Nightlife in Almaty Kazakhstan

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I am not a nightlife person, so...but I did go out a few times!If you like nightclubs in the more traditional sense (i.e. not frenetic 'clubs' with strobe lights and earsplitting 'music', etc, as currently understood, but places with a restaurant, bars, dance floor) then you could try the Adriatica, which is quite plush, VERY expensive to my mind (at least USD$6 in 1996 for an orange juice) and not crowded, for obvious reasons.Local girls (indeed women up to 30 and even 35) seem to think discos of various kinds the dernier cri of Western sophistication and, depending on their income level (or boyfriend's income level) will want to attend these places from time to time.The most expensive is probably Petroleum Club. Think megabucks to get in, drink, eat or even, maybe, breathe! Adriatica is also near the top of the list (personally I went with a group of people to be nice...couldn't wait to escape), along with the LA Club.There are many 'local' clubs, discos, etc, some of which are pretty drunken and unsavoury, apparently. One of the more salubrious for the younger element would be the disco held on Fridays (maybe Saturdays too) at KIMEP economics institute (formerly the Kazakhstan communist Party Higher Institute), a large unmissable white building, corner of Abaia and Lenina.Avoid the casinos in the city, except perhaps those attached to places like the Rachat Palace (Hyat) Hotel. Like Petroleum Club (by reputation, the watering-hole of the Mafia bosses), but more so, these are frequented by those you might not want to know, meaning criminal elements.The so-called 'Business Club' downtown (ask any expat) is THE place to socialize on Friday early evenings, from 1800 onwards. Totally mixed crowd, from almost innocent daughters of foreign execs to ladies very obviously and openly 'on the game', expatriate (mostly English and American) workers of various types, local people too. Louche, fairly crowded, but OK, unthreatening and safe too. I went there numerous times without a problem. You can eat there too and I'm told that's good too. An experience...Don't bother going any other day but Friday: it's dead as a morgue.There are a number of bars all over. You're better in the major hotels or somewhere like Capos, than in the smaller places, on the whole (like the bar near my place which advertized 'Vodka On Tap'...).Finally, be careful befriending people in the less respectable places. Robberies and even murders of foreigners have happened...