I'm calling this post Part I because there's bound to be more days just like it.
Mike the driver arrives at my hotel promptly at 5:45 am to take me to the airport for an 8:30 flight. The road out is a brilliant one, and there are even people along the way wearing orange vests who sweep up bits of weeds along the road with stick brooms. They have renamed this road the George W. Bush Highway, in honor of a visit not too long ago (Clinton has a road named after him in Pristina, Kosovo). Everything is freshly painted and new looking, but behind the facades, it's the usual derelict mess.
The new airport absolutely sparkles. There is a full staff to attend to every need. When you use the bathroom, two women come in and cleanup after you. Floor polishers and glass cleaners are hard at work; the duty free is brightly lit. But there are only eight flights a day, and that's in a 24-hour period.
My flight on Azerbaijan Airlines shows a half-hour delay, then it's one hour, then it's two hours. Four hours later here comes the inbound! They finally board us on some old Soviet relic, and we sit. The pilots come and go. A firetruck is on standby. They take us off the plane. It's now 3 pm. Hey, I know my rights and I'm going to ask for lunch voucher! I am grateful for the Coke and french fries.
Mike the driver arrives at my hotel promptly at 5:45 am to take me to the airport for an 8:30 flight. The road out is a brilliant one, and there are even people along the way wearing orange vests who sweep up bits of weeds along the road with stick brooms. They have renamed this road the George W. Bush Highway, in honor of a visit not too long ago (Clinton has a road named after him in Pristina, Kosovo). Everything is freshly painted and new looking, but behind the facades, it's the usual derelict mess.
The new airport absolutely sparkles. There is a full staff to attend to every need. When you use the bathroom, two women come in and cleanup after you. Floor polishers and glass cleaners are hard at work; the duty free is brightly lit. But there are only eight flights a day, and that's in a 24-hour period.
My flight on Azerbaijan Airlines shows a half-hour delay, then it's one hour, then it's two hours. Four hours later here comes the inbound! They finally board us on some old Soviet relic, and we sit. The pilots come and go. A firetruck is on standby. They take us off the plane. It's now 3 pm. Hey, I know my rights and I'm going to ask for lunch voucher! I am grateful for the Coke and french fries.
Second plane--no good.
The airport Happy MealAt 8 pm another plane comes. This is the third one. 50 minutes later, we're in Baku. Allegedly, visas are available on arrival, but the guy has disappeared, and there are five of us in limbo. Someone bribes a guard. At 11 pm we're processed.
One of the Danish NGOs I've been talking to gives me a ride into Baku. I find a bed at the 1000 Camels Hostel. It's the only place that costs less than $200.
I've got to put a plug in for this Danish guy's organization. It comes into the Caucasus, Transdniester, and other political hotspots and sets up soccer training camps for kids. The idea is to bring together Armenians, Azeris, Abkhazians, and all the other groups who have been at each other throats for centuries in a positive environment. http://www.ccpa.dk/ They're always looking for funding.
One of the Danish NGOs I've been talking to gives me a ride into Baku. I find a bed at the 1000 Camels Hostel. It's the only place that costs less than $200.
I've got to put a plug in for this Danish guy's organization. It comes into the Caucasus, Transdniester, and other political hotspots and sets up soccer training camps for kids. The idea is to bring together Armenians, Azeris, Abkhazians, and all the other groups who have been at each other throats for centuries in a positive environment. http://www.ccpa.dk/ They're always looking for funding.
1 comment:
Mis ojos,
Believe it or not, I have heard of your Danish friend's NGO---there was a plug for it awhile ago on NPR. It has worked well, but the radio show said that they had trouble finding soccer fields on which to play.
As for flying a plane that needs a firetruck ready for "events"--yikes---and, you get to do this and stay in a $200 hotel? Yikes! xxx tu amiga querida
Post a Comment