Holiday Inn Baku Airport

The relief to enter the harbor at Baku and then to actually dock and not anchor-off as we half expected was fantastic. We could finally get off the boat!

The actual process of getting off took seemingly hours of course and we were through to the Customs in Baku.

Fun and games ensued with Pete in particular taking the brunt of the wrath of a couple of 'Jobs-worth' officials with lots of ...

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.

... to admit this place is so much nicer than what I have seen and what my first impressions were of Baku. The rest of the town is still pretty awful and I guess this is the only place where they invest money into/ We went out for a bite to eat, and you should have seen the excited on our faces when we read the menu...real steak, chicken tagine, mozzarella and real wine...woohooooo....After 4 days of eating bread, cucumber and some meat or better said unrecognizable fat this was heaven....

... to leave at 10am. In the morning, however, we're all ready to leave, only to find that Jerri has somehow had her way(again), and we will all wait while she goes to the palace, which opens at 10. Have breakfast involving 3 Manat Nescafes, omelettes, and tea. Jerri paid what she owed early, but we all still finished up with an unjustifiably high bill. Made up most of it, but ended up short, and left. Pursued by waiters for the ...

... through the photos while I went to the outhouse and came back to find father and son had somehow found the porn strored in there. While waiting the 3 days in Tbilisi for my Azerbaijan Visa, I met Cyruss (Hi Cyruss), the most interesting guy I've met in a long time. He's an Iranian that had spent the las17 years in USA and was returning to Iran after not enjoying the USA way anymore. He explained a few things to me that I've never been aware of before: The Bahai religion ...

... groom's relatives kept arriving at the house. By late afternoon, the caravan of cars (some modestly decorated) went to the house of the bride-to-be. The ladies brought with them suitcases, beddings and sweets to try to lure the bride-to-be. There were also dances and music. After much convincing, she finally came out of the house dressed in white wedding gown. The groom, on the other hand, wore a peach color short sleeve shirt ...

... fires lasted for over 1000 years without being lit. This phenomenon saw the temple become a focal point on the Silk Road for traders. Driving around Baku, it seemed very modern, though this may have been due to where we had spent the past few weeks. It certainly had a very European feel, however did not have the busloads of tourists or the inflated prices of Europe. It had a very cool vibe and an instant appeal. Apart from all the oilrigs there were many ...

... R like a drink at the best of times, but at 9am, having been up for 4 hours, with a 6 hour flight ahead of us did not seem like the time or the place.   However, that did not stop our fellow passengers drinking the entire alcohol supply dry on the plane dry just 2 hours into the journey. Oh, and by the way, thanks to Them Muppets at the English Football Association we were ...