Im in Baku now, its been over five years since I was last here and although the shape of the city is largely the same its appearance has changed sooooo much. I arrived in town at about 9:30 in the dark last night after a long drive in from Tbilisi.
The borders in from Turkey to Georgia and then over into Azerbaijan have been pretty easy going, half an hour into Georgia and then an hour and a half into Azerbaijan although I was invited into their cool offices eventually while they asked me questions and plied me with tea. Unfortunately they did tell me yesterday that while my visa was good for 30 days and I could stay as long as I didnt work the bike was only going to be allowed in for 3 days. At the very end there was some story about a German guy who came to visit who didnt have enough money for a deposit who had three days to get to Baku then get out the way he came. As I wasnt planning to stay much time anyway I didnt push it far, all I got told when I was asked about how much a deposit would be was (very evasively) that it depends on the value of the vehicle. This was on top of telling me earlier that there was no other way.
Ah well, on I went into a land that like Baku had changed greatly. Theres evidence (over and above goat and cow herding) that theres much more money available now. Much of the roads were in excellent condition and the last couple of hundred kms into Baku may well have been the smoothest roads Ive ever been on. When I worked here I had a trip out in that direction to see some pipeline pumping stations and the trip, the roads, the towns were unrecognisable.
Likewise, I had always heard Georgia was a very poor country and Tbilisi was a shadow of its former self. Maybe its the passage of time and theres been a lot of investment from somewhere but it didnt look bad at all, in fact I was really impressed with it too.
Perhaps the biggest thing Im noticing at the moment is that Ive had some fairly long riding days getting from point to point. Although Im seeing and feeling and experiencing an awful lot it does almost feel like Im city hopping but maybe other than spending much longer in each location, travelling much much slower and stopping at lots of smaller places Im not sure how this would change. I am getting to find myself in some fantastic places however and long may it continue.
Tomorrow hopefully my shocking attempts at Russian this morning will lead me onto a cargo ship headed to Turkmenbashi. Could be interesting...
One last point on the topic of Turkmenbashi is that in looking into arranging much of this trip Ive referred time and time again to HorizonsUnlimited.com which was set up ages ago by a couple who did a huge round the world trip. The sites been taken on board by lots of overland travellers and theres no end of information on borders, countries, where to find stuff, people to meet and well worth a look into, if only to whet your appetite. Grant and Susan who run the site have started producing DVD's about why to do a big trip and on other organisational topics. I got a couple and theres another one waiting with my mother now and they also are fascinating with all the different opinions on different topics and also with all the different people, reasons and bikes that have taken the step. If you have five minutes then give it a look.
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Good luck with the cargo ship Martyn!! Great writing by the way. You going to write a book of your adventures when you get back. You should. Sals
ReplyDeleteMartin,
ReplyDeleteNice to see pictures of Tbilisi again: telecomm's tower, Mount Mtasminda which you've clearly climbed and the delapidated fairground at the top. Sorry to hear, though, that your time is short in Azerbajan.
I actually prefer to read about the random thoughts inside your head, as opposed to a travelogue of where you went & what you saw ("is that all we need?"). Good writing.
Mart.