Well, finally the day was here and we left PIEAS for the airport. Our flight was a connected one, via Abu Dhabi. Abu Dhabi airport was probably bigger than the city itself. We reached Abu Dhabi at around 12 noon, with one cell phone less coz one of us forgot his phone in the plane. It took as about an hour to reach the terminal from where our flight for - wait for it - Kazakhstan, oh yes, the 2k14 IPhO was to be held in the land of the horses. After looking around at the stuff and people at the Duty Free and taking the occasional selfie or two, we boarded the plane headed for Astana, the capital of Kazakhstan.
We thought that this flight would be just as normal as the previous one but what happened is a tale on its own. This plane, headed for Astana, had a total capacity of 100, out of which about 40 of the passengers onboard were going for the IPhO. Team Pakistan, Team Australia, Team India and Team Saudi Arabia all were seated in the plane. And when the students started taking out their bags, notes, books and stuff, the entire crew wonderstruck on what is going on. And that was surely a priceless moment.
After landing and taking care of the usual formalities of entry and registration in a country, we were escorted by the organizers to the Nazerbayev University, where all the participants were supposed to stay. Those hostels housed the best minds in physics from 90 countries for 10 days. Rooms were allotted such that each room had two students from one country and two from another. We shared are room we two Saudi Arabian boys, with whom we became friendly at once. Socializing, football, playing cards and "Mafia" were the go to activities all through the 10 days. 
Kazakhstan is a big country with few people, so the place is mostly deserted but the Kazakhs we met were the most hospitable, nice and friendly people I've met. It was a warm welcome in the cold for sure, because their summers were like winters to us. The country was rich, so showed their buildings and architecture. The Kazakh food was a little spice less for us, Pakistanis, but it had a special flavor of its own.Each team was given a guide who was to be with the team 24/7 and cater to their every need. Our guide was Kazakh girl named "Alua", who was a civil engineering student at the university and we developed a special friendship with her during our stay.
The opening ceremony took place at "The Palace of Peace and Reconciliation" , with all the countries dressing up in their traditional and national dresses to showcase their culture on the international stage. We to got ourselves in the white and greens, which were quite liked by the people and everyone lined up to get their photographs taken with us and we felt like some movie stars. The ceremony was quite musical and showcased the Kazakh culture. On return from the ceremony, we were given a tour around the university, which was a delightful experience for the university was a place really worth seeing. The usual socializing resumed after the tour, back at the hostels.
The next day, came the toughest exam of our lives. It was a five hour theoretical exam that had three parts from different fields of physics. I did
what I could and at the end of those five hours I saw 400 uncertain faces. After the exam, we were told that about 7-8 teams were grouped into a single bus group which will be together on all excursions. We were in Group 7 along with Nepal, Netherlands, Nigeria, Norway, China, Poland and Portugal. Our first excursion in Kazakhstan was to "The National Museum of Kazakhstan" which had in it all sorts of Kazakh history and culture. A minute's walk away was the "Hazret Sultan Mosque" which is the biggest mosque in the country, and we were privileged to offer our Zuhar prayer there.
We left the university, after breakfast, on the next day and went to visit "The Museum of The First President of Kazakhstan". Nursultan Nazerbayez is the first and the only president of Kazakhstan after her independence in 1991. The museum showcased the life and times of a industry worker, who by the power of his will went on to become the president of the country. After having lunch at the "Mega" shopping center, we were taken to visit "The Palace of School Children", which was a physical and mental training center for school children. Different activities being organized there were science demonstrations, chess, wrestling, swimming, ice skating, ice hockey, basketball, football, music and gardening. I found the place quite suited to my liking.
The experimental part of our exam was to commence on the next day. Again it was a five hour exam, which had to be performed on quite sophisticated equipment. Again witnessing the same uncertain look on the people's faces wasn't as surprising to me as the first time. By then we had picked up on few Kazakh words and every now and then, surprised the locals with our use of Kazakh terms. After lunch we were to visit the "Astana Baiterek", which was to Kazakhs as "Minar e Pakistan" is to us. The view from the was really spectacular.
Since the exams were over, we were free as hell and were now taken to a hill resort at a five hour drive from Astana. It was a beautiful place, where we stayed at a mountain resort beside the Borovoe Lake. Traditional Kazakh weddings, dresses, meals and houses known as "Yurts" were depicted. After lunch a show of traditional Kazakh dance was organized, which really made the students merry. The 5 hour journey was also cherish able because each country sang their local songs, which turned into giggles when the Chinese took their turn.
The next day began with us visiting "The Palace of Independence", a place depicting the story of the Kazakh's way to independence from the USSR. After that we were taken to "The Khan Shatyr" shopping and entertainment center, where we bought gifts and souvenirs to take back home. On our return, we were treated to an international flavor of football i.e. an IPhO version of the football with teams from 90 countries taking part in a 5 on 5 futsal knock-out tournament. Our first match was against Brazil, intimidated at first but adrenaline went up when I scored in the very first minute and went 1 up in the match. The score line remained the same throughout the match, after that. Pakistan defeated Brazil, fame came again. But unfortunately lost to Croatia in the next round. But it felt great to be cheered by any countries. Chants of "C'mon Pakistan" roared around the university. A talent show was also held after that, in which teams from various countries showcased their traditional dances and got applauded by others.
On the next day, a Scavenger hunt was held and we were teamed up with Norway. The hunt had different tasks such as counting the trees of the atrium, the number of parking spots in the university and things like that. Though we did tried our best but ended up a little late than the winners. After lunch, we were again taken to "The Palace of Peace and Reconciliation" for the closing ceremony. Again dressed up in our kits, a little sad this time, because we had won no medals although me and two of my teammates were quite close to the threshold set for the medals. After that, we were taken to "The Radisson Hotel" for our farewell dinner. By that time, we became really friendly with the lads from Poland, so much that seated at the dinner table we were literally teaching each other swear words in our languages.
One thing I forgot to share was that on one evening the "Ambassador of Pakistan to Kazakhstan" sent his men in black limos to pick us up for dinner. He took us to a desi restaurant, where we treated our
taste buds to the good old Pakistani food. After that he showed us around the city.
The whole adventure was now in its final leg when we departed from the university for the airport from where we boarded the plane which took us back to Islamabad via Almaty and Abu Dhabi.
On a concluding note, I would like to add that it wasn’t only a physics competition but an international festival where you get to socialize and interact with brilliant minds from all over the world. Here, I've put my IPhO story into words, so that it might be some sort of inspiration for the young thriving minds out there.
We left the university, after breakfast, on the next day and went to visit "The Museum of The First President of Kazakhstan". Nursultan Nazerbayez is the first and the only president of Kazakhstan after her independence in 1991. The museum showcased the life and times of a industry worker, who by the power of his will went on to become the president of the country. After having lunch at the "Mega" shopping center, we were taken to visit "The Palace of School Children", which was a physical and mental training center for school children. Different activities being organized there were science demonstrations, chess, wrestling, swimming, ice skating, ice hockey, basketball, football, music and gardening. I found the place quite suited to my liking.
The experimental part of our exam was to commence on the next day. Again it was a five hour exam, which had to be performed on quite sophisticated equipment. Again witnessing the same uncertain look on the people's faces wasn't as surprising to me as the first time. By then we had picked up on few Kazakh words and every now and then, surprised the locals with our use of Kazakh terms. After lunch we were to visit the "Astana Baiterek", which was to Kazakhs as "Minar e Pakistan" is to us. The view from the was really spectacular. 
Since the exams were over, we were free as hell and were now taken to a hill resort at a five hour drive from Astana. It was a beautiful place, where we stayed at a mountain resort beside the Borovoe Lake. Traditional Kazakh weddings, dresses, meals and houses known as "Yurts" were depicted. After lunch a show of traditional Kazakh dance was organized, which really made the students merry. The 5 hour journey was also cherish able because each country sang their local songs, which turned into giggles when the Chinese took their turn. The next day began with us visiting "The Palace of Independence", a place depicting the story of the Kazakh's way to independence from the USSR. After that we were taken to "The Khan Shatyr" shopping and entertainment center, where we bought gifts and souvenirs to take back home. On our return, we were treated to an international flavor of football i.e. an IPhO version of the football with teams from 90 countries taking part in a 5 on 5 futsal knock-out tournament. Our first match was against Brazil, intimidated at first but adrenaline went up when I scored in the very first minute and went 1 up in the match. The score line remained the same throughout the match, after that. Pakistan defeated Brazil, fame came again. But unfortunately lost to Croatia in the next round. But it felt great to be cheered by any countries. Chants of "C'mon Pakistan" roared around the university. A talent show was also held after that, in which teams from various countries showcased their traditional dances and got applauded by others.
On the next day, a Scavenger hunt was held and we were teamed up with Norway. The hunt had different tasks such as counting the trees of the atrium, the number of parking spots in the university and things like that. Though we did tried our best but ended up a little late than the winners. After lunch, we were again taken to "The Palace of Peace and Reconciliation" for the closing ceremony. Again dressed up in our kits, a little sad this time, because we had won no medals although me and two of my teammates were quite close to the threshold set for the medals. After that, we were taken to "The Radisson Hotel" for our farewell dinner. By that time, we became really friendly with the lads from Poland, so much that seated at the dinner table we were literally teaching each other swear words in our languages.One thing I forgot to share was that on one evening the "Ambassador of Pakistan to Kazakhstan" sent his men in black limos to pick us up for dinner. He took us to a desi restaurant, where we treated our
taste buds to the good old Pakistani food. After that he showed us around the city.
The whole adventure was now in its final leg when we departed from the university for the airport from where we boarded the plane which took us back to Islamabad via Almaty and Abu Dhabi.
On a concluding note, I would like to add that it wasn’t only a physics competition but an international festival where you get to socialize and interact with brilliant minds from all over the world. Here, I've put my IPhO story into words, so that it might be some sort of inspiration for the young thriving minds out there.
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