Craig Leach
I'm traveling from Trabzon, Turkey to London, England......the very long way round. Craig_Leach
No flying is allowed
I'll travel through Georgia, Azerbaijan, Turkmenistan, West Kazakhstan, Uzbekistan, Tajikistan, Kyrgyzstan, East Kazakhstan, Russia, Latvia, Lithuania, Poland, Czech Republic, Germany, Amsterdam, Belgium and France.
Wish me luck.....
Craig
Travel Blog Posts
July 3rd 2007
This morning everyone left on the ferry to Aktau, Kazakhstan. My ferry ia due to leave in 5 hours (in Azerbaijan this reads 4 - 24 hours) so hopefully i can leave soon We had a few beers last night on the blustry dock and said our goodbyes this morning. I might see James again in Tadjikistan and Altan in Atrau but its goodbye to the rest and goodluck on your travels... read more
To a villge that hasn't changed much in 100 years and back...
Published: June 29th 2007Asia » Azerbaijan
June 29th 2007
I've been laying low ovr the last couple of days because I haven't been feeling very well but now that I'm better i can finally do some stuff! Wednesday: to the suburbs Today me and james went out to the ancient (1000year old) fire worshiping temple in the suburbs of Baku. Indians used to travel here on foot to worship at the constantly burning natural gas flame (which has now since burned out, due to a drop in pressure caused by drilling) The museamum was still intresting and it was a pleasent half day out of the hustle and bustle of Baku Thursday: Quba James left this morning to catch his ferry to Aktau in Kazakhstan but i still have 6 days before i can leave so i decided to head right out of the ... read more
June 25th 2007
Day 8 After being eaten alive by mozies last night, I decided to take a trip out of Baku to the surrounding peninsula. It's an industial waste land from the oil production. But i managed to find my own little slice of paradise, after a couple of hours marshrukte hoping with only the vague idea that i wanted to try and find a beach on the north (and cleaner) side of the peninsula Baku is on. A completley deserted 5 star beach resort that i managed to talk my way onto, provided i didn't use the sun loungers or anything. Not that it mattered because there was apsolutley no one there except an old man fishing on the end of the pier. So i spent the rest of the day reading and getting a little ... read more
June 23rd 2007
Day 5 Today I decided to go to Gori to check out the Stalin museum and the fortress. Gori is the town that Stalin was born and raised in and is located 1 and a bit hours east of Tbilisi. I had to take a Marshrukte (minibus) from Tbilisi's Didube bus "station" (read: giant car park). Which was an adventure in itself trying to find the right one as Georgian isn't written in Cyrilic i found it quite difficult. After getting to Gori and going round the Stalin museum (rip off!! $10!!!) which paints Stalin as not quite as bad as everyone says and has the largest still standing statue of Uncle Joe, I went up to gori fortress to have lunch. Despite being windy it has stunning views! Took a marshrukte back to Tbilisi ... read more
June 21st 2007
Day 3: So today was a pretty lazy day. All i did was lay on the beach and wait for my train at 11pm. I still managed to get a little sunburnt despite the fact the sun never peaked through the clouds all day! After boarding the train in what can only be described as a tropical storm, i tried to get some sleep but the air-con in 4 person cabin was "broken" so i couldnt sleep for hours. :( The train carriage also looked so old that Stalin could have ridden it and toilet looked (and smelt) like it hadn't been cleaned since. Day 4: Tbilisi. Wow. What a lovely city. I arrived at the train station at 7.30am and after stepping of the train was a little worried because the station is more ... read more
June 19th 2007
Day 1: So, I leave for Heathrow at ridiculous O'clock in the morning. After 3 and a half hours and sleeping through the inflight meal (grrrrr!!!) i arrive at Istanbul airport and join the monster que visas. Eventuly i get to Trabzon and have my now broken bag (grrr!!!) searched by customs. I find the place i want to stay. Which is a catholic guesthouse attached to a church. It's a very nice place and the owner is aswelll, its technically free but they ask you to make a donation to the church (which i do). As I'm pretty knackerd after the flight i decide to go for a quick wander before bed. I get some yummy turkish ice cream and have a wander along the sea front before dinner. I didn't realize before how ... read more
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