The helpful information for the tourist about Kazakhstan.

Gift-Giving in Kazakhstan.
It's a good idea to have a few small gifts to hand - the Kazakhs have a long-standing tradition of hospitality, you will very probably be invited to someone's house on more than one occasion, and the giving of gifts is a marvellous ice­breaker. Since there is hardly anything practical that cannot be bought at local markets, it is hard to find a surprise gift once in the country.
Therefore, think ahead and bring food or drink specialities, or souvenirs and coffee-table books, from your own country - these will always be highly appreciated. "Real" coffee, which in most of Kazakhstan remains hard to get at affordable prices, is a welcome gift.
Men tend to appreciate diaries, organizers and pens; women adore international brands of cosmetics. If all else fails, there's always a nice bouquet of flowers for the hostess, a bottle of cognac or French wine for the host and sweets for the children.
Hello and Goodbye in Kazakhstan. 
As in Europe, Kazakh men greet each other and say farewell with a strong handshake. A tight hug and a kiss on each cheek is also normal between friends and closely associated business partners, and you should expect this if you have made friends.
A sign of great respect is when the hand of the arriving or departing person is pressed between both hands of the host or companion. Women, however, are barely acknowledged by men, except perhaps with a nod.
This behaviour is found mainly in the provinces, and with Kazakhs over 50, and it should be understood as a cultural peculiarity rather than an personal insult or slight. Aggression in public against foreigners is extremely rare and if it occurs it is mainly due to drunkenness.
Hygiene in Kazakhstan. 
Tap water must always be boiled and/or purified. Water pipes are porous, so sewage water tends to leak into them, and storage facilities are badly cleaned. Everything packed and properly labelled can be trusted. Fresh fruit and vegetables should be carefully washed, since fertilizers in the country can still include manure. Hands must be washed before eating.
Maps in Kazakhstan.
Maps are in short supply in Kazakhstan. Some bookstores have maps, but not the ones people really need. There are no proper road maps and those that exist have a scale of 1:3,500,000 and, given the country's sheer size, are therefore not very helpful. In Almaty, your best bets are Akademkniga Bookshop 1 (91/97 Furmanov St/Gogol St, tel: 2 737 818) and Bookshop 2 (139 Furmanov St/Kabanbay Batyr St, tel: 2 727 981), both of which
open every day and offer a good map by Gizi Map called "Kazakhstan" (1:3,000,000, ISBN 9-6300-8315-9 CM); and GEO (38 Satpayev St/Manas St, tel: 2 453 435), open Mon-Fri 9:30am-6pm, though it's best to check opening times by telephoning in advance.
Outside Kazakhstan, Moskva bookstore on Tverskaya Street in central Moscow, Stanford's in Long Acre, London and a number of specialized travel shops in cities in Europe are the best options. Despite the difficulty, up-to-date maps are a real plus in Kazakhstan, so bring what you can. Many street and place names have changed in recent years. Ask three people for directions and each will offer a different answer.
Media in Kazakhstan. 
The leading local television stations are KTK and Khabar, with all programmes in Russian and Kazakh. New channels include Kazakhstan and Astana. Caspionet is a local station with programmes in English as well, but is only available on cable.
A number of service companies offer cable packages, which often include BBC World, CNN, Fox, TV-5 and sports and adventure channels in English, as well as Spanish and Italian stations. Online news on Kazakhstan can be obtained through the state news agency, Kazinform and the independent agency Kazakhstan Today.
A number of glossy magazines appear, mostly covering leisure and show business, in Almaty, plus some more serious ones, the most important being Exclusive, which covers business and economics.
Weekly papers include the community-style Almaty Herald and the more analytical Kazakhstan Monitor For those who read Russian, leading newspapers in Kazakhstan include Kazakhstanskaya Pravda, Panorama, Novoye Pokoleniye (general interest) and Dyelovaya Nedelya (business and economics), and critical periodicals and newspapers include Vox Populi, Svoboda Slova and Respublika.
Leading Russian papers such as Kommersant and Izvestia can be bought in major cities. The Times of Central Asia is a good source of news and information in English for the entire Central Asian region.
Opening Times in Kazakhstan. 
Almost all shops are open daily, many till late in the evening. In big cities and increasingly in the country as well, shopping can be done between 8am and 10pm. Smaller shops and "kiosks" are open around the clock. At night, the door is closed for security, but a knock on the small window opening will do the trick. In Almaty and Astana some businesses stay open 24 hours a day.
Punctuality in Kazakhstan. 
Clocks tick at a different rhythm in Kazakhstan, particularly in the countryside. Things get done, but exactly when they get done is not considered of great importance. However, discipline is steadily improving in the cities as global business connections begin to exert influence on the working population. Public transport, including buses, trains and planes, usually departs on time (depending on the weather).
Romance in Kazakhstan. 
The official age of consent in Kazakhstan is 18 for men and women alike, though unofficially or with parental consent, girls, in particular, can get married from 16. In contrast to most Asian and even Western countries, women in Kazakhstan often tend to take the initiative.
Be wary, though, most of them are not out for just a short-lived fling but are looking for something much more serious. When they succeed, they tend to be very loyal, but also very possessive.
One more thing to be aware of: in cities, exuberant and provocative dress codes among women do not automatically mean that an approach is being solicited. Homosexual men and women in Kazakhstan have the same legal rights and restrictions as their heterosexual peers.
In most parts of the country and in most layers of society, however, the law is far ahead of social acceptance - even though traditional lore amply illustrates that the lords of the steppe used to be quite fond of swinging both ways.
Two centuries of Russian Victorianism, however, have left their stamp on Kazakhstan. These days, only the young-elite are as frank and tolerant towards various sexual orientations as the younger crowd in Western Europe - and even their gay members do not often display their affections in public.
Overall, mum remains the word except in clubs, city centres and some upmarket leisure resorts. Due to deteriorating socioeconomic conditions during the 1990s, prostitution has unfortunately blossomed. It takes place in parks, clubs of dubious reputation or simply on the street.
It is strongly recommended to resist such temptations, both for health and security reasons. Prostitution, widespread as it may be, remains illegal in all circumstances and police can create serious trouble for those caught in the act.
The risk of STDs remains a major threat in amorous relations in Kazakhstan, as it does in Russia and most other former Soviet republics. The necessity of using condoms and other protective measures to prevent exposure to HIV/AIDS and other diseases is unfortunately but frequently not taken seriously enough. Visitors looking for a physical relationship are strongly urged to insist on the necessary precautions.
Toilets in Kazakhstan. 
Kazakhstan contains a concise encyclopaedia of toilets, ranging from holes in the ground surrounded (or not) by a shaky fence, to the finest state-of-the-art facilities. The low-tech variants can be seen in rural areas and provincial towns, sometimes as part of guesthouses.
Their high-tech counterparts are found in larger cities in modern hotels and restaurants (although not in all of them, and keeping them clean is often low on the agenda). In Almaty, well-maintained public pay toilets have recently been built in several parks.
But it is always wise for travellers to carry sufficient amounts of toilet paper and disinfection towels wherever they go. The toilet signs for men and women can be diverse, ranging from the usual pictograms to anglophile signs with "M" and "F", the usual Russian "M" mushchiny = men) and "Ж" (zhenshchiny = women), or, even more confusing, Kazakh: "E" for men, "Э" for women.

Authority:
The guidebook across Kazakhstan . Authors Dagmar Schreiber and Jeremy Tredinnick.   Publishing house "Odyssey". 2010.