How to travel from Bishkek to Almaty and vice versa

Being just less than 250 km from each other, travelling from Almaty to Bishkek and vice versa means being able to visit 2 beautiful central asian countries with much ease. I took the bus from Bishkek at 8:00 am and arrived neatly at Almaty at 12:00 pm. The travel is safe and pretty straight forward.  Economical and time-saving, this is a good way to commute between the 2 cities although you don't speak the languange. 

I am from Malaysia and if you have taken an interstate bus in Malaysia before, it is quite similiar. The only difference is that passangers change buses after crossing the 2 check points. This should be explained by the bus conductor but incase you are neither Kazakh nor Krygyz language competent, I am glad you are reading this! Just keep an eye on the herd or your busmates and follow them to the bus across the immigration. That was how I survived! Some good Samaritans pointed out the way to the new bus for me. 

Taking the bus from Bishkek to Almaty and vice versa is not as daunting as most people think is.
It is pretty straight forward. 

Bishkek Western Bus Station.
I bought the ticket one day before the travel day which is more expensive but the price difference is negligible.

The entrance to purchase ticket at Western Bus Stop Bishkek

The inside of the bus station could be better lit but don't let it intimidate you.
I can say it is safe despite the lighting

Make your way to the window counter 

At the counter, it is pretty straight forward Bishkek-Almaty destination and timings

The paper says Bishkek-Almaty 600 soms. Remember to bring your passport to purchase

It is also easy to identify the bus by platform and by the label on the bus window

This is my bus at 8:00 am at Platform 11 to Almaty

It could take some time to identify the seat number but you'll get it somehow. There was a briefing by the bus conductor but it was all in Krygys. I got a little concerned but I couldn't do much but trust the process. 

Reached the Ak-Jol checkpoint after approximately 45 minutes

I got down the bus and walked through the check points with my luggages following the crowd

This is the Kazakhstan immigration side

After leaving the bus at Kyrgyzstan, I walked through the 2 immigration check points on foot with my luggages and boarded another bus that was waiting at the Kazakhstan check point. I didn't know that I had to change buses this way. Thanks to some good busmates that pointed out the way I should be following. I guess this was the brief that I did not comprehend from the bus conductor.

The view on the way back to Almaty. Do be prepared with a mini fan during summer as air conditioning might not be turned on. 

Reached Sairan Almaty Long-distance Bus Station by 12:00pm

The front of Sairan Bus Station

Inside of the Almaty long-distance bus station

From here, I took the Yandex back to my accommodation in Almaty.
The flight from Almaty to KL via Air Asia was scheduled the next day