Lately I cannot seem to sleep on the plane. Not sure, why? Aaahhh ... must be something to do with my young age.
Had to find a hotel in London to get a good long nap. Flight to Baku was uneventful, the plane was not full, approx 70 passengers - probably more than 80% being oil workers / engineers.
Landed in Baku at midnight. Having previously got my visas for a year, it was a breeze going thru, and especially with just a carry-on.
Mr Aziz, the driver was patiently waiting. He was happy to see me, if for no other reason than at least now he could be home that much sooner instead of having to wait for the likes of me at the airport at midnight. He is a retired Russian army soldier, with an engaging smile, a warm friendly human being, and with all the patience in the world ... and I mean all the patience in the world. He drives at 25mph with or without traffic ... at midnight with not a soul in sight, there we were driving, well, ambling along at 25mph. Mr Aziz loves his music, his interests in music vary widely ... from Russian pop, to 70's / 80's rock, to hiphop, yes hiphop. He is my kinda of guy.
We eventually get to the hotel - seemed more like a large house than a hotel / inn. Walk up to the 1st floor, and with little fuss am given the keys to my room ... 3 steps away from the front-desk. A large spartan room, with high ceilings, a full-size bed, and a desk. Near to where the bed is located, there is an opening on the left, a little galley-like opening. At first I thought that it was just extra space that was leftover, that the architect did not know what to do with ... I was wrong, it led to the bathroom.
I quickly brushed my teeth, set the alarm for 7:00am, and hit the sack.
Next morning, got up, brushed, shaved, and about to take a shower. Hmmm ...where is the shampoo? No shampoo, which is not a huge problem for the likes of me ... but there is also no soap. Well, I improvised ... there was little liquid soap for hand-washing, which would have to do for my shower.
I get a call at 8:00am that breakfast is ready. Walking out of the room, into the lobby, there is no-one there. A few feet past the front-desk, to the left is a large opening, to the right is a corridor and a staircase. Walking up to the opening on the left I see a the dinning room, three tables, but only one with linen on the table, and with one place setting.
A middle-aged lady welcomes me and asks what I will have for breakfast ... cereal, do not have any; yogurt, do not have any; hmmm ... will have to make do with tea and toast, and yes, eggs.
Apparently I was the only resident in this inn.
At 8:45am Mr Aziz shows up to take me to the office, which is about 15 to 20 mins away. Baku has narrow side streets (with cars parked on the pavement on both sides, and only then can cars go thru - there is no such thing as "no parking"), and very limited major arteries connecting North to the South, and East to the West ... it is a town planner's worst nightmare.
The place is bustling with bars, Scottish and Irish bars, serving everything from vindaloo curry to Guinness on tap to real ale on tap. BP and other oil companies have huge number of people working offshore on the oil platforms, and these folks need a place to chill ... and the local economy, at least in Baku is booming.
For us poor folks from the US, the effect of the lower dollar can be felt with some pain.
