Middle-aged flash packers

Executive Summary:

Poison water strikes;Timur’s tomb is magnificent ;Oybek turns out to be about 14;

Tsunami of people at the station;

Reunited with the Road Warriors;

Baku – major disappointment overcome

Steve’s tummy has been struck down again by the poison water. As with his back, I am feeling slightly responsible although it was his original information to me that caused the problem. To cut a long story short, he told me the water would be safe to clean my teeth with, so I put some tap water in a cup to rinse my mouth and he drank it.

Timur’s Torment was quick and harsh, not helped by Steve’s need to eat unless death is imminent. Cue multiple journeys to the loo throughout the night. Luckily his brother gave him some magic pills before we left and those along with not eating appear to be doing the trick. Also I hereby declare I am not trying to do away with him.

After lying around by the pool this morning to allow Steve’s stomach to settle, we went to pay homage to the man himself. Timur’s mausoleum is something to behold. Fitting indeed for one of the world’s game changers. Very glad we made the effort to see it.

We returned to the apartment to shower, pick up my case and return the keys.Oybek , who we assumed was the owner, had arranged to meet us there at 4pm. I had a feeling this was going to be awkward and was not looking forward to it.

Oybek turned out to be about 14. Obviously the only person in the family who spoke even a smattering of English, he carried my bag down and hailed us a taxi. As we walked along his friends greeted him and said hello to us. Clearly a modest family business that he, a mere teenager, played a major part in. Feeling humbled.

Next stop Tashkent on route to Baku. We arrived at the station with loads of time to spare, enabling us to gawp at the tsunami of tour groups rolling up. A truly unbelievable number of people who had given over their minds and common sense to their guide. They milled around looking lost and afraid. All except the Italians who do what Italians do which was as soon as the train arrived , immediately swarmed out of their hidey holes, barged in front of us then had the nerve to chastise me when I fought back. Haha! Victory, I actually managed to push in in front of an Italian! Must be learning something from Timur.

On arrival at the station it was a mad dash to meet up with fellow road warriors Nik and Jan who were also in Tashkent. Very fortuitously they happened to be staying in the room opposite us! We spent a very pleasant evening catching up. Nik has recently returned from Pakistan. He gets the Top Road Warrior award 2019 for that. More adventures booked with these two in November- watch this space.

And so to our final city on our Silk Road trip. Baku.

I knew things were going to get interesting when our taxi ride from the airport was in a London black cab. Naturally the seatbelts didn’t work (this seems to be the norm in the Stans) but all the same….

However, first things first

We had splashed the cash and booked ourselves a suite at the Fairmont hotel, based in the iconic flame towers of Baku. We were very excited at the prospect of 4 days relaxing in the sunshine in luxurious surroundings, rather than dragging ourselves around another dusty city looking at old stuff. However, As Steve read the “important information “ details attached to our booking confirmation for the first time, he discovered that the outdoor pool was closed as of 11/9.

A gloom descended upon us as we struggled with our disappointment that the final days of our trip were indeed going to be spent wandering about looking at old stuff in a dusty city.

However, as we couldn’t check into our room until 3pm, we were forced to find something to do and let me tell you, Baku (at least the very centre) is lovely. Situated on the Caspian Sea, the architecture is Paris meets Italy meets London meets Central Asia. And no dust. Just a beautiful park area and walkway around the bay with fountains, cafes and terraces. The flame towers rise above it all like some kind of tentacled alien. The old town looks very pretty but we decided to save that for another day.

So I think we will manage without lazing about around a pool. Our suite is lovely, we get free drinks between 5 and 7pm, and the weather for the next few days should be perfect for some relaxed strolling by the side of the Caspian Sea. Happy days.