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Borat

Garis Batas 39: Boratstan

Almaty di waktu senja (AGUSTINUS WIBOWO) Borat Sagdiev dari Kazakhstan, siapa yang tak kenal? Ikon Kazakhstan yang melekat di benak semua orang yang sebelumnya belum pernah mendengar nama negara ini adalah Borat, figur pria dari negara terbelakang yang penuh kekonyolan dan kebodohan. Film berjudul super panjang, Borat: Cultural Learnings of America for Make Benefit Glorious Nation of Kazakhstan, sempat menjadi box office dunia dan bahkan meraih berbagai penghargaan internasional, membuka mata banyak orang bahwa ada sebuah negara bernama Kazakhstan. Kampung Borat adalah sebuah negeri di mana orang Yahudi ditimpuki, perempuan diperlakukan lebih rendah daripada kuda, prostitusi adalah kebanggaan, air seni kuda dijadikan minuman, dan sempat diperkosa gay. Tetapi apakah Kazakhstan sedemikian bodoh dan terbelakang seperti yang digambarkan Borat?  Kalau Anda berjalan-jalan di Almaty, Anda pasti akan melupakan Borat. Gadis-gadis muda Rusia berambut pirang dengan pakaian berbulu kualitas impor melintas dengan anggun. Gedung-gedung baru bermunculan di sana-sini. Bus modern dan trem listrik mungil berhias warna-warni lalu lalang di sepanjang jalan yang sibuk. Almaty, mantan ibu kota Kazakhstan, sedang menapaki jalan menuju kota kosmopolitan kelas dunia. Di sini tinggal berbagai bangsa. Orang Kazakh kira-kira hanya separuh populasi. Sisanya adalah orang Rusia. Jumlah mereka hampir sama banyaknya dengan orang Kazakh. Juga ada orang [...]

August 7, 2013 // 0 Comments

Almaty – Borat’s Land

Night is coming in Almaty “All people writing about Kazakhstan are telling bullshit!” – Nurslan Kazakhstan was surprisingly much more expensive compared to it was in my short visit in 2004. That time I stayed in Kazhol Hotel and it cost 26$/night. For my student pocket it was enormous amount. But staying in cold, dirty, dark room of Kazkontrakt was indeed uncomfortable and I decided to go back to Kazhol. Kazhol now turned to be a very neat and smart hotel, after renovation. The tiles on the floor were glittering, as it was emphasizing the golden age Kazakhstan enjoying at this moment. The price also skyrocketed. The cheapest room now costs 69$. It was much beyond my budget. I was told by some travelers that the cheapest option in Almaty was dormitory of the bus terminal (10$). But imagining staying in ‘dormitory’, especially in a bus terminal, the idea itself reminded me to many bad experiences of mine in Tajikistan. I preferred to invest just a little bit more, for my safety and comfort. But the problem is that ‘a little bit more’ was much more powerful than I thought to blow out my pocket. I walked to a big [...]

December 3, 2006 // 0 Comments