy.
McAllister didn’t pretend he’d found every corner or solved every challenge. Travel still took time, and the distances never shrank. But his tone was steady: it was worth it. He got a real look at a big country, and then he watched his team win. That’s an away day done right — not just the result, but the road that led there.
Write a comment