Day23 – 14th June,2012 : Baku, Azerbaijan

At 6.30 am, I got up and went for a walk up of  the deck. It was cool and calm outside, though there was a ship passing us by at a somewhat faster speed. At a distance I could see another boat sailing. I heard a popular hindi song being sung in the cabin next to mine. I went into cabin and packed my belongings. At breakfast, I ate bread, yoghurt, some sauce and the tomatoes leftover from the previous night. I met Nazar and returned his Dictaphone charger. I even gave him my left over manat, as they were useless in this country. 
At 11.50 am, our ship was docked in Baku. From the shore, the  city looked beautiful with its tall buildings. After twenty minutes, we alighted from the ship and walked to the immigration office. I entered the small office and was shocked to see a look of surprise on the immigration officer’s face as he checked the visa on my passport. He asked me if I was going to Armenia and o my refusal, he inquired about the Armenian visa. After I gave him my explanations, he talked to someone on the phone and went inside. I was asked to go to customs where I did not face any problems. The passport was stamped and returned to me. 

Indian Embassy in Baku, Azerbaijan

As I walked outside I saw private taxis parked near the gate. One of the taxi drivers agreed to take me to Azerbaijan for 11 dollars, 8 manat. He did not know the way to the Indian Embassy and so kept consulting someone over the phone. It was a good drive and I was surrounded by the beautiful city and its tall buildings. When I reached the embassy at 3 pm, I gave my letter from the Ministry of Internal Affairs to an embassy employee who asked me to wait in the hall. Then came an Indian employee who asked me my purpose of coming. I explained all about my travel and how I wanted a double entry visa from Georgia because I could not go to Armenia from here, a fact that was not known to me .He took my passport and the letter which the Ministry had written to the Azerbaijan embassy in New Delhi to grant visa to me.  In a while, I was approached by Mr. J.B. Singh. He told me that he was the Attache here in the embassy and also that he had heard of my dilemna from his colleague. He told me that a letter from the Georgian Embassy was being drafted. I was very relieved and so I thanked him but kept chatting. I asked for his recommendations for a hotel. He consulted his fellow employee and told me about Hotel Irswad, which would cose 60 manat a day. I next asked Mr. Singh if I could meet the Ambassador but he refused. He told me that the Ambassador was busy. Not wanting to comment, I asked for his card and waited to collect the letter for the Georgian visa from him. Once he gave it to me, he instructed me to be at the Georgian Embassy with two photographs tomorrow at 11 am. He told me to be patient as the process would take time. I walked out after thanking Singh and asked  the Embassy employee to click a picture of me outside the Embassy.
I went to the hotel next door and inquired their prices. Though the manager told me that it would cost 75 manat, I bargained and got him down to 60 manat. He asked me to wait so I kept my packsacks there and walked next door to the embassy to invite Mr.Singh for a cup of tea but he  unfortunately refused.

Hotel in Baku, Azerbaijan

I then walked back to the hotel. It was on the ground floor, adjacent to the reception. It had all the facilities like  TV, refrigerator and an electric kettle for making tea or coffee. It even had a big bathroom equipped with a big bathroom. Satisfied with the room, I went up to the 6th floor restaurant and ordered a margarita pizza with plenty of lemon tea. The pizza cost me 7 manat while the lemon tea was complimentary. I was given a map of the city and it was very informative. I took note of the Hippodrome or the race course nearby. At 6 pm, it was hot outside and the manager suggested me to stay in till 7 pm, but I walked out anyways. After a short walk, I reached the main road where I met a young man named Elit. Talking in English fluently, he told me that he planned to pursue MBA from the University of Baku. I wished him luck and walked further along the road and found that the race course was an open track surrounded by many buildings. From there, I walked back to the hotel to take a shower and relax. At 9.30 pm, I went up to the restaurant and dined for  some vegetable soup and bread. 
I returned to the room and used the room’s pc to check mail. Tired, I went to sleep.