1) Corrupt police
In Georgia I saw hardly any police. This added to the anarchic feel on the roads and in the towns. Whereas in Azerbaijan police and surveillance cameras seemed to be everywhere.
I was quickly waved through Azeri customs and was 100 km down the road when a young officer and an older, plain clothes colleague stopped me. After the usual pleasantries they said I had to pay a fine in dollars for not wearing a helmet. I protested, they held my bike and said I couldn't continue unless I paid up. After 20 minutes they realised I wasn't going to pay and let me go. Later I checked on Google, Azerbaijan does not have a helmet law, it does have corrupt traffic police.
2) Stray dogs
Georgia has more dogs that snap and snarl and chase you up the road. But if you shout "No" or "stay" in a teacher's voice they normally stop. I was amazed that they can understand English.
3) Hotels / hospitality
In Georgia I accidentally stayed in a brothel. Not recommended if you want a good night's sleep. Outside of the capital cities (Tbilisi and Baku) there are very few hotels. Late in the day I got to the outskirts of a big town in Azerbaijan and asked at a petrol station where the nearest hotel was and was told there wasn't one but I could stay there in a back room. The 24 hour station was run by four young lads who bickered and bantered like the Inbetweeners; funny, but I didn't get much sleep.
Today in Baku I was trying to find the ticket office for the ferries across the Caspian Sea. A pretty Azeri cyclist stopped and told me someone at her cycling club could help so we went to the café where they were meeting. There were loads of friendly, interesting English speakers so I spent the morning with them.
This is typical of Azerbaijan, as I cycle kids hand me bunches of grapes, lots of people wave and offer cups of tea or food. The Azeri people have made this leg of my trip a fantastic experience I won't forget.
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| The old town in Tbilisi was my favourite part of Georgiia |
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| Azerbaijan is not the strictest islamic country |
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| After having his photo taken, this boy demanded money. He is destined to be a traffic policeman |
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| Bacu - still smart from its European Games makeover. |
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| I promised the lads from the petrol station i would feature them. |
This sounds like an amazing adventure. I can't believe you stayed in a petrol station back room! Looking forward to a sixth form speaker session from you, but without too much brothel detail!! Hope it continues to go well.
ReplyDeleteHello Dom, it's always good to read the latest installment of your various scrapes and successes . I think maybe Turkestan (?) will be quite a challenge !
ReplyDeleteEdward
Hello Ed, good point about Tajikistan. Last month there were bid incidents there, so it is safer to skip it. Also I have found that on rough mountain roads you spend so much time checking where you are going you don't see the scenery. Lastly, there is a definite chill in the air some days. To get to the Himalayas before the roads are blocked with snow I should take the faster route through the old silk road cities, I will go to the scenic areas of Kyrgyzstan. Dom
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