Austin Hotel Baku

... a "Bridge Fee" which was apparently for the privilege of using the loading ramp to get off the damn boat! Monies exchanged, the port officials became all smiles and handshakes and waved us on our way.<br><br>Out into nigh time Baku at about 11.30 in the evening, and it seemed like it was rush-hour in New York, with cars racing each other at stupid speeds through the heavy traffic. At this point, Tim ...

... to stop her sliding off the oily deck into the sea. Fantastic. I have met a Russian lorry driver called Alexander, who has taught me to play Kazio. He thinks the crossing will take 3 days. I hope he's wrong but he has apparently done this journey many times.

... lost on the metro, but eventually got back to the Gordons. They had a few friends over and we spent all evening outside chatting and barbequeing. It was fantastic and we will all be reluctant to leave the land of real food, showers and beds.

Spent the day in Baku and met up with the Gordons in the early evening. We had showers! I was disappointed to find that most of my tan was ingrained dirt. Graeme took us out for a curry and few beers and we returned to sleep in beds! Chris and I shared a double bed, but he only hugged me once in his sleep. It was a special moment.

... crossed and will keep you posted. Also in Turkmenistan there might not be much internet access and outgoing emails do get checked, so if you dont hear from me, you will again in Uzbekistan. Happy days!!! Turkmenistan is the warmest country out of Central Asia, luckily it is adr heat and not many hills as it is pure dessert...hoefully with a nice tail wind. Lots of love from me " 2 planes and a 10 hour bus ride" - Ankara to Baku and onto Saki And the d-tour continues, off to the ...

... s oil. Immense wealth was created and a cultural renaissance bloomed. But appalling conditions for oil workers, exploited by Stalin, resulted in several horrific inter-ethnic clashes. Azerbaijan became part of the USSR, until its independence in 1991. Tit-for-tat ethnic squabbles between Armenians and Azeris over the status of Nagorno-Karabakh bubbled over into virtual ethnic cleansing, until a cease-fire agreement was signed in ...

... shack 1.5m from a stinky old man. He grabs me by the arm and pulls me back to the door saying this bed, you, this bed, me. Then he drops the bombshell... and starts rubbing his two forefingers together (this means jiggy jiggy over here). My eyes widen and my bottom jaw drops. I pick up my bike and start to manover it between the fence and shed. He grabs my arm again and is pointing to his mostache licking his lips saying "it good". Its getting dark so I put as much ...

... Si ride un po' meno un'ora dopo quando l'aereo arriva sopra Aktau e inizia anche li a girare sopra la citta'. E inizio ad immaginare atterraggi di fortuna nella steppa... Poi pero' il pilota prende coraggio ed atterra.... Benvenuti ad Aktau! Ecco cosa dice la Lonely Planet di Aktau: " Aktau. Situata nel Kazakistan occidentale, tra il deserto e il Mar Caspio, la città di Aktau viene rifornita d'acqua quasi esclusivamente dagli impianti di desalinizzazione. Vedendola ...

Lend Riiast Bakuusse oli üks veidramaid minu senises elus, kui hüplemine Chennaist Colombosse välja jätta. Kõigepealt lasti terve trobikond rahvast lennukisse, aeti siis mõne aja pärast jälle välja (hea, et me veel peale ei jõudnud) ja käsutati teise värava juurde. Uus lennuk, pikk jama. Nuputasime, millise lennukiga meie pagas lendab. Lõpuks uuesti kõik lennukis. Kõik pingialused otsiti läbi ja kästi pagas ülemisse lahtrisse panna. Mulle anti eraldi ...

... museum in the confusing streets. The museum was a huge anti-climax, especially after my daunting journey to find it. All signs in the museum were in Azeri and Russian, no one spoke English. To top it off, the entry was 5$US, a fortune in Azerbaijan. I spent the rest of the hot afternoon walking through the old city and visiting mosques to finally walk back to the new city. Confused as to how exactly to get around Azerbaijan, busses were in low supply as was tourist help, I ...