Dear Svetlana,
I want to thank you once more for very special trip and excellent arrangements that so well adjusted to short notice changes like my wish to go to Talgar that came true! It was really interesting and made me almost forget my stomach not so pleased that morning. Juha Solantie from Finland, 17th of October, 2016

To Svetlana&Vladimir with best wishes for the wonderful work you do! Jim Glendining. June, 24, 2004

To Svetlana and her wonderful family. Many thanks for amazing experience to see Petrogliphs and for making my birthsday so special. I came from Glastonbury, Wells from UK – it is beautiful but eclipsed by Jabagly. Looking forward to the next adventure. Gareth Stamp, 1st of July 2014.

Thanks Svetlana for your sympathetic manners the week we spent in Kazakhstan and Kirgisia. Pirkko Marjatta Åkerblom, Finland, October, 2013

20 November 2016

Dear Svetlana,

I should have written earlier, but sadly school has been very busy since we returned. I have enjoyed a few cups of Svetlana tea since we got back and although it does not taste quite the same as it did in the fresh air of Aksu Zabagly it certainly brightens up a weekend in Astana.

I hope this finds you well and I really hope to be able to return in the spring! Thank you - slightly belatedly! The Svetlana tea has been lovely.

Very best wishes,

Alison (Archer) (Haileybury Astana School)

Dear Svetlana & Vladimir, Thank you and your family for feeling at home! Thanks also for finding our cyclingrate to Aktau. The new rate makes us happy! Keep on doing what you are doing with your nice family. When one of you comes to Holland please be our quest. Big hug. Brecht & Jolanda

Dear Svetlana,

Thank you SO much for this, and in general for making our experience in Jabagly so fantastic. We really enjoyed our two days exploring the region and discovering the fantastic flora and fauna. I really appreciated how much to time you took to explain everything.

I wish you all the very best for your project of documenting all of the plants in the area.

Take care,

Brenda

Thank you very much Svetlana for your hospitality and generosity! I had a very nice time with you and your family. You are welcome in France, anytime! Amandine

Svetlana!! Finally writing this for you. She's got such a lovely family and
I had a great experience in Aksu-Zhabagly in South Kazakhstan. Was planning
on staying 2 days, but it became 4... hehe! I didn't see her much but her
kids and husband are great! We went hiking, horse-riding and played
together. I miss you guys. Take care and quickly come to Singapore! :>

Svetlana's is a five star experience you will never forget, and the location is just at the doorstep of the national reserve. Svetlana is the local guide who knows every single square meter of the area and can give you invaluable information about it. Everything is just perfect there! Thank you and your family

Svetlana, Vladimir and family,

Thank you for a fantastic week of walking in the mountains. Maybe next time we'll try horse trekking to save our aging limbs on the steep up-hill bits.

To anyone thinking of a trip to southern Kazakhstan we would strongly recommend you contact Svetlana directly. No need to go through a fancy (expensive) tour operator in a smart office. Svetlana can organise whatever you want to do: horse trekking, hill walking, bird watching, visiting ancient sites, airport collections, accommodation, and with so little hassle. The Aksu Jabagli Reserve is beautiful, unspoilt and almost people-free. I think for most of our time we were the only humans in the whole 40x30km area.

A great memory - thank you.

Svetlana allowed us to pitch a tent in her garden in Jabagly and we stayed
there for a couple of days. Unfortunatelly we didn't have the chance to
know her better, because she went trekking with clients, but she seems to
be extremely nice person and definately a knowledgeable guide to the area.
We also met her two sons, who were very polite. Thank You!

We all had the best time, so thanks so much for helping that to happen Svetlana. All home safely but boy am I aching from that horse ride!

Tajikistan sometime would be wonderful - watch this space...

Dear Svetlana,



Just a short messagel to let you know that we have appreciated a lot our visit to Aksu-Zhabagly.

The program was perfect and we have appreciated a lot the kindness of all the people who took very good care of us.



My best regards to you, Vladimir, Igor and the family that we visited !

We were fortunate enough to see a game of Kokpar (Afghan version is called Buzkashi) between our village and neighboring village. This is an earlier version of polo, except the ball is sheep carcass. The riders have to pick this off the ground, throw it over their saddle and gallop to the goal. The horses are all stallions and very much into the game. There were roughly 50 or 60 horsemen in a game in a field next to the village. We had to duck occasionally behind a telephone pole to avoid being ridden down.