Henry

Epic Journey – The taxi

7th Nov 2019 HenryLeave a comment

Note: events from 16th September

After resting a day and a night in Aktau, the plan was to get to a place called Nukus across the border in Uzbekistan a mere 1000km away. We were all planning to link up with the Silk Road and the first proper bit of civilisation in Uzbekistan was Nukus. We had planned to take a sleeper train from Aktau all the way to Nukus which would take around 26 hours. We did some research however and worked out that it was actually cheaper for the four of us to take a taxi the whole way! It seemed insane. A helpful man who worked at the hotel and who spoke a little English got a quote for us and it came back as $50 to go the all the way to Nukus! It did seem to good to be true but he insisted it was all legit. I had read how cheap the petrol was in this part of the world.

We rose early the next morning and waited for the taxi, but alas it never arrived. And worse still, our man in the hotel who spoke English was nowhere to be seen. We wanted to get going as it was a heck of a long journey ahead and so I volunteered to go and speak with the fierce looking old lady behind the front desk. She spoke not a lick of English but quickly produced her mobile phone with google translate on it and began speaking into it.

Central Asia was really the first place where I discovered how good google translate is. Whilst it can be a rough instrument you can almost always make yourself understood with a little perseverance. Plus some of the translations can be hilarious. You can type in the text or if there’s an internet connection you can speak straight into your phone and it directly translates it.

After the lady produced her phone what ensued was an epic 30 minute back and forth trying to explain and resolve the taxi situation. I was trying to make her understand that we had booked one and that it had not shown up. Sometimes you have to try several different ways of saying something before it’s understood. When she spoke into her phone she would turn away and speak into it as if it was a person. Her tone was harsh and aggressive and she would wag her finger at the screen when talking. I had to work hard not to laugh.

Eventually after much back and forth I thought we may have arranged another taxi. At that point the man from before arrived, much to our relief and before long we had another taxi on the way. It cost more and would only take us up to the border but was still very cheap. We didn’t know it at the time but this turned out to be a blessing.

Our ride for the 5 hour drive to the border

Off we went. Our driver drove like an a absolute maniac. Careering along at hair raising speeds, he would tail get lorries in their blind spot just a couple of inches from their bumper and then swing out to overtake regardless of whether there were oncoming vehicles. I think it’s fair to say we were all pretty terrified. As Nick put it ‘my arse hole was twitching like a rabbits nose’ (I may have paraphrased that slightly).

After a while, thankfully there was no traffic for us to weave in and out of and we just hit endless empty road. The surroundings were incredible. I’d not seen landscapes like this before. The scale of it was most impressive. Just never ending desert and the occasional herd of camels or horses. And that was it for the five hour drive to the border.

We were treated to some local music, which didn’t get at all tiresome

The journey was fairly hard going as the seat quickly became uncomfortable and I slowly lost the feeling in my left side. There was a brief moment of excitement when we passed a dead camel on the side of the road that had been beheaded, we assumed in a collision. But later came genuine elation as we saw something on the horizon that we had all been hoping we for. A lone cyclist. We got the taxi driver to pullover a little way ahead at the top of a hill. It was Niklas, who we’d met on the boat a few days earlier. We waited for him to approach and gave him some cheers as he reached the top of the hill. He looked abolsutey scorched from the sun using only a t-shirt wrapped around his head for protection.

After a fairly brief encounter and having loaded him up with biscuits and chocolate we said our farewells and off we went. He was on the same route as us and still had thousands of kilometres to go through Central Asia. Absolutely in awe of this guy!

It’s a strange thing, having driven for hours through absolute nothingness to suddenly come upon the border crossing out of nowhere. We’d made it though. There was still a big unknown in that we had no idea whether we’d be able to get transport the other side! It was hundreds of kilometres in either direction to the nearest civilisation so we’d be in a bit of a pickle if there wasn’t. I felt confident however, even if others in the group were less so.

This is the sight we were greeted with at the border. The vehicles wait many hours or even days to cross. Good thing we hadn’t arranged a taxi to go across!

Excited to do our first border crossing on foot

We walked past all the vehicles up to the check point where a Kazakh soldier ushered us through. It could not have been easier and despite carrying heavy weaponry all the border guards on both sides were very friendly which was a surprise. After leaving Kazakhstan, the Uzbek border guards treated us like VIP’s and even led us to the front of the queue of locals, much to their dismay and our discomfort. It could not have been easier.

Whilst we were in the no man’s land, I saw figure out of the corner of my eye shifting around by a hanger. I immediately recognise them. It was Matt who we had left at the ferry port. He was still wearing the same clothes and looked rather disheveled. They had waited 6 hours at the port in the end for their ride and then driven through the night to the border. They had been waiting at the border since 4am (it was early afternoon at this point) and by all accounts would be waiting a while longer. I’d never been happier about a decision. We’d been to Aktau, explored, ate well, refreshed and had a good night’s sleep in the same time. I’d love to say I didn’t feel a little smug, but I did. I felt bad for him and Anvita though. They were seeking an ‘authentic experience’ and they certainly got one! We wished them well and off we went.

Photographs are strictly forbidden at the border checkpoint but I couldn’t resist sneaking a couple of snaps. I like how it said ‘good luck’ as you enter Uzbekistan. Turns out we’d need it.

Another sneaky photo of Nick, Bryony and Josep about step foot into Uzbekistan

On the other side of the border it was chaos. Luckily, it seemed getting a car wasn’t going to be a problem but we were mobbed by people all trying to negotiate a taxi ride or change money. It was a little overwhelming. We walked off for a bit before taking a deep breath and heading back into the mele to barter for a ride. This was hard work as they were asking for a lot more than we were willing to pay. We initially agreed a price but then saw the state of the car and thought better of it. After much drama we negotiated a driver to take us the 400-500km to Nukus for $50 and off we went.

This guy wanted a photo with me so I reciprocated

The next leg on this journey was tough, really tough. The road, well you could hardly even call it a road. It was just a series of interconnecting pot holes, some of which were the size of bath tubs. It was painfully slow and we had to weave in and out of these all the while being smashed around. Often the best bit of road was actually off the road entirely in the ditch beside it. This went on for hours. How the driver kept his concentration I’ve no idea.

Some idea of the conditions

We were driving though Karakalpakstan, one the most desolate places on the planet. It was just empty, flat, shrubby desert for as far as the eye can see. Impressive at first but it soon got tiring. My mind started playing tricks on me as distant camels on the horizon looked like cars whizzing along a road amidst a mirage. It was bizarre.

We did see some small desert rodents by the road sides, the occasional eagle and I even saw a desert fox trotting along.

Endless desert

Because of the abominable road the journey took far longer than anticipated. We kept on going, the sun eventually disappeared over the horizon and it was nightfall by the time we started to get close to civilisation.

By our estimations we were about 45 minutes from Nukus when we pulled over into a lay-by in the highway. The driver gestured for us to get out. We were all a little confused and as we got out we were quickly surrounded by men and another car had pulled up. When the taxi driver switched the engine off, and in the absence of headlights we were plunged into darkness, I confess I was quite worried.

A man approached and produced his mobile phone and google translate. He started speaking into but it was a while before anything sensical came out. It was along the lines of you need to pay the money now. We were still a long way from our destination so that wasn’t an option. It then appeared they wanted us to get in another car but kept saying we must pay all the money now. This situation seemed pretty dodgy. I was the one doing the google translating with the guy and couple of quite sinister translations came through. One which said ‘you must stand there with the bodies!’ Another however said we must ‘bring the mascot out onto the pitch’. I made a conscious decision to remain calm and preserver. I suggested we pay half the money now and the rest on arrival but they wouldn’t accept that. I didn’t want to outright say that they were trying to screw us over, in part because we were surrounded by a crowd of men and also if things went wrong we could be stranded on a roadside in the middle of nowhere, in the dark.

I eventually chose to say that this arrangement was ‘unusual’ for us and that was the turning point in the conversation. Immediately the whole tone and body language of the men changed and he translated back ‘please don’t worry, we mean no harm’. A bit more back and forth and finally I cracked it! Our driver who’d been going for about five hours at this point was near his home, was tired and he wanted to transfer the taxi to a friend. We had to pay him the whole fare and then he’d arranged for this other guy to take us the remaining distance. There were sighs of relief all round as we paid up, got in the new taxi and were driven to our hostel in Nukus. Definite case of lost in translation!! Twelve hour and two taxis over about 1000km had cost us $100 so $25 each! And one hell of an adventure.

And that was the end of this epic journey. Having left Tbilisi I’d travelled 2000km almost non-stop over 4 days by train, boat and car.

Interlude – Aktau

1st Nov 201931st Oct 2019 HenryLeave a comment

Note: actual date of events is 16th September

Heading to Aktau turned out to be a great decision. We arrived in the backwater town on the edge of the Caspian and checked into a budget hotel. Little did we know at that point that we form a merry little band of travellers and stick together for the duration of our adventure along the Silk Road. Having already teamed up with Nick and a Briony, it was great to have Josep was along as well. Not only did he have a level head and a wicked sense of humour but I felt we shared a similar outlook regarding how we travelled.

We all had a chance to catch up on some much needed sleep in the morning before going out to get our first taste of Kazakhstan. Quite literally in fact as the first thing we did was go for some lunch. Having not heard great things about central Asian cuisine we were pleasantly surprised. We had a slap up meal of Borsch and some meatball things and rice as I remember, all for just a couple of quid each!

From the restaurant we migrated to a very nice coffee shop that wouldn’t have been out of place in Western Europe. This wasn’t the Kazakhstan any of us had expected. Cosmopolitan would be a stretch, but it certainly had some of the western comforts we were all accustomed to back home. The town looked really very normal. A high street with shops, restaurants and there were rows of enormous, fancy looking houses lining the sea front which is where we headed next.

We stumbled onto the Caspian Riviera. It was really rather nice and looked just like any sea side resort you might find in parts of Europe of North America.

The sea front with bathers taking a dip in the ocean

Nick, the master of the lonely planet had informed us that there were a few sights to see, the number one being a Mig Fighter jet! How could we not see the best of what Aktau has to offer? Nick continued to prime us with local trivia gleaned from the guide book and the excitement was growing as we headed for Aktau’s number one tourist attraction. It was incredible…..is a phrase I would not use to describe it. Hugely underwhelming is.

The ‘Mig Fighter jet’ actually looked like it was probably made of polystyrene

Leaving the best of Aktau behind we walked along to discover an amusement park that looked no dodgier than one you might find at a carnival back home and the war memorial which was actually much more interesting.

Kids are pretty much the same anywhere. A skateboarder trying out some tricks

Other sights. Not a tourist attraction but Kazakh banter I assume.

That evening we went to a western style restaurant/bar and treated ourselves to a decent meal and a couple of beers before we continued the next part of the journey in the morning….

Epic Journey – The Boat

31st Oct 201931st Oct 2019 HenryLeave a comment

Note: I’m writing this whilst in China although the events are from 14/15th September.

Following the customs and immigration checks we made it onto the boat. It was a struggle to haul myself up the steep metal stairs to the floor where the cabins were. I pretty much dumped my stuff, made my bed with a little help from the others and lay down to go to sleep feeling totally out of it.

To explain, the boat we were taking was a cargo ferry which carried mostly Azerbaijani, Turkish, and Kazakh lorry drivers and their cargoes across the Caspian. It was an old ship and pretty rough and ready. Above the hold were the cabins for passengers, mostly truckers, the galley/mess room where food was served and a small area with a few seats and a television. Up on deck was simply some space and all the workings you would associate with a working ship. You were free to wander around the ship. You could check out the engine room or go up to the bridge. A big regret is that I was too unwell to do any of that.

The cabin which I shared with Nick, Briony and Nicholas (the cyclist) had no window and was cramped. During the night this led to the room turning into what can only be described as a hell hole (for me anyhow). It was unbearably hot and coupled with a fever I really suffered. I tossed and turned, delirious. I had to escape the cabin to be sick several times in the night. The first time I left I was puzzled as to why they were blasting music out of the ship’s speakers. I got back into bed and was further surprised to hear it in the cabin as well. What further torture could I endure! It wasn’t long however before I realised I’d accidentally started playing music from my phone and that was the source! I wasn’t quite with it. I’d managed to wake everyone up with it in the night.

Not being able to bear the conditions in the cabin anymore and feeling in a bad way I relocated to the seating area by the tv and tried to get some sleep there. I lay out on the seats but was then told off by some truck drivers for having my feet on them. After some pondering I repositioned myself with my feet resting just over the edge of the seats instead. No further complaints.

It was the early hours of the morning and the engines were definitely going but there was no way to tell whether we’d left the port or not. I couldn’t make it out on deck. I’d heard it takes many hours to load all the lorries. Besides the fever I had an underlying anxiety about getting sea sick as well, which I often do. That really would have added insult to injury. Whilst spread out on the seats a few Kazakh truck drivers had gestured to ask what I was doing and I did my best to signal that I was unwell. Despite their rough appearance they seemed very nice about it.

Around 6am or so and after a couple of hours of broken sleep I returned to the cabin until the others started to stir. My fellow travellers were extremely kind to me and really looked after me throughout the journey. We eventually ventured up onto the deck. We were definitely on our way and out at sea, and it was a beautiful day. The sea was flat as a pancake fortunately. The others sat and chatted on the deck whilst I lay and snoozed in the sunshine.

During the day I spent quite a bit of time sleeping back in the cabin. I managed to venture out for meals though in the mess room. The food was very simple but actually surprisingly good, all freshly cooked. I didn’t manage to eat much apart from a little bread and a few slurps of soup but it all helped. It was quite an operation in the large kitchen preparing meals for all the truckers, and although we never quite figured out the system there appeared to be two sittings. A couple of times we arrived at the advertised time only to find the door chained shut with everyone inside. There was a nice young chap however, who ushered us in through the kitchen whilst the remaining regular passengers had to wait for the next serving.

My fellow travellers spent the day exploring the ship, playing card games and Rumikub up on deck and trying to get a bit of exercise by pacing about. I missed quite a bit of this but by the end of the afternoon I was feeling significantly better and was able to join everyone up on the deck for a chat, even if I couldn’t manage the games. I’d also encountered the Kazakh drivers from the night before who gestured to see how I was feeling now which was really sweet.

Nick and Anvita trying to meet their step targets

By sunset I felt much more human and we all congregated on the deck to watch the sun go down. At that point I decided to go below deck to fetch my camera and returned to find out that the others had seen a few Caspian seals over this side! Gutted. Apparently these are very rare.

The sun set and everyone was in high spirits. We had some fun and games making some sunset videos with our silhouettes. Nick produced a portable speaker, put some classic tunes on and then Rob appeared with a large tea pot of hot water and a load of glasses he’d commandeered from the kitchens and we made some luke warm coffees, the closest we could get to cold beer. We stayed up a while chatting and sharing stories before turning in for the night. Definitely one of those moments I will never forget.

As the evening drew to a close and we still didn’t know exactly where we were or when exactly we’d arrive in Kazakhstan. Our best guess was that it would be sometime in the morning. Following the horrendous conditions of the previous night we decided to sleep with the door to the cabin open.

We were all rudely awoken at 2am with loud banging on the door and shouting. This we assumed meant we were coming in to port. The lady making all the noise had been dubbed ‘Helga’ by my fellow travellers. I’d not encountered her the previous evening as I was festering in my bunk but she was a ferocious Kazakh lady who had yelled at some of the others over the cabin arrangements. In charge of the accommodation and food, she ruled with an iron fist and was not to be messed with. Rob had had quite a running with her the night before. Within a few minutes she was back yelling and banging on the door again and so we came to and started to pack and gather our belongings.

Matt and Anvita, the British couple appeared to tell us that they’d met some men who were driving a convoy of cars into Uzbekistan which was in fact everyone’s next destination. For around $80 they would take us all the way there. It seemed like a good deal, and following some brief discussions myself, Josep, Nick and Briony decided to get in on it. Nicholas and Rob were on bicycle and moped respectively and the less than sociable German/Austrian couple were not consulted. Still recovering from my illness all I really wanted was a bed in a hotel in which to convalesce but I decided to stick with the group.

We arrived in port and it was unclear how we got off the ship. They had taken our passports when we boarded and so the first job was to retrieve them from the cargo decks which we eventually did. We then found out that we had to venture back to the upper decks to the crew’s quarters where a temporary customs office had been set up. After a short wait, brief interviews and mug shots taken we were able to disembark. It was a joy to be back on land and feeling better.

We were ferried into a minivan to negotiate further border checks on land and then we were out the other side in a small car park, in the darkness, in Kazakhstan!

Speaking with Matt and and Anvita it seemed we would need to wait for our ride. It was 4am and there was a solitary, obese Kazakh taxi driver eager to take us to the next town. The nearest civilisation was a place called Aktau which was about an hour away. We were torn between waiting for the ride all the way into Uzbekistan or heading to Aktau for some R&R. We’d heard that it can take up to 6 hours for cars and ferries to get off the ferry and go through customs but we really didn’t know. After initially holding back I voiced my view much to the relief of the others as were all thinking the same thing. A night’s sleep in a hotel was far preferable to many more hours driving in the back of car with an unknown wait before we could even get going and then who know how long after that to the final destination. Matt and Anvita were determined to stick it out and were clearly chasing a different sort of adventure and so we left them to it.

We said out farewells, especially to Rob and Nicholas who had one hell of adventure ahead of them. I was much in awe of what they were doing and extremely envious.

With a hilarious back and forth using google translate we negotiated a fare to Aktau with the taxi driver and off we set. The excitement in the car was palpable, and there were quite a few comments along the lines of ‘by Jove, we’re in bloody Kazakhstan!’ None of us had been anywhere quite like this. As we set off the sun suddenly appeared on the horizon and all we could see in any direction was endless desert. The scenery was epic….and then camels! Camels everywhere. On the sides of the road but often just sitting or standing in the middle of it. We sped along towards Aktau with the taxi driver blasting his techno music out of the speakers. Another unforgettable moment on the trip for me.

Taxi Selfie – all very excited. (Eyes on the road please driver)

Initial views as we set off

Camels!

More camels!

Epic Journey – The port

4th Oct 20193rd Oct 2019 HenryLeave a comment

I’m now several weeks behind present day but will endeavour to catch up. This is mostly because I’ve been busy travelling and I teamed up with other travellers which has meant less time on my own.

I left Tbilisi by night train heading for Baku in Azerbaijan. I was hoping for a few days in there but little did I know I’d be embarking on what seemed liked a never-ending journey towards the heart of Central Asia.

I had planned to meet up with Nick and Briony in Baku so that we could take the boat across the Caspian Sea together. Things didn’t go so well for me though. On the train to Baku I started to feel unwell. Overnight I got a fever. Everything ached and I was tossing and turning all night long, slightly delirious. Waking up in the morning I felt slightly better but not much.

The first class sleeper cabin. I had to share e

I faced a dilemma. Stick to the plan or sack it off and check into a nice hotel to recover for a few days. The plan was to take a ferry across the Caspian Sea from Azerbaijan to Kazakhstan. There is very little information about the boat however, and no set timetable. The only thing you could do was to get someone to phone every day to see if a ship was coming in, and if it was you’d make a dash for the port. The other alternative was to just head for the port and wait. The boats arrived around every 4-5 days.

Nick and Briony had been in Baku for a couple of days already, phoning every morning through their hotel. I wouldn’t know until I arrived in the morning and could get WiFi what the score was. The way I was feeling, if the boat was leaving that day I would have to abandon ship so to speak.

As the train was arriving in Baku the next morning I met an English guy on the train who was with his wife and also planning to to take the boat. He believed that it was going that same day. They were keen to share a taxi to the port straight away but I decided to head for my hostel and touch base with Nick and Briony. Once I’d made contact I found out the boat was indeed leaving. Despite feeling awful I decided to push on and go for the crossing. I had just enough time to check into my hostel, take a shower, carry out my essential ablutions and then check out again! We then hopped into a taxi for the hour long journey to the port of Alat.

We arrived at the port and were deposited by the entrance and some barriers. We found some guards who checked our passports and then gave us some vague directions to the ticket office. The place was huge and seemed to be just a giant car park for trucks waiting to make the crossing.

After quite a bit of hunting around we bumped into Matt and Anvita, the couple I’d met on the train and they directed us to the ticket office.

We ventured in to find two guys in the their slightly primitive office. They weren’t exactly enamoured with us for some reason but we managed to communicate that we needed tickets. We were after the 2 berth cabins but they didn’t seem interested in offering us a choice and we were given tickets for a 4 berth cabin. It was a strange system. We were issued a slip of paper which we then took around the corner to the ‘bank’, another shipping container, where we paid for the ticket and then returned to be issued with the actual ticket. During this process one of the guys seemed to get irritated with us for talking to each other and sent us outside like naughty children until he was ready to hand over the final ticket. But eventually we had them!

At this point we met Rob, a Dutch fireman who was riding his Honda moped from the Netherlands to Australia to meet his family. An amazing guy. He’d been waiting at the port for three days already so we felt quite lucky to be arriving on the day of departure. We weren’t given any information about when the boat would leave but he was under the impression it would leave at 9pm. It was at that point 11am so we were in for a long wait!

We found a tiny little restaurant where we were able to get a simple meal. I was still feeling dreadful but decided I needed to eat.

Carbohydrates three ways, with a tempura chicken sausage stuffed with mystery cheese substitute

The waiting game started. I was not feeling well. Everything was aching and my stomach was not in good shape. I had to make a visit to what can only be described as the worst toilet in the world (although I would later discover there are worse). It was logistically and emotionally testing but I made it through, just.

We basically camped by the ticket office as there really wasn’t anywhere else to wait, and gradually a motley crew of travellers started to gather. Besides ourselves, Rob, Matt and Anvita we now had Nicholas, a young German chap who had cycled all the way from Germany and was heading to Shanghai, Josep, a Canadian on a round the world trip and a German/Austrian couple who didn’t have much to say.

It was a shame because it was becoming quite the social gathering but I just couldn’t offer anything. I pretty much just lay down by my bag. Despite it being hot, I was freezing. I had to put on my down jacket. I still had a fever. I think I’d felt better in the morning following the adrenaline rush of the dash to the port but I was starting to feel worse and worse. The hours rolled by and everyone was getting to know each other and a few games were on the go. All I could do was take out my inflatable sleeping mat and lay down. I didn’t want to make a fuss about feeling unwell so I think everyone’s first impressions were of a grumpy bloke who just lounged around keeping himself to himself.

Half hearted attempt at a thumbs up my me. Robs and his bike to the fore, Anvita and then Nick and Briony towards the back.

Information about the departure was highly variable but the latest we’d heard was that it would now leave at 11pm. As darkness fell I got into my sleeping bag, shivering and went to sleep.

I was rudely awakened at around 11pm to be told we needed to board the boat. There seemed to be a hurry and Everyone was grabbing their stuff frantically. It was pretty stressful trying to pack everything back into my bag. It kind of all just got stuffed in any old way. I was now feeling worse than ever and picking up my rucksack was a real struggle. People were really kind and helped carry my surplus belongings though. We had to walk over a bridge to get to the border checkpoint where we strolled to the front of a queue of cars and vans. Rob and Nicholas had brought their bikes around as well. Here we had to wait for about half an hour for the border guards to even start checking our passports. I couldn’t stand so I just slumped down against my bag again like a sack of potatoes. It wasn’t a good moment for me. I thought I was going to chunder at any moment and was trying to recce a good spot to go but there weren’t any. I was also wondering if they’d let me on at all if I was sick all over the check point. I managed to hold it back though and eventually we had our passports checked. This seemed to take an eternity but I then found myself staggering towards the boat.

To be continued…..

Tbilisi

3rd Oct 2019 HenryLeave a comment

Weary from the mountains and another epic minibus journey, arriving into Tbilisi was a real blessing. I spent five days pretty much just relaxing and hanging out with Bram and few other people I’d met. The city is really vibrant, easy to get around and cheap. I will definitely return for another visit. I saw a few sights, did the free tour and explored the old parts of the city. A few highlights below:

At the last minute we found out that Georgia were playing Denmark at the national stadium. Tickets were only about £1.40 so we went along

Elliot,
Myself, Gio and Bram. We met Gio through a couchsurfing meet up. He was a local
Georgian and bought our tickets for us

The Chronicles of Georgia, a huge soviet monument on a hill above Tbilisi. I explored with Turk (I’m the photo), another guy I met through the hosgel

I also met up with Nick and Briony again and we explored. The museum of Illusions

Haircut in the Alley

25th Sep 201925th Sep 2019 HenryLeave a comment

After 6 weeks or so of travelling I thought I’d treat myself to a fresh trim. The next major stop would be Kazakhstan and I felt that Tbilisi would be a safer bet. I made enquiries with the guy from my hostel who confidently told me there was a man in the alleyway at the bottom of the building where he goes. I investigated.

Upon further inspection I found the place but thought it prudent to wait until the next day to consider my options. I’d been told the price was 5 Lari, around £1.40. It did seem good value despite looking like it might be a public convenience.

Following a period of reflection, I returned the next day. I strolled in, attempted a greeting and tried to explain what I was after. He was stern and did not speak a word of English. I tried showing him some old photos I’d dug out on my iPhone but he didn’t seem in the least bit interested and so I settled for gesturing how much I wanted lopping off and leaving him to his own devices.

Once seated, he reached for his white jacket. There was a moment where I wondered if I’d made a terrible mistake and was about to have a tooth extracted, or worse, but soon enough he started snipping away. The only unusual part was when without warning he dove in for a little trim on the eyebrows, perhaps necessary but a new experience for me. Otherwise, I was pretty pleased for my £1.40.

He was deeply serious and expressionless throughout, and there was only one fraction of a second where I managed to get him to crack a smile. It was more a slight upward quivering of his outer lips but I settled for that. He was not so obliging when I asked him for a selfie!

Ode to Katchapuri

24th Sep 2019 Henry1 Comment

Stodgy, calorie dense goodness,

Bread, cheese, bung an egg in,

Why not add a slab of butter,

Katchapuri.

(Lyrical masterpiece)

The Caucusus

20th Sep 201921st Sep 2019 HenryLeave a comment

From the bright lights of Batumi, I headed north to the Caucasus Mountains. This was one of the places I’d been waiting to tick off my wish list. Bram had decided to come along too and so we’d arranged a bus to a village called Mestia which was the starting point for much of the hiking in the region of the Svaneti National Park.

Having organised a ticket with the lady from the Hostel we were told to wait outside on the road for a lift to the main bus station which was some way out of town. Eventually, what looked like a cross between the Scooby doo van and the A-team van came screeching around the corner and pulled up to the curb. We put our bags on the rear seats and off we went.

The driver was a young Georgian gentleman with a shaved head, sporting an inane grin. As we pulled away ‘Still Dre’ was blasting out of the speakers (https://youtu.be/x7yPhExdj3E – see here if you need to set the scene). The gangster rap was swiftly replaced with some traditional Georgian binky bonky ballads however. He clearly had an eclectic mix in music.

We purchased our bus tickets at the station and waited, expecting to be leaving on one of the many large coaches in the surrounding bays. Wishful thinking. An old mini bus pulled up. It was not in good condition. Myself, Bram and a few others piled in. Mercifully it wasn’t full up as the leg room was non existent. If you sat bolt upright you could just about get your knees in. I was able to sprawl out a bit though.

There aren’t many coaches running in Georgia because of the nature of the roads. It’s most common to take one of these minibuses. They can act like shared taxis where people hop on and off at various points in the journey. It’s just as well we weren’t on a coach in the end as the roads up in the mountains were narrow and very winding.

It wasn’t comfortable. The main issue was the lack of suspension. The smallest of bumps would cause the whole bus to shake and rattle. Larger bumps, of which there were many sent you flying about and smashing into the seating or side panels. We were under the impression the ride would take around 6 hours, but naturally it took 9. One of the least comfortable journeys I’ve done, but the scenery out of the windows was interesting throughout. Bruised and battered we arrived in Mestia around 10pm.

With no windows that opened, this was the only source of ventilation

An intense game of backgammon taking place at one of the stops we made

‘Mini Hike’

After a good rest, we went for breakfast and decided on an easy hike for the day. We tried to to take two chair lifts up the mountain for a walk along a ridge. The second chair lift was out of action however, so we had to do a fairly punchy 600m ascent to get up there. The scenery was incredible, and we had some cracking views of some of the bigger peaks and the glacier off in the distance.

Top of the first chairlift and the start of the hike

The not quite so scenic communications mast at the top

Big Hike

The next day I was craving something a little mor challenging. Bram haD taken the early bus back to Tbilisi and so I set off to climb the Chkuti ridge. The hike would be about a 23-24km round trip, with around 2000m of ascent climbing up to some stone cairns at 3100m. With hindsight, perhaps a little ambitious given that I hadn’t done much serious hiking since the last summer.

Armed with some instructionS from the internet and primitive map on my phone I set off. The walk was incredible, but brutal. One huge solid uphill. It took a couple of hours to walk up onto the ridge and then another couple of hour to climb up to the cairns. It was hard. Really hard. I didn’t imagine actually making it until I was a few hundred metres from the top.

The ridge itself wasn’t too severe, although for someone with a fear of heights it was certainly thrilling and a little scary in parts. All the hard work was worth it because the views from the top were breathtaking. I didn’t linger at the top as I was conscious that the weather was closing in. The descent was equally challenging as it was punishing on my knees and I had to ration my water for the last couple of hours.

View from the top

You win at the bar!

10th Sep 201910th Sep 2019 HenryLeave a comment

From eastern Turkey I headed for Georgia tagging along with the Dutch ladies. This involved a long bus ride to the town of Hopa and then a taxi ride to Sarp which was at the border. From there we walked through the border controls which was really very straight forward and only involved a brief interrogation on the Georgian side. Once through, there was another short taxi ride to Batumi.

Batumi can best be described as the Georgian Las Vegas on the sea. It’s essentially a giant beach resort with lots of casinos. My first evening and the following day were fairly uneventful. I explored and ate some local food. The hostel I was in was pretty quiet and didn’t have much atmosphere. That was until until a Dutchman called Bram strolled in and parked himself on the bean bag beside me. We got chatting and ended up going for some food and few beers.

Bram was a happy go lucky chap who was on a holiday in Georgia taking a break from his role as a civil servant back home. He was well-travelled and had no shortage of entertaining stories. At dinner, he announced his desire to go to a Casino. It made sense. The town revolves around the casinos so why not see what it was all about. I didn’t take much persuading. We were both novices. I’d been to a casino once or twice before as had Bram but never a big fancy one.

Following our meal and already pretty well oiled, we walked around the corner to the Raddison blue hotel and enquired with the doorman as to where we might find the biggest, fanciest casino in town. He initially seemed unsure but we were eventually directed to the Sheraton Hotel and off we went.

(My photographic skills weren’t at their finest so I borrowed this image from https://old.cbw.ge)

The foyer was grand, the whole place was. I’m not sure we were the usual type to walk in there looking as causal as we did. Nevertheless, we strolled in and announced our desire to hit the tables. It wasn’t long before one of the glamorous ladies came around from behind her desk to look us up and down and immediately identified the flip flops I was wearing. We were refused entry these grounds but she said that I could come in with shoes and so, not to be defeated we headed back to the hostel.

My travelling wardrobe is very limited. I only have a handful of t-shirts and my outdoor gear and so I had to choose between my hiking shoes or my bright blue running shoes. The hiking shoes seemed appropriate. Grabbing one more for the road we eagerly headed back.

We returned to the lobby and success! Our excitement was quickly dampened however when we were told that it would be $100 for a ticket to enter. I think this did include chips but we politely pointed out that we were merely poor travellers and that would go elsewhere to lose our money. Maybe this was a sign.

Undeterred we headed instead for the Golden Palace Casino right near our hostel. The ladies at the reception were much less hostile and we were delighted to find out that it was free to enter although we were informed that we’d need our passports. Sigh. This meant another trip back to the hostel but fourth time lucky we eventually made it in!

I really felt the part. Hiking shoes, socks, shorts and a North Face t-shirt. Bram was rocking some shorts and a t-shirt with trainers. We bore all the hallmarks of a couple of high rollers. We ordered $34 worth of chips, an amount we’d agreed we’d be happy to lose/pay for the experience. Unsure what to do next we ordered a couple of drinks at the bar. They didn’t want any money. Fearing a scam we had to check with a couple of people to discover that they were in fact free. The evening was getting better. I felt my large glass of Georgian red wine really completed my look, the high-net-worth mountaineer.

We circulated for a while sussing the place out and then hovered around the Roulette table. It was crowded and we didn’t really understand how we actually got into the game. Almost everyone was Georgian but we then met a couple at the table, a Swiss lady and Israeli gentleman who were about our age. After working up to it we chucked in our $25 dollar chips and away we went.

I actually started winning! We were just betting $1 at a time spreading our bets over a few numbers. It was really good fun although the locals looked entirely serious the whole time. Bram became obsessed with the number 8 and had been trying to win in it for a while on it so we decided we’d all go for a dollar on 8, myself Bram and the couple. And then boom! We won. A lot of high fiving ensued. The rest of the table remained completely emotionless. We’d just netted 35 big ones.

Our neighbours at the table were betting much, much bigger amounts and seemed to gain little joy from the experience. In contrast to our one chip at a time strategy some of the guys were pacing hundreds down all over the place, and losing them.

My winning streak continued. The dealer was giving me extra chips as a reward and I did exactly as they wanted me too and stuck them all on red or black. There was a point where I’d more than tripled my money but alas I got greedy and my pot started to become diminished. After about an hour and a half of laughs I decided to call it quits having still more than doubled what I’d put in. Hardly a life changing sum of money but great fun. Bram hadn’t done so well but as he kept pointing out to me as he was sinking beers and whisky ‘You win at the bar man, you win at the bar’.

The following day, and still bathing in the glory of the previous night’s successes, we started to contemplate a second outing to the Casino. It probably wasn’t a good idea but I was up and it was hardly big money. As before, we ate, drank and the headed to the Golden Palace.

I knew how this story was going to end before I even set foot in the door. You don’t get lucky twice and I did not. We stuck $25 on the roulette table. Nothing quite seemed the same. The money quickly went. We decided to cash in a little more but the losing streak continued. We quickly cashed out and discovered the automated roulette machines where the minimum bet was 10 cents. This was more our game we decided. Here we met a guy from Nigeria and a lady from the Ukraine who were in a ‘couch surfer meet up’. They were an unlikely pair. The guy had all sorts of systems which he was insistent worked and he’d occasionally share some ‘hot’ numbers. They never worked.

Very quickly the free drinks dried up. You’d order them but the waitress just wouldn’t ever come back, even if you asked a second time. I think they had us sussed. The machines just weren’t as fun and money we put slowly disappeared. Once it was gone we cashed out what little we had left and bid a retreat. We’d still had a good laugh though and a good few drinks.

I did some sums the following morning and worked out my total loss over both nights was about £9 which is hardly going to break the bank. Totally worth it for the entertain. Best not to divulge quite how many drinks we consumed but whilst we may have left empty handed I can safely say we definitely won at the bar!

The Dogu express

8th Sep 20198th Sep 2019 HenryLeave a comment

The journeys continue to be one of the more challenging aspects of this trip.

From Cappadocia I made my way to Eastern Turkey using another sleeper train called the Turistik Dogu Expresi. As a solo traveller you couldn’t book a single bed in a two bed cabin so I had to book the whole thing to myself. It was a little expensive but definitely worth it.

I arrived at Kayseri train station two hours before departure because of my transport options form Cappadocia. The departure time was 23:22. I was hopeful that there might be some restaurants nearby to grab a meal before I headed off. I arrived by taxi to be greeted by what looked like an abandoned train station.

I walked around the area but only found a few little shops and some vendors specialising in Turkish sausage and so I headed back to the station where there was a little cafe. It was completely empty at that time but I managed to purchase a wholesome meal to keep me going. Two mystery meat subs.

I also made a lifelong friend

Then, it was really a waiting game. I later found a manned ticket office in a portakabin and showed my e-ticket as I wanted to be sure I was in the right place. He just gestured towards the platform. Time passed very slowly and the platform gradually filled with people. I didn’t see any other travellers like myself, just locals.

the departure time came and went and the platform was now pretty full. Ten minutes later, to my a relief a train came rumbling in.

As the carriages came rolling by one after another my heart started to sink. I knew the train I was getting was supposed to be a sleeper only. All the carriages on this train were just seating. I was trying to figure out what was going on. Perhaps I’d made a mistake? I walked down the platform, through all the people and to my relief I saw two other travellers looking as confused as me. They were two young Dutch ladies and so I went over to see what was going on. They were getting the same train. We tried to ask the staff on the platform what was going on but they couldn’t speak any English. Eventually after some slightly frantic toing and froing and with the help of a local bystander who spoke some English we established that this wasn’t our train (it just coincidentally arrived at the same time) and that ours was either 1 hour late or was arriving at 1am. It was hard to tell but the guy definitely indicated a 1. To add to the confusion, due to the late arrival there was also another sleeper train arriving at a similar time now! We were warned to make sure we got the correct one.

After quite a long wait, and some further confusion we eventually managed to board the correct train at about 12.45am.

As with the train into Istanbul, it was really comfy and it was a bonus to have a cabin all to myself. I had a pretty good sleep and awoke to some spectacular views as we trundled through Anatolia. I could just lie in bed, looking out the window like a movie screen.

The train was a new tourist train that had started in May. I’d heard it was supposed to make some stops on the way where you could see some sights. The Journey was schedules to take 18 hours.

The first ‘excursion stop’ happened at around 9am I think. I heard a guard walk down the carriage shouting something in Turkish but it wasn’t until we’d been stopped for a while that I ventured out to see what was going on. Nobody really knew. Word got around that we’d be stopped for 2 hours. The station was pretty much in the middle of nowhere next to a fenced off lake. There were some taxi drivers waiting in the car park although it wasn’t clear where you could go. A few people got into the taxis, some to the nearest town for food and I believe some went to a viewing point. They were asking very high prices though. I decided instead to venture up a hill to see what was around. Nothing. There were some fantastic views however.

After two and a half hours we eventually left. Feeling peckish, I went to the restaurant car although I was a little disappointed to find a meagre selection of cold snacks on offer despite there being a fully equipped kitchen. Another delicious meal:

Later in the afternoon we made another stop. Same procedure. Complete confusion, no information about where we were, what was happening or what there was to do and we’d stopped with nothing anywhere nearby. After 15 minutes or so I was on the platform having scouted out a small tuck shop. A guard gestured to me to ask if I was staying here which had confused me a little. Moments later I saw the train slowly leave the platform. Not a great moment. All my belongings were on board. I suddenly thought that maybe the guy was asking if this was my stop!? For a split second I contemplated giving chase but quickly accepted my fate instead. For a short while I believed I’d been left behind. There were thankfully some Australian guys nearby who thought the same. At least I wasn’t on my own. We decided there was little we could do and then came to the conclusion that it can’t have left permanently without so many of us. To our relief, after 20 minutes or so the train returned into the station on a different platform. We spent another two and half hours here. Annoyingly we found out that a group of people had taken a minibus to a waterfall somewhere nearby but no one had said anything about it.

It didn’t exactly seem like the ‘tourist’ train. Us tourists were generally confused and had no idea what we could actually do at these stops. No one spoke English. The guards on the other hand had a jolly old time sitting in the restaurant car eating the hot meals that weren’t available for us and then enjoying huge banquets of food at the stops which had been delivered to them whilst we were left scrabbling around for a few packets of crisps and biscuits in the tiny shop!

Despite all of this, it was a very comfortable and enjoyable train ride and it was by far the most scenic train ride I’d ever taken. And we only arrived two and half hours late!