The Calm Before the Storm
30th and 31st May 2019
The Thursday night was spent back at the Irish Bar, Finnegans. There were a few football fans still, mostly waiting for their trains/flights home on Friday. As with the rest of Baku, the atmosphere had changed, even in the pubs, as more 'interesting locals' had come out of the woodwork.
The bar was playing a selection of 1980s music, the beers were going down well and the pain of the night before was subsiding (slightly).
Went back to the 'shithole' in the early hours and went straight to bed. Thank goodness I would be checking out of there tomorrow.
I woke up with a slight hangover but the good news was, the electricity was still working! Yeah!! The joy was short lived. As I stepped into the filthy disgusting shower and turned the water on, I waited for the hot water....and waited....and waited. Bugger, now the combi boiler was not working, so for the second time in three mornings, I had to endure another freezing cold shower! How I really hated this 'shithole' place and hated Booking.com too! Why is it shampoo takes so much longer to rinse out of your hair when the water is freezing cold??!
I gave Steve the great news about the hot water. He was not brave enough to endure a cold shower...lightweight! Haha
We had decided to take a free walking tour of Baku and hurried over to the meeting point a short walk away. It was easily the hottest day so far...cloud free sky and hot sunshine. We managed to get to the meeting point on time and set off on our nearly 3 hour tour, trying to stick to shady spots as we went!
Our tour guide was a young local chap who was obviously a proud Azerbaijani. He was at pains to point out that he felt Azerbaijan was a European country with a culture based on Islamic traditions but over 65% of the population are not regulars worshippers at their local mosque. The youth of Azerbaijan, with access to the internet and seeing the emergence of Western culture and values in the country, see themselves as Europeans first. They seek, via the close connections with Turkey, the protection of NATO ultimately as they are bordered to the North by Russia and to the South by Iran. The country is in a state of flux. It is still effectively run as a one party state at the moment but it will be the youth who will drive more towards a more European style democracy. It was fascinating to hear his optimistic views and I for one wish him and all his peers the very best in moving towards a more free and democratic society.
The history of the Old walled City of Baku can be found easily on the internet and I will not attempt to replicate the detail of the tour here. Instead, here are some nice pics....
After three hours in the hot sun, we were ready for some lunch.....you guessed it, another kebab! 😋
The we decided to get our bags and leave the 'shithole' for the last time. Our friends were staying in Baku for another night and they said we could drop our bags off in their hotel room for a few hours before we left to catch the 'Midnight Train to Georgia' at the beginning of our mammoth trek back to Blighty.
In their room, I asked if I could store my tablet and the train tickets in the safe...not a problem. If only I knew then what would transpire later on that day....
We headed off for one last walk around Baku and yet more milkshakes!
And someone fancied a crepe!
One last stroll around Baku Boulevard and another go on the gondolas!
We decided to have some Indian food for an early dinner ....WHAT??? No kebab?!?! Haha
One last beer at Finnegans and it was time to go and collect our bags and head to the train station for the 14 hour journey to Tbilisi in Georgia. I remembered to get my tablet and train tickets from the room safe and I put them safely in my napsack. Despite being still quite hot we decided to walk to the station rather than battle with a taxi driver! I gave the last of my local currency to Aaron as apparently there was no buffet car on the train!
Getting on the train was straightforward and efficient but OMG, the carriages were boiling hot with no ventilation....would not come on until the train was moving. We had booked a first class cabin and Steve thought the cabin was a bit small. I thought the cabin was very clean (even smelled of fresh paint) and having experienced overnight trains in Vietnam and Cambodia, I thought it was quite luxurious. As we tried to settle down, we could not wait for the train to start moving so the cabin could start to cool down.
Little did I know as the train left the platform, the drama that would unfold in 90 minutes time.
Good bye Baku! Thank you for the great memories and we will forget the disappointments! Not sure when I will be back again.
The Thursday night was spent back at the Irish Bar, Finnegans. There were a few football fans still, mostly waiting for their trains/flights home on Friday. As with the rest of Baku, the atmosphere had changed, even in the pubs, as more 'interesting locals' had come out of the woodwork.
The bar was playing a selection of 1980s music, the beers were going down well and the pain of the night before was subsiding (slightly).
Went back to the 'shithole' in the early hours and went straight to bed. Thank goodness I would be checking out of there tomorrow.
I woke up with a slight hangover but the good news was, the electricity was still working! Yeah!! The joy was short lived. As I stepped into the filthy disgusting shower and turned the water on, I waited for the hot water....and waited....and waited. Bugger, now the combi boiler was not working, so for the second time in three mornings, I had to endure another freezing cold shower! How I really hated this 'shithole' place and hated Booking.com too! Why is it shampoo takes so much longer to rinse out of your hair when the water is freezing cold??!
I gave Steve the great news about the hot water. He was not brave enough to endure a cold shower...lightweight! Haha
We had decided to take a free walking tour of Baku and hurried over to the meeting point a short walk away. It was easily the hottest day so far...cloud free sky and hot sunshine. We managed to get to the meeting point on time and set off on our nearly 3 hour tour, trying to stick to shady spots as we went!
Our tour guide was a young local chap who was obviously a proud Azerbaijani. He was at pains to point out that he felt Azerbaijan was a European country with a culture based on Islamic traditions but over 65% of the population are not regulars worshippers at their local mosque. The youth of Azerbaijan, with access to the internet and seeing the emergence of Western culture and values in the country, see themselves as Europeans first. They seek, via the close connections with Turkey, the protection of NATO ultimately as they are bordered to the North by Russia and to the South by Iran. The country is in a state of flux. It is still effectively run as a one party state at the moment but it will be the youth who will drive more towards a more European style democracy. It was fascinating to hear his optimistic views and I for one wish him and all his peers the very best in moving towards a more free and democratic society.
The history of the Old walled City of Baku can be found easily on the internet and I will not attempt to replicate the detail of the tour here. Instead, here are some nice pics....
After three hours in the hot sun, we were ready for some lunch.....you guessed it, another kebab! 😋
The we decided to get our bags and leave the 'shithole' for the last time. Our friends were staying in Baku for another night and they said we could drop our bags off in their hotel room for a few hours before we left to catch the 'Midnight Train to Georgia' at the beginning of our mammoth trek back to Blighty.
In their room, I asked if I could store my tablet and the train tickets in the safe...not a problem. If only I knew then what would transpire later on that day....
We headed off for one last walk around Baku and yet more milkshakes!
And someone fancied a crepe!
One last stroll around Baku Boulevard and another go on the gondolas!
We decided to have some Indian food for an early dinner ....WHAT??? No kebab?!?! Haha
One last beer at Finnegans and it was time to go and collect our bags and head to the train station for the 14 hour journey to Tbilisi in Georgia. I remembered to get my tablet and train tickets from the room safe and I put them safely in my napsack. Despite being still quite hot we decided to walk to the station rather than battle with a taxi driver! I gave the last of my local currency to Aaron as apparently there was no buffet car on the train!
Getting on the train was straightforward and efficient but OMG, the carriages were boiling hot with no ventilation....would not come on until the train was moving. We had booked a first class cabin and Steve thought the cabin was a bit small. I thought the cabin was very clean (even smelled of fresh paint) and having experienced overnight trains in Vietnam and Cambodia, I thought it was quite luxurious. As we tried to settle down, we could not wait for the train to start moving so the cabin could start to cool down.
Little did I know as the train left the platform, the drama that would unfold in 90 minutes time.
Good bye Baku! Thank you for the great memories and we will forget the disappointments! Not sure when I will be back again.
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