Grafting, Route Planning and onward to Bling, Bling Baku 

October 17th

We rose early to keep our appointment at the Chinese embassy.  After form filling we headed up to the embassy via the Metro.  After a quick check of our paperwork we were sent on our way and, still bleary eyed, we decided to get some breakfast!  I was craving proper coffee again so we found a nice café on Rustavelli (Tbilisi’s main drag) and settled in for some coffee and muffins 🙂

There is precious little information out there about visiting the Silk Road countries that we had now decided we were going to drive across.  Sure, you could find information about what cities to visit etc. but we needed to know how cold it would be, if there would be snow, what the roads were like, could you get diesel, where would you stay etc. etc. etc.  Whatever, we were sure enough that our summer clothes (which we were now freezing in, in Tbilisi) wouldn’t cut it as we went further east. So we decided it was time for a shopping spree!  The shopping in town looked a bit glitzy so we decided to hit Tbilisi Mall which is a little way outside of town but promised to have all the shops we needed.  The only challenge in our way was how to get there using the as-yet untried Tbilisi buses!  We got directions in the café- two buses apparently, with a stop half way.  How hard could it be??

We jumped on the no.14 and showed the conductor some paper with our destination written on it.  There were no signs on the bus, no place names, no buttons to stop the bus. Maybe more challenging than we thought! We were reliant entirely on our friendly conductor, and so kept smiling at him to make sure he hadn’t forgotten us 😉  Half an hour passed, we asked how long it would be and received the international hand wave for ‘further on’.  After an hour things began to feel ominous….we were the only people left on the bus! As it pulled through yet another run down tower block estate (in the suburb of bally-go-backwards), the conductor called last stop!  We were set off in the middle of nowhere, with no idea how to get back.  We showed the conductor our piece of paper again. After some sighs and gesticulations, it became clear that he hadn’t realised where we wanted to get off.  He beckoned us to sit on another bus that was going the reverse route. He told the driver where we had to get off and made us sit right at the front like naughty school children.  At this point we were totally demoralised by the idea of spending another hour stuck on the bus and decided we’d jump off and find a taxi.  The new bus driver was having none of this! The lady conductor got involved too, blocking our exit and chastising us in Georgian. They weren’t letting us off that bus! Well meaning of course! So back we were led towards Tiblisi, without another mutter from us!

We finally made it to the location where we should have got off the first time.  Cold, tired, wet and hungry we were in no mood for finding Tbilisi mall anymore.  We decided to ask at the tourist information if there was a nearer shopping mall.  Yes of course, came the reply, there’s a mall just off Rustavelli, literally about 50m from where we had had coffee in the morning! Sickener!

We went there and got our warm clothes sorted (spot the change of outfits in the photos  J) and headed back to Seline to drop our purchases off and then went for another trip to the bath-house to round off the evening  J

18th October

After a sleepy start, we set out to accomplish what we hadn’t achieved yesterday- a visit to Tbilisi mall.  We needed some stuff for Seline and there was a huge Carrefour there that we needed to get to.  This time, we researched the route ourselves and got the tube as far as we could and took a taxi the rest of the way.  The speed, ease, and cheapness of this route (our taxi was 6GEL….a pound!)  made us kick ourselves over the problems we’d had the previous day!

I had seen a beautiful pair of boots in Massimo Dutti the day before and decided they would be too expensive for travelling so didn’t even try them on.  But their call was strong, and so after Carrefour we went back to Rustavelli so I could try them.  Predictably they were just perfect and so I had to buy them J  Early birthday present to me- you don’t turn 31 every year!

Finally we rounded off the day with a visit to Tbilisi’s Irish pub for a not-as-bad-as-expected Guinness and then went for some more tasty Georgian food in Tbilisi old town.  All being well, we would leave Georgia in the morning for the last time, bound now for Azerbaijan. Some research was required!  The more difficult parts of our trip were approaching fast and we spent the evening discussing our route along the Silk Road and the potential issues we might come across. And drinking yummy Georgian wine 😉

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19th October

Another early start for the Chinese embassy to pick up our China Visas.  We found the embassy okay, saw a parking spot, started reversing and then Wham!!  I’d reversed straight into some irate Georgian’s BMW! 7000miles traveled and I’d crashed while parking!  We had the usual arm waiving that goes with all car incidents (amazing how some things are universal) and then started to haggle over how much I would pay him to fix his car.  I was pretty sure that the “damage” to his bumper was already there but with no way to prove it and with the prospect of police involvement in mind,  I wanted a resolution!  Eventually I agreed to give him 50GEL (he wanted $200…) and we continued on to the embassy.  Not the worst outcome!

We changed our dollars into small bills at the bank (we were advised to have small bills in case of being stopped and “fined” by any of the more corrupt police) and set out for Azerbaijan.  We were dreading this border crossing.  It was the first country where we had needed both a “letter of invitation” (difficult to obtain, from an online travel company after lots of form filling) and a visa.  Coupled with the reports we’d gotten about the corrupt Azeri Police and we were steeling ourselves for some fisticuffs 😉

In the end we needn’t had worried.  Aside from the now de rigour bad roads to the border, it was one of the friendliest crossings we’ve had.  All the border guards were really friendly (not like the massive daggers they wore on their uniform suggested!). They wanted to talk in English to us, discuss the Premier League and, in particular, a match between Northern Ireland and Azerbajjan, which was taking place that very day! Some smiling and gentle flirtation also helped…Seb is pro at that bit 😉

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 With the border navigated we needed accommodation for the night.  We had already picked out Sekthi as a potential destination and we set out to cover the 200km journey to get there.  There was fog for miles (which Aoife expertly navigated by nibbling the steering wheel) but we still made it in good time.

Apart from being a beautiful ancient palace that we wanted to visit, the big draw was to stay in a hotel named “Caravanserai” that, you guessed it, is in a restored caravanserai J  It didn’t disappoint! this was a truly awesome place! Caravanserais are the lodgings where travellers and traders on the Silk Road used to stay. They are lodgings in a large, round structure with a central courtyard and are generally very beautiful buildings indeed.  The “Caravan” was the group of traders (with their goods, animals, musical instruments etc) who journeyed along the Silk Road together in convoy… you may find that info handy in a pub quiz some day! We splashed out on a “lux” room for the night (very cheap) and enjoyed hot showers before dinner.

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 The caravanserai restaurant was really cute, cosy and traditional, with only a few tables. No English on the menu of course!  They waiters were extremely animated, and took the ordering into their own hands!  We ended up with Piti (the local speciality- a mutton soup/ stew that you mash up in the pot before pouring over bread in your bowl.  Amazing!!), and also some chicken and lamb shashlik and salad.  The waiter laughed when we ordered the salad and we got the joke about 5 minutes later.  In Azerbaijan you don’t order extras like salad, the waiter turns up with a huge tray and starts loading out your table with them until you physically stop him.  You pay for everything you take, however, so you have to have your wits about you! It’s not an easy game, this!

After our delicious meal, we tried to pay our bill with US$ assuming that would be fine…. Wrong!  We needed Manat to pay our bill and we didn’t have a Manat-penny!  An old guy drinking chai in the restaurant hopped up to give me a lift to the local cash machine to get some money.  I (Aoife), was told to stay put at the table… like a human payment deposit!

He drove at breakneck speed through the town in a Lada at least 10 years older than me… in surprising comfort.  We laugh at Ladas at home but over the course of our trip I was starting to respect them a lot: easy to fix, big chunky tires, good ground clearance, good suspension.  In short, the perfect vehicles for the terrible roads in the former USSR.  Anyway, a ride in a Lada was one thing crossed off Aoife’s bucket list. Shame she didn’t get to go! J  I got back to the restaurant, paid the guys and we went to bed tired and happy.

20th October

An early start this morning, with Baku beckoning (Azerbajans capital city). We faced some hilly, hairpin, fog-filled roads and freezing temperatures, but finally arrived in the centre of Baku by dinnertime. We decided to aim for the old town. This was surrounded by a fortress wall and it sounded like the most interesting place to go and explore. We were stunned by the bling and glitz of the Baku skyline as we drove towards the city. Spectacular modern architecture to feast the eyes on. Akin to Dubai. And the most spectacular, the famed “Flaming Towers” on the hilltop looking over the city. Symbols of opulence abounded. Fancy cars, designer clobber, bright lights and extravagant hotels. Extravagant prices too, though not in our trusty van, where we would most definitely be overnighting! We decided to glitz it up a bit though, by parking in the 2pound per 24 hour carpark , next to the Rolls Royce showrooms. Oh yeah! We ventured into the old town for some traditional Azeri nosh. The old town was a delight, with cobbled streets and crumbly, beautiful old houses and street stalls. Full of colour and enticing smells and atmosphere. We found a quaint underground hub, serving delicious Azeri food and with a fantastic session in flow. We had the best Plov ever here! Plov is a dish which is very common across central Asia. It contains fried meat and vegetables and rice. Great stuff!

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 21st October

We awoke on a mission… to get to the Uzbek embassy to sort our visas out. We already had our hard-to-sort letter of invitation, so the rest should be straightforward we hoped. We were greeted by a rather ‘experienced’ embassy official, who indeed took his time around the whole process, in particular anything involving typing or the use of a computer. We eventually left, with instructions to get to a certain bank in town, pay into an account, and get back to him at a specified time to collect the visas. We would have to move fast!

We drove fast across the city and stopped where google maps told us to. We got out and went in search of this bank. It was 2 miles away, on this very long street it turned out. Good old google maps! We scurried hurriedly up the street and eventually got there, found the cashier, paid our amount and took off for Seline again. We were back in time. Then kept waiting outside for half an hour, until our official was ready. He issued us 15 day visas. We’d hoped for a month. This put the pressure on, as these visas began on a specific date, which we couldn’t alter. Uzbekistan is quite the ‘police state’, as we would come to realise!

Research had taught us we might be in for some snow in the stans, so the next stop we made was to the ‘car bazaar’, just outside Baku. This was something else! I’ve never seen so many men standing around doing nothing 😉 Not a woman in sight. Streams of car shops, full of tyres and parts and coffee drinking, pastry-eating men sitting around chatting and gawking. We were quite the entertainment when we pulled in! Everyone came out for a look. So i showcased the van (inside and out, the full tour) while Seb went to look for snow chains. They were very keen to help us and after trying a few sets, they found us chains suitable for the van tyres. We drove off happy, another thing sorted!

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 Back in Baku we had lunch in a cheap local tasty eatery, then ventured to a pub for wifi and a beer. Later that evening we had dinner in a restaurant in the old town, and then headed home to bed- unaware that this was in fact our last night of freedom for quite some time!!….

22nd of October

We awoke early with a task in mind. As part of our Silk Road Route we had decided that, after Azerbaijan , we would cross the Caspian sea and then drive east through the Stans, as the old silk road traders did in the past! Crossing the Caspian sea (on a cargo ship, the only option) posed some considerable challenges! It could not be booked in advance for example. And no-one knew when the boats would sail (all weather dependant). One company arranged the crossings, and no-one there spoke a word of English.  We had one tip off though; Vika! Vika is an Azeri lady whom we have never met, but spoke on the phone to many times. We learned from researching travel blogs that this lady works for the ferry company and speaks English, and could provide some help. We called the mobile number we were given for her. She was very helpful, but unfortunately, she couldn’t get us tickets from Baku. She told us we would have to drive to a place called Alat, 80 km south on the coast of Azerbaijan. She advised us to go immediately, in case a ferry left that night. Reluctant to curtail our Baku sightseeing so soon, we belted up and hit the road for Alat.

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