11th June, day 55, in Khiva, Uzbekistan
It's an early start to the guided tour of Khiva today, it needs to finish by about 11am because only mad dogs and Englishmen are out in the mid-day sun, and the tour takes a few hours to do.
The historic centre of Khiva is quite small, and is surrounded by impressive high mud walls with ramparts, and totals a length of some 2km, with turrets every 20m or so. Dired reinforced mud was a very popular building material here, the almost complete lack of rain makes it very durable.
There are many fascinating sights to see, such as the mausoleum and the caravanserai, without which no Silk Road city is complete. The old city is beautifully restored to what it's thought to have looked like when new, but at a possible cost of character and authenticity. However, it is a fascinating tour and it's great to be on the famous, exotic Silk Road.
12th June, day 56, Khiva - Bukhara, Uzbekistan
A half-days drive through endless flat boring irrigation. The irrigation system in Ukbekistan is immense, it's really no wonder the Aral Sea is empty, and it occurs to me that on the signs at Moynaq documenting the demise of the sea there is no mention whatsoever at the cause. One wonders about the freedom of information here. After all, the BBC website is blocked. Will this blog post also be blocked?
13th June, day 57, in Bukhara, Uzbekistan
Joy takes the morning tour today, I have a lie in. Much of the day I'm huddled under the air-conditioner to escape the heat.
I get out in the evenings, however, and there is a lovely lake surrounded my fountains and outdoor restaurants in the central square, a stone's throw from the hotel. A lovely place to relax, eat and drink beer in the evenings.
14th June, day 58, Bukhara - Samarkand, Uzbekistan
Another half-days drive through endless flat country, some of which is not actually irrigated, and therefore still desert. I think we're nearing the edge of this desert because there's a noticable increase in humidity and the sky has looked threatening these last couple of evenings. On the last approach to Samarkand, there are mountains in the distance. Makes a nice change. Samarkand, according to Lonely Planet, it at an altitude of about 900m and this should be good for taking the edge off the heat. Full of hope about this, I ask Alexander the local guide, who, somewhat unhelpfully, replies that is it "the will of Allah". I think that sums up the attitude of people around here.
Samarkand is indeed cooler. Still hot by British standards, but having roasted in >40C the last few days, it's nice to be in temperatures in the high 20's.
15th June, day 59, in Samarkand, Uzbekistan
The tour starts early again in relatively comfortable termperatures. Samarkand is one of those really exotic sounding places, and evokes images of far off lands and strange cultures, and sounds really far away, a bit like the way the name Timbuktu is steeped in fable.
With this high expectation I join the tour, and I am not disappointed. There's so much to see, wonderful buildings with a long and complex history. And so much more real than Khiva - although many buildings have been restored, it still feels like a real, living, breathing city.
Samarkand joins Istanbul in being one of my favourite cities in the world.
16th June, day 60, Samarkand - Tashkent, Uzbekistan
The trip is now 1/3 of the way through!
Another half-days drive to the capital. Any history here has been wiped out by earthquakes, so the city is modern with wide boulevards. Looks European. The most exotic thing about Tashkent is the name.
17th June, day 61, in Tashkent, Uzbekistan
We are hoping to get Kazak visas today. We need them for our little detour around Osh, and we need them quick - our Uzbek visas expire very soon, we plan to leave the country tomorrow, we can't cross the boder into Kyrgizstan, so Kazakhstan is our best hope. Pete is worrying about that today, but we'll get the visas if it's "the will of Allah". That's how things work here, after all.
Other than that, as we enter the middle third of the trip it's a day of little housekeeping tasks - money changing, blog updates, email checking, and generally lazing around.
Thursday 17 June 2010
Wednesday 16 June 2010
Troubles in Kyrgizstan
I am now in Tashkent, Uzbekistan. Our original plan was to enter Kyrgizstan and go to Osh, but if you've been following the news, you'll know it's not exactly very safe there at the moment.
Because of this, we are going to follow an alternative route into Kyrgizstan avoiding the closed Uzbek border and the trouble region. We plan to travel via Kazakhstan and then down to Kyrgizstan at Bishkek. From that point we should hopefully rejoin our original route and schedule. Fingers crossed for the Kazakh visas...
Because of this, we are going to follow an alternative route into Kyrgizstan avoiding the closed Uzbek border and the trouble region. We plan to travel via Kazakhstan and then down to Kyrgizstan at Bishkek. From that point we should hopefully rejoin our original route and schedule. Fingers crossed for the Kazakh visas...
Sunday 13 June 2010
Onto the Silk Road
1st June, day 45, Still in Baku, Azerbaijan
Today's boat to Turkmenistan was redirected to Kazakhstan, so we're still here in Baku getting itchy feet and wanting to move on. To make things worse, there's a conference in town (Baku Oil and Gas exhibition) so nearly all the hotel rooms are booked. We need to stay here another night so we crowd into the few available rooms, some people on the floor. The trip is now 1/4 of the way through!
2nd June, day 46, Still in Baku, Azerbaijan
Waiting for the boat is wearing very thin now, and we need to make arrangements for accommodation tonight because the hotels are even more fully booked that last night. We decide to retrieve the tents from the truck and set up camp in the hotel courtyard. Pete, Mike and myself go to the port where the truck is parked up in the customs compound waiting to be loaded onto the elusive boat. Pete has a chat with the Port Captain and after that, things seem better, as we have finally been issued with tickets, and we are promised the the boat will dock during the night.
That night at bed time Joy and I find a place to sleep. There's a covered section behind the hotel which we can sleep in, so we decide not to bother with the tent, especially since we could be woken any time in the night to go to get the boat. Bad move. Our sleeping space is shared by about 1000000000000 mosquitoes.
3rd June, day 47, finally leaving Baku!
At 5am the call came that the boat has docked and we'd better get down to the port. At last, we're on the move, a new country awaits!
At 10am the boat finaly leaves. Maybe we could have slept in a bit longer.
It is hot and sunny, and the Caspian is rather a warm sea. The result is high humidity, but at least there is a breeze. I'm starting to suffer from the heat and humidity combined with lack of sleep now, the last 2 nights have not been very comfortable.
I spend a good chuck of the day asleep in my cabin. Now, this boat is unlike anything else I've experienced. It's an old Soviet Union boat and all the signs are in Russian. It is very scruffy and musty enough so that breathing the air inside almost makes you feel sick. The cabin has 4 bunks with matresses you dare not lie on for catching some dreadful undiscovered disease, but I inflate my air bed on top of it, open the porthole and let the sea air in, and fall asleep. That's about all there is to do on board, anyway. It's everything the Queen Mary 2 isn't.
By midnight, you can see the coast of Turkmenistan, but we drop anchor and spend the night on the boat a few hours from the port. It's best on the top deck sleeping under the stars. That was actually quite nice.
4th June, day 48, at anchor outside Turkmenbashi, Turkmenistan
The day dawns far too early - that's the trouble with sleeping outside - attempt a lie in and the sun will roast you.
The Turkenbashi port works to its own unique schedule, and certainly not in any hurry. I've heard stories that last year's group were kept waiting at anchor for 3 nights, so needless to say I was worried a similar thing would happen to us. Early on, a boat the same as ours was spotted at anchor nearby. When, at about 10am, it was seen to move towards port, our hopes of landing today took a serious blow. It takes the best part of a day to turn a boat around, and even if we were next in the queue, we wouldn't be in today because the port apparently closes at night, which means another night on board.
The day was spent trying desparately to find air. It seemed to be in rather short supply. The air inside was stale and musty, outside hot and humid. This miserable day found me wondering what part of my insane little mind wanted to come on this trip anyway.
Then, at 3pm, me were on the move again, and our spitits lifted. This raising of the spirits is short-lived, however, as the anchor drops again at at about 6pm. We were told that the port would work through the night and we would land today, but no-one really believes this. But at about 9pm, we're actually on the move again. We finally dock at 10:30pm, after some 36 and a half hours on board.
Then the border formalities start. This starts with a medical examination. This is not exactly thorough. Me standing up and confirming my name seems to satisfy them that I'm still alive, along with everyone else, so we are clear to leave the boat by about midnight.
Then the passport/visa formalities take about 3 hours, so at 3am we are released into the dark desert wastelend that is Turkmenistan, where we set up camp for a few short hours of well needed sleep.
5th June, day 49, bushcamp near Turkmenbashi - Ashgabat, Turkmenistan
A long day on the road through the fierce heat of the desert.
Turkmenistan is a strange country, quite unlike any other so far. Every so often on the road there are police checkpoints. Even Turkmen citizens need a special permit to travel to a different region of their own country. Luckily our papers are in order and we have a local guide (again, a state requirement) so we are allowed to proceed by the police officers with huge peaked caps. (The size of the peaked caps indicates the degree of totalitariansim of the government, or so it seems to me. Turkmen officials were large caps)
We are a day behind schedule thanks to the delay getting on and off the boat, and we lose one of our nights at the very posh 5-star Grand Hotel.
6th June, day 50, in Ashgabat, Turkmenistan
The heat is vicious. When there's a breeze it blows at you like so many hair dryers. Despite the heat, the morning is spent looking round a large and impressive market near Ashgabat, where you can buy anything from a camel to a bottle of perfume.
Prices are a little bit confusing, because they've recently revalued their currency to lose the string of 0's off their banknotes. So one new Turkmen Manat equals 5000 old Manats, and old Manats are no longer legal tender. But some people live in the past and still express prices in the ld currency despite it no longer being in use, and so if a price says 10000, you know it really means 2.
The afternoon is then spent in air-conditioned bliss in our hotel room. Unfortunately not the nice 5-star Grand, but the rather more modest former Soviet In-tourist Hotel Ashgabat. Still, it had aircon. Lovely.
7th June, day 51, Ashgabat - Darvala Gas Crater, Turkmenistan
This morning we take a stroll around Ashgabat. On almost every street corner, more bored-looking police lurk underneath their huge peaked caps. These are pretty much the only people about. I'm a bit worried about taking photos here, because sometimes foreigners can get into trouble for taking pictures of things they shouldn't. I'm up for a certain amount of adventure, but going to a Turkmen jail is one step too far. I get the feeling you could be jailed here for breathing at the wrong time without a permit.
I risk a photo of the theatre. It's a white marble building with columns in front, with ornate copper over the windows. Very pretty, and, like the rest of the city, quite deserted.
Ashgabat is a city of wide tree-lined boulevards and white marble buildings, interspesed with the occasional fountain and statue of their Glorious Leader. Apparently we are allowed to photograph those. Lucky really, because there's not much worth photographing. Ashgabat is like Milton Keynes, it's artificial, it's the president's folly, it's been planned to within an inch of its life.
I think here, I will digress slightly to discuss my view on the role of a president, or political leader of a country is. Many in the West probably will agree with me - that their job is to oversee the government whilst it goes about its work of looking after their country's infrastructure, economy, education, healthcare, and so on. Hopefully I'm not being too naive here, although I know it's simplified. But here is Asia, the job of president is quite different. His job is to decree the building of fountains and statues of himself. Sounds like an easy job, anyone could do it. Things are a lot simpler here.
We leave Ashgabat at lunchtime for a fairly quick drive north through the hottest desert in Central Asia to the Darvala Gas Crater, right in the middle of the desert. About 40 years ago, a pocket of natural gas was found and an attempt was made to tap it. It went wrong, the installation fell through the ground into the cavern below, and an uncontrolled release of gas into the atmosphere started. To prevent escape of poisonous gas, they set light to it. It's been burning now for 40 years.
We bushcamp that night about 7km away among the sand dunes, but still the light from the fire is visible in the night sky.
8th June, day 52, Darvala Gas Crater, Turkmenistan - near Nukus, Uzbekistan
The original plan to camp at the former coast of the Aral Sea at Moynaq was scuppered by a long wait at the border. So we just make it to a bushcamp along the route.
Now we're in Uzbekistan the desert gives way to endless flat plains of farmland, mostly cotton. By rights it should be desert, but thanks to a vast network of irrigation it is now fertile. All the ditches full of water and the accompanying greenery turn the heat into the sticky humid kind, much more uncomfortable. And the mozzies here are expert at finding the one little bit of skin you missed with the repellant spray. Bastards.
9th June, day 53, Nukus - bushcamp near Urgench, Uzbekistan.
We leave this place and head north through more desert-turned-cotton plantations to the small fishing town of Moynaq, on the coast of the Aral Sea. We stand on what was presumably the sea wall and look down at a fleet of fishing boats slowly falling apart in the hot sun, and all the way to the horizon is the price of the vast irrigation - endless sand. The sea cannot be seen from here at all. Suddenly, what people are doing to this planet is no longer just another news story, and it's no longer about being good and using the recycle bin and switching to unleaded, it's very real, it's right here staring me in the face. To be honest I was a little moved by the harshness of the reality, and the plight of the poor people of Moynaq who somehow live on without their primary means of income.
The heat today is shocking. Definitely above 40 degrees.
10th June, day 54, Urgench - Khiva, Uzbekistan
Unbearable heat, even at 7am. The nights don't get much below the mid 20's, and then only too briefly. The minute the sun gets onto the tent, it's an oven. You get up early or you cook.
Some people have started to get heat-stroke, and now I join their numbers. I feel sick and lost my appetite and have no energy. We had to walk across a pontoon bridge because the truck would have been too heavy with us on board. The walk makes me sick, or at least, would have done if there was anything to be sick with. I lean over and nothing comes out, but at least dry-vomiting still relieves the nausia.
It's only about 9:30 when we get to Khiva, and now it's hotels all the way to Kyrgistan. It's a relief to not have to camp when feeling so shit. I flop into the hotel room, turn on the air-conditioner at 18 degrees and sleep most of the day. I wake up feeling a whole lot better and so I'm able to join in the group dinner in the courtyard, which even at 7pm and in the shade is like a furnace. I don't stay long, for fear of coming down with heatstroke again.
Today's boat to Turkmenistan was redirected to Kazakhstan, so we're still here in Baku getting itchy feet and wanting to move on. To make things worse, there's a conference in town (Baku Oil and Gas exhibition) so nearly all the hotel rooms are booked. We need to stay here another night so we crowd into the few available rooms, some people on the floor. The trip is now 1/4 of the way through!
2nd June, day 46, Still in Baku, Azerbaijan
Waiting for the boat is wearing very thin now, and we need to make arrangements for accommodation tonight because the hotels are even more fully booked that last night. We decide to retrieve the tents from the truck and set up camp in the hotel courtyard. Pete, Mike and myself go to the port where the truck is parked up in the customs compound waiting to be loaded onto the elusive boat. Pete has a chat with the Port Captain and after that, things seem better, as we have finally been issued with tickets, and we are promised the the boat will dock during the night.
That night at bed time Joy and I find a place to sleep. There's a covered section behind the hotel which we can sleep in, so we decide not to bother with the tent, especially since we could be woken any time in the night to go to get the boat. Bad move. Our sleeping space is shared by about 1000000000000 mosquitoes.
3rd June, day 47, finally leaving Baku!
At 5am the call came that the boat has docked and we'd better get down to the port. At last, we're on the move, a new country awaits!At 10am the boat finaly leaves. Maybe we could have slept in a bit longer.
It is hot and sunny, and the Caspian is rather a warm sea. The result is high humidity, but at least there is a breeze. I'm starting to suffer from the heat and humidity combined with lack of sleep now, the last 2 nights have not been very comfortable.
I spend a good chuck of the day asleep in my cabin. Now, this boat is unlike anything else I've experienced. It's an old Soviet Union boat and all the signs are in Russian. It is very scruffy and musty enough so that breathing the air inside almost makes you feel sick. The cabin has 4 bunks with matresses you dare not lie on for catching some dreadful undiscovered disease, but I inflate my air bed on top of it, open the porthole and let the sea air in, and fall asleep. That's about all there is to do on board, anyway. It's everything the Queen Mary 2 isn't.
By midnight, you can see the coast of Turkmenistan, but we drop anchor and spend the night on the boat a few hours from the port. It's best on the top deck sleeping under the stars. That was actually quite nice.
4th June, day 48, at anchor outside Turkmenbashi, Turkmenistan
The day dawns far too early - that's the trouble with sleeping outside - attempt a lie in and the sun will roast you.
The Turkenbashi port works to its own unique schedule, and certainly not in any hurry. I've heard stories that last year's group were kept waiting at anchor for 3 nights, so needless to say I was worried a similar thing would happen to us. Early on, a boat the same as ours was spotted at anchor nearby. When, at about 10am, it was seen to move towards port, our hopes of landing today took a serious blow. It takes the best part of a day to turn a boat around, and even if we were next in the queue, we wouldn't be in today because the port apparently closes at night, which means another night on board.
The day was spent trying desparately to find air. It seemed to be in rather short supply. The air inside was stale and musty, outside hot and humid. This miserable day found me wondering what part of my insane little mind wanted to come on this trip anyway.
Then, at 3pm, me were on the move again, and our spitits lifted. This raising of the spirits is short-lived, however, as the anchor drops again at at about 6pm. We were told that the port would work through the night and we would land today, but no-one really believes this. But at about 9pm, we're actually on the move again. We finally dock at 10:30pm, after some 36 and a half hours on board.
Then the border formalities start. This starts with a medical examination. This is not exactly thorough. Me standing up and confirming my name seems to satisfy them that I'm still alive, along with everyone else, so we are clear to leave the boat by about midnight.
Then the passport/visa formalities take about 3 hours, so at 3am we are released into the dark desert wastelend that is Turkmenistan, where we set up camp for a few short hours of well needed sleep.
5th June, day 49, bushcamp near Turkmenbashi - Ashgabat, Turkmenistan
A long day on the road through the fierce heat of the desert.
Turkmenistan is a strange country, quite unlike any other so far. Every so often on the road there are police checkpoints. Even Turkmen citizens need a special permit to travel to a different region of their own country. Luckily our papers are in order and we have a local guide (again, a state requirement) so we are allowed to proceed by the police officers with huge peaked caps. (The size of the peaked caps indicates the degree of totalitariansim of the government, or so it seems to me. Turkmen officials were large caps)
We are a day behind schedule thanks to the delay getting on and off the boat, and we lose one of our nights at the very posh 5-star Grand Hotel.
6th June, day 50, in Ashgabat, Turkmenistan
The heat is vicious. When there's a breeze it blows at you like so many hair dryers. Despite the heat, the morning is spent looking round a large and impressive market near Ashgabat, where you can buy anything from a camel to a bottle of perfume.
Prices are a little bit confusing, because they've recently revalued their currency to lose the string of 0's off their banknotes. So one new Turkmen Manat equals 5000 old Manats, and old Manats are no longer legal tender. But some people live in the past and still express prices in the ld currency despite it no longer being in use, and so if a price says 10000, you know it really means 2.
The afternoon is then spent in air-conditioned bliss in our hotel room. Unfortunately not the nice 5-star Grand, but the rather more modest former Soviet In-tourist Hotel Ashgabat. Still, it had aircon. Lovely.
7th June, day 51, Ashgabat - Darvala Gas Crater, Turkmenistan
This morning we take a stroll around Ashgabat. On almost every street corner, more bored-looking police lurk underneath their huge peaked caps. These are pretty much the only people about. I'm a bit worried about taking photos here, because sometimes foreigners can get into trouble for taking pictures of things they shouldn't. I'm up for a certain amount of adventure, but going to a Turkmen jail is one step too far. I get the feeling you could be jailed here for breathing at the wrong time without a permit.
I risk a photo of the theatre. It's a white marble building with columns in front, with ornate copper over the windows. Very pretty, and, like the rest of the city, quite deserted.
Ashgabat is a city of wide tree-lined boulevards and white marble buildings, interspesed with the occasional fountain and statue of their Glorious Leader. Apparently we are allowed to photograph those. Lucky really, because there's not much worth photographing. Ashgabat is like Milton Keynes, it's artificial, it's the president's folly, it's been planned to within an inch of its life.
I think here, I will digress slightly to discuss my view on the role of a president, or political leader of a country is. Many in the West probably will agree with me - that their job is to oversee the government whilst it goes about its work of looking after their country's infrastructure, economy, education, healthcare, and so on. Hopefully I'm not being too naive here, although I know it's simplified. But here is Asia, the job of president is quite different. His job is to decree the building of fountains and statues of himself. Sounds like an easy job, anyone could do it. Things are a lot simpler here.
We leave Ashgabat at lunchtime for a fairly quick drive north through the hottest desert in Central Asia to the Darvala Gas Crater, right in the middle of the desert. About 40 years ago, a pocket of natural gas was found and an attempt was made to tap it. It went wrong, the installation fell through the ground into the cavern below, and an uncontrolled release of gas into the atmosphere started. To prevent escape of poisonous gas, they set light to it. It's been burning now for 40 years.
We bushcamp that night about 7km away among the sand dunes, but still the light from the fire is visible in the night sky.
8th June, day 52, Darvala Gas Crater, Turkmenistan - near Nukus, Uzbekistan
The original plan to camp at the former coast of the Aral Sea at Moynaq was scuppered by a long wait at the border. So we just make it to a bushcamp along the route.
Now we're in Uzbekistan the desert gives way to endless flat plains of farmland, mostly cotton. By rights it should be desert, but thanks to a vast network of irrigation it is now fertile. All the ditches full of water and the accompanying greenery turn the heat into the sticky humid kind, much more uncomfortable. And the mozzies here are expert at finding the one little bit of skin you missed with the repellant spray. Bastards.
9th June, day 53, Nukus - bushcamp near Urgench, Uzbekistan.
We leave this place and head north through more desert-turned-cotton plantations to the small fishing town of Moynaq, on the coast of the Aral Sea. We stand on what was presumably the sea wall and look down at a fleet of fishing boats slowly falling apart in the hot sun, and all the way to the horizon is the price of the vast irrigation - endless sand. The sea cannot be seen from here at all. Suddenly, what people are doing to this planet is no longer just another news story, and it's no longer about being good and using the recycle bin and switching to unleaded, it's very real, it's right here staring me in the face. To be honest I was a little moved by the harshness of the reality, and the plight of the poor people of Moynaq who somehow live on without their primary means of income.
The heat today is shocking. Definitely above 40 degrees.
10th June, day 54, Urgench - Khiva, Uzbekistan
Unbearable heat, even at 7am. The nights don't get much below the mid 20's, and then only too briefly. The minute the sun gets onto the tent, it's an oven. You get up early or you cook.
Some people have started to get heat-stroke, and now I join their numbers. I feel sick and lost my appetite and have no energy. We had to walk across a pontoon bridge because the truck would have been too heavy with us on board. The walk makes me sick, or at least, would have done if there was anything to be sick with. I lean over and nothing comes out, but at least dry-vomiting still relieves the nausia.
It's only about 9:30 when we get to Khiva, and now it's hotels all the way to Kyrgistan. It's a relief to not have to camp when feeling so shit. I flop into the hotel room, turn on the air-conditioner at 18 degrees and sleep most of the day. I wake up feeling a whole lot better and so I'm able to join in the group dinner in the courtyard, which even at 7pm and in the shade is like a furnace. I don't stay long, for fear of coming down with heatstroke again.
Wednesday 2 June 2010
Still Here
Still in Baku. Yesterday's boat was diverted to Kazakhstan instead. There might be one today, but who knows? I'm not about to swim the Caspian, it's quite big and smells of oil and shit. This is all part of the fun of travelling. I'm also feeling a bit down because someone was all arsey about Joy and I getting a couple of hotel upgrades along the way. What's the problem??? One was because I had my foot in plaster, and we paid for them fair and square!
Tuesday 1 June 2010
27th May, Day 40, still in Tbilisi, Georgia
Toe still sore, so didn't do much. At least we have a nice comfy hotel to stay in. Most of the others went out to a restaurant in the evening, but we didn't want to because it was a Georgian restaurant, and Georgian food is very oily and salty, and I've had quite enough if it! Instead we went to a Chinese restaurant. The food was still salty, but not too bad.
28th May, Day 41, Tbilisi - Bushcamp near border, Georgia
We leave Tbilisi and head towards our final stop in Georgia, a bushcamp near the Azerbaijan border. Whilst some people are prospecing a potential campsite, some others, myself included, were invited to someone's home to buy some of their wine and chacha, so we spend a nice time in someone's shed trying their wines. I'm happy to report that this wine is rather better than the wine we had in Batumi, it's really quite drinkable. The chacha goes down nicely too, but I really must be careful. I think I'm actually warming a little to Georgia, on our last night here! Better late than never. Again, the hospitality and friendliness to complete strangers who can't speak a single word of their language is impressive, and in Georgia, when you drink, you toast, and you also eat. We were treated to bread and cheese before buying 30 litres! Will it be enough to last all 23 of us all the way to China?
The original planned campsite is a no-go. Bridge out or something. We find another one a few miles down the road, well away from the village, in the middle of a thunderstorm. We set up camp as fast as possile in the torrential rain. It's an early night as tomorrow we leave for the Azeri border at 7am.
29th May, Day 42, Georgia - Sheki, Azerbaijan.
As we cross the border we lose Rich aka "Newey", the trainee crewmember. It takes the truck 3 hours to get through, 3 better than Turkey. We have to start getting used to long border delays now that Western Europe is far behind.
Almost immediatey, it's clear that Azerbaijan is richer than Georgia, and everything is neater and tidier. The countryside is still green and hilly, with many trees. I was not expecting Azerbaijan to be green.
Tonight we are in Sheki, staying in the famous hotel "Caravanserai". The name gives away its history as a silk-road stopover. We stroll up the hill from the hotel to look around the Khan's Summer Palace. It's extremely ornate, although rather small.
30th May, Day 43, Sheki - mud volcanoes bushcamp, Azerbaijan
We cross more of Azerbaijan, we are now quite close the the Caspian Sea. This is a small country, but the scenery has changed. Gone are the green tree-covered hills os western Azerbaijan. It's now much more arid, although recent rain has brought forth temporary grassland.
The camp tonight is surrounded by impressive mud volcanoes. Cold grey mud oozes slowly from the ground and forms cones some 10-15m high. It is surprising that the mud is cold, one always imagines volcanoes to be hot, but not these ones.
The grassland is filling the air with pollen. It seems that to hayfever pill in the world is strong enough to take this on, and most of us are suffering.
31st May, Joy's Birthday, Day 44, mud volcanoes - Baku, Azerbaijan.
Baku is large and filthy rich. The hotel is the most expensive on the trip at US$140 per room per night, but the agency which organised the letters of invitation, a pre-requisite to being issued a visa, has an arragement with that hotel. The cost of the hotel is all covered by the trip cost anyway.
We arrive about lunchtime and explore the town. Much of it is under construction. In a year it will be even more impressive that it is now, this is the richest place we've seen for a long time. Armani and Gucci stores line the streets, a far cry from the sleazy casinos and brothels of Georgia. While exploring, the crew are busy trying to findout about the ferry to Turkmenistan. There is no timetable, it goes when it's ready.
This evening, we meetup for drinks to celebrate Joy's birthday in a local bar. There's even a cake! After, a few of us go to a retstuarant for pizza.
1st June, Day 45, in Baku, Azerbaijan
We are hopefully sailing at 11pm tonight. There are no rules with this boat, it goes when it wants. It is about a 20 hour crossing, but could easily drop anchor for an extra day before docking at Turkmenbashi. This is where things really get interesting.
Meeting up at 6pm in the hotel reception for an update...
Toe still sore, so didn't do much. At least we have a nice comfy hotel to stay in. Most of the others went out to a restaurant in the evening, but we didn't want to because it was a Georgian restaurant, and Georgian food is very oily and salty, and I've had quite enough if it! Instead we went to a Chinese restaurant. The food was still salty, but not too bad.
28th May, Day 41, Tbilisi - Bushcamp near border, Georgia
We leave Tbilisi and head towards our final stop in Georgia, a bushcamp near the Azerbaijan border. Whilst some people are prospecing a potential campsite, some others, myself included, were invited to someone's home to buy some of their wine and chacha, so we spend a nice time in someone's shed trying their wines. I'm happy to report that this wine is rather better than the wine we had in Batumi, it's really quite drinkable. The chacha goes down nicely too, but I really must be careful. I think I'm actually warming a little to Georgia, on our last night here! Better late than never. Again, the hospitality and friendliness to complete strangers who can't speak a single word of their language is impressive, and in Georgia, when you drink, you toast, and you also eat. We were treated to bread and cheese before buying 30 litres! Will it be enough to last all 23 of us all the way to China?
The original planned campsite is a no-go. Bridge out or something. We find another one a few miles down the road, well away from the village, in the middle of a thunderstorm. We set up camp as fast as possile in the torrential rain. It's an early night as tomorrow we leave for the Azeri border at 7am.
29th May, Day 42, Georgia - Sheki, Azerbaijan.
As we cross the border we lose Rich aka "Newey", the trainee crewmember. It takes the truck 3 hours to get through, 3 better than Turkey. We have to start getting used to long border delays now that Western Europe is far behind.
Almost immediatey, it's clear that Azerbaijan is richer than Georgia, and everything is neater and tidier. The countryside is still green and hilly, with many trees. I was not expecting Azerbaijan to be green.
Tonight we are in Sheki, staying in the famous hotel "Caravanserai". The name gives away its history as a silk-road stopover. We stroll up the hill from the hotel to look around the Khan's Summer Palace. It's extremely ornate, although rather small.
30th May, Day 43, Sheki - mud volcanoes bushcamp, Azerbaijan
We cross more of Azerbaijan, we are now quite close the the Caspian Sea. This is a small country, but the scenery has changed. Gone are the green tree-covered hills os western Azerbaijan. It's now much more arid, although recent rain has brought forth temporary grassland.
The camp tonight is surrounded by impressive mud volcanoes. Cold grey mud oozes slowly from the ground and forms cones some 10-15m high. It is surprising that the mud is cold, one always imagines volcanoes to be hot, but not these ones.
The grassland is filling the air with pollen. It seems that to hayfever pill in the world is strong enough to take this on, and most of us are suffering.
31st May, Joy's Birthday, Day 44, mud volcanoes - Baku, Azerbaijan.
Baku is large and filthy rich. The hotel is the most expensive on the trip at US$140 per room per night, but the agency which organised the letters of invitation, a pre-requisite to being issued a visa, has an arragement with that hotel. The cost of the hotel is all covered by the trip cost anyway.
We arrive about lunchtime and explore the town. Much of it is under construction. In a year it will be even more impressive that it is now, this is the richest place we've seen for a long time. Armani and Gucci stores line the streets, a far cry from the sleazy casinos and brothels of Georgia. While exploring, the crew are busy trying to findout about the ferry to Turkmenistan. There is no timetable, it goes when it's ready.
This evening, we meetup for drinks to celebrate Joy's birthday in a local bar. There's even a cake! After, a few of us go to a retstuarant for pizza.
1st June, Day 45, in Baku, Azerbaijan
We are hopefully sailing at 11pm tonight. There are no rules with this boat, it goes when it wants. It is about a 20 hour crossing, but could easily drop anchor for an extra day before docking at Turkmenbashi. This is where things really get interesting.
Meeting up at 6pm in the hotel reception for an update...
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