Azcot Hotel Baku

... to cut across several lanes of heavy traffic and disappeared into the night, not to be seen again as it happened for many days!<br><br>Bas and myself, with Pete in tow, paused at the roadside and pondered our options and decided on a hotel, preferably close, and even more important with a cold beer and a hot shower. At this point a small crowd gathered and one bloke came up to us and started to chat ...

Well, it's taken all day, but we've made it onto the boat. This is one dodgy affair. Happily the few other passengers on this filthy freighter are mostly British, travelling around the world on motorbikes. Everything is filthy, and there is nothing but Molly's ...

Chris didn't feel great, so Damien and I went into town to investigate the ferry, and while we were relieved to discover there was one the next day, we were surprised to find they were after over $600 for the privilege. We got a bit separated ...

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.

... safe. After lunch I go to old city to visit the maiden tower and Shirvanshah's Palace. After that another walk on the shore of the Caspian sea, from where you can see the abandoned oil platforms. I call a taxi, have to negotiate with the driver about the price to bring me back to the hotel, and after 10 minutes and 5 Manat later, I survived the ride. This was my day at Baku, the rest will be work.

... simple stone engravings) from that time are still in the caves. Get a pretty quick tour, including a demonstration of the tambourine stone, a resonant stone played like a primitive musical instrument. Some caves made by large rocks leaning on each other. Many eras of rock art, some of which was buried under 2 metres of accumulated soil. Good buffalo, horse and boat drawings, plus groups of dancing people. Photos out over ...

... aber zumindest wird man als Tourist in Ruhe gelassen, i.e. ich habe kein einziges mal Bakschisch bezahlt. Die Einheimischen zahlen aber kraeftig, auch meine Fahrer oder in Tajikistan mein Guide an die Grenzkontrolleure... Kazachstan ist ziemlich gross mit langweiliger Landschaft. Viele Menschen waren schon in Dland oder kennen jemanden der dort war, deutsch spricht aber trotzdem niemand (und englisch auch nicht):-) Man kann noch ein wenig wandern, aber da ...

... capital, Baku, and off the Absheron peninsula, we journeyed to Qobustan. The mud vulcanoes were worth the trip but the highlight was going to see the petroglyphs and the eastern-most Latin/Roman inscription (which was barely visible). Returning to Baku, we stopped at a beach on the Caspian Sea. From the beach, one could see five oil rigs and one was so close to ...

... like to take home with me if I only could figure out how to do this. We walk through the village hand in hand, or arm in arm, meeting all the other villagers. The village is a crowded array of thatched roof huts randomly scattered next to each other. The people are all friendly and happy to see us especially after they realize that we will live exactly like them and participate in all their rituals of the day for the next three days. Dara prepares dinner and we get our ...

... waited on the other side of a barbed fence. We poked our heads over and dreamed of one day being allowed to join the rest of the world. Just after six a stroke of luck occurred, one of the guards said that two more people were allowed to board. Before you could say "you ****ing beauty", Fee put up her hand and the two of us were chosen. Thirty minutes of paperwork followed at just after 6.30pm we were allowed to leave Turkmenistan. Free at last, free at last, thank god we were ...