日本語要約：今朝、アゼルバイジャン政府の石油警備員達に逮捕されました。2日前に撮った写真を消せろといわれて、僕がいやだと答えて、昼まで交渉が続きました。結局、僕が撮った問題写真を全部登録されて、パスポートのすべてのページをコピーされて、それで終わりました。問題の写真は以下の通りです。
Despite the cardboard window of my hotel room at the decrepid will-fall-down-at-any-moment hotel, I did get a good sleep, and managed also to dry out my tent after yesterday’s muddy fiasco.
I had just gotten money out of the ATM and was about to leave on my bike when a suit stolled up and began asking all the usual questions about where I was going and….I’m sorry? Do I have a camera? Um, yes, I’m a tourist…
Turns out that this guy is a detective from the Oil Police, a governmental security agency protecting government interests in the oil industry here in Azerbaijan. These guys are very serious about their role.
A Lada Niva 4X4 pulls up and four guys in black jackets step out. One of them walks briskly over to where the Suit and I am, salutes the Suit, and proceeds to tell me in English that I was observed taking photographs of a BP facility yesterday, and that the photo must be deleted.
As I flicked through the photos, I inadvertently show the ones I took of the BP Sangachal Terminal near Baku.
“You will need to delete that photo, Sir.”
I go into defensive mode, and counter that there must be hundreds of tourists that go past the terminal in a bus, click off a photo, and the secret police never know about it. Why come down on me?
“This is a security issue, Sir. You have no right to take photos of such facilities. You do understand, we need to be vigilant. It is a terrorism issue.”
I explain that they need to lighten up and make case by case decisions in matters like this. I mean, do I look like a terrorist? Do terrorists go cycling around for 5 months and 5,000km, on a bicycle that attracts attention, and take photos where everyone can see?
“We’re going to need to see the rest of the photos, Sir.”
“That one also must go” he said, indicating the photo above.
“Are you serious? Look at this photo. It could be anywhere! Are you serious?!” The other ones I could kind of understand, but this one?
“Look, Sir, if you do not delete the photos, it will cause problems for us.”
“OK then, lets just get a bigger picture of things here. What if I refuse to delete the photos. Like, what are the implications for me? Will I be arrested? What?” I really was quite attached to these photos.
“Maybe” is all he could come up with.
“Right,” I proposed, “how about you take a record of the photos I have taken, take my details, and in a way register the photos I have taken?”
“My superiors are on their way, I will ask to see if that is possible.”
And there you have it. Photos registered, every page in my passport photocopied, and I was on my way. I got my beloved photos (except the one of the pumping station), and everyone was happy.
This little setback cost me most of the morning, so it was a short day to just past Goranboy Town, where I pitched the tent and had me a campfire.
Not without taking another picture of government property, of course.
昨日の夜、この3日間と同じように、テントを張らずに寝ました。そして今朝に限って、雨が降りました。そのまま少し待てばやめるだろうと思ったが、結局一日雨が降り続けました。寝たところから道路までの200mの小道が雨で濃い泥になってしまって、タイヤとチェーンに粘りついてしまいました。最悪の状態でした。
しかししょうがなくて、進むしかありませんでした。大型トラックが近くに通って、うすい泥を僕にかける。あまり楽しくない一日でした。
唯一面白かったのはパイプラインのパンプステーションでした。石油がちゃんと2000km近く流れるように、パンプが200kmごとに設営されています。しかし近づくとセキュリティが起こります。起こられました。そして離れて、写真を撮ったら、車で追われて、写真を削除するように命じられた。しないと警察を呼ぶって。写真を消したが、もう一枚をこっそりと撮りました。
Photo deleted by Pipeline Special Police / 写真を石油ポリスに強制に消されました
イェヴラック町に着いたのは午後4時でした。道の人に聞いたら、汚くて、安いホテルにチェックインしました。トイレの水も流れなくて、窓のガラスの代わりに段ボールが張っていた。今まで最悪のホテルです。しかも一泊700円取られています。
日本語要約：アゼルバイジャンでは、運転が荒い。そしてこの道路（A324号線）の幅が狭くて、凸凹だらけです。この道がいくら平らで走りやすくても、車のない山道のようが絶対にマシです。
Cold and grey day again today as I rode the flat lands of Azerbaijan. This road (the A343) has some revamped sections, but is mostly narrow and in bad condition, albiet sealed. Add to that very heavy traffic including many many old dump trucks, and you have a very dangerous road to be cycling on. Andy from the Baku Bicycle Club suggested that I keep my flashing rear light on all day while cycling in Azerbaijan. Fair enough too. Anything to make sure that these crazy drivers see me.
My impression of Azerbaijan drivers so far is that many of them don’t actually appreciate that they are driving on a road. It seems as though they are not actually aware of what they are doing, or realise that driving requires their full attention. Any distraction instantly seems to command their entire concentration. That is, me. Drivers will slow down on this busy, narrow highway with no thought that there might be other cars coming behind them. Or they will turn their heads to get a better look at my bike while they drive away. Their heads will stay turned for far longer than is safe…
So, I crossed the BTC Pipeline today. Jolly interesting, this pipeline. It goes for almost 2,000km. If only there was a maintenance road or something that I could ride along beside it. It would at least get me off this busy road.
Oh yeah, and why are there seashells all over these plains?
幸せです。ウズベキスタンと同じように、平らな道路が一日続きました。暖かくはありませんが。日中は５度以上あがりませんでした。休憩をとるときにダウンジャケットは必着用でした。
バクー自転車クラブの皆さんのほとんどが働くBP石油ターミナルは今日のルートにありました。BPは世界位置大きな石油会社で、カスピ海の石油可能性を現在集中的に開発しているそうです。BPが最近できたカスピ海の油田掘削施設は、現在カスピ海に働いている全部の他社油田掘削施設よりも石油油出能力が大きいらしいです。
というか、この辺には小さな油田掘削施設が非常に多いです。個人が石油を生産しているわけです。町の中。環境保護という理念をまったく知らないようで、周りの土地が黒い油に漬かっているところが多い。以下のところは国連の補助金で徐々に回復されている話をBPのスタッフの一人に聞きました。
そしてそのBP石油ターミナルはBTC 石油パイプラインの始まりでもあります。このパイプラインはグルジアのテブリシ市経由でバクー市からトルコのセーハン市まで伸びます。パイプラインの上陸するところです。
日本語要約： バクー自転車クラブのメンバー5人と一緒に、最近できたBTC石油パイプラインを追ってライデイングしました。バクー周辺の地形は砂漠のようで、植物は低いものしか見当たらない。今夜はクラブの2人のお宅に泊まっています。
Achim, a regular visitor and comment-poster on this site, has been extremely pro-active on my behalf, and a while ago contacted the Baku Bicycle Club and let them know that I was going to be travelling through the area. Andy Buckworth from the club kindly contacted me, and to cut a long story short, I am now staying with two of the club’s members, and last night had the opportunity to share some of my photos and experiences from the trip so far with the club members at a slide evening. The slide evening was organised to show slides from a recent mountain biking trip in Bhutan, to which four of the club members took part in.
The club is very active, with rides every weekend. I was lucky enough to strike a Saturday where the mountain biking route was flat and non-techincal, so I had the opportunity to join in on the fun.
The terrain here around Baku is generally hard-packed clay, and very flat. There are of course no fences, which makes cycling off-road a real joy. There are also some hills interspersed between the flats, which I can only imagine, and the club members assure me, is great fun on a mountain bike.
The ride followed the recently completed BTC Oil Pipeline for about 20km before leaving the maintenance road and looping back to where we started (near the BP Sangachal Terminal).
During the ride I discovered that Kyrgyzstan isn’t the only place with angry dogs. They must breed the dogs here in Azerbaijan with only one setting - attack! The fella below has been named ‘Spike’ by the Baku Bicycle Club - look at his collar to find out why.
今日もバクー自転車クラブと一緒にライデイングしました。今回はカンディーケーン山というところでみんなで自転車で走りました。今回はマウンテーンバイクではなくて、みんなロードバイクに乗っていました。道路の路面がきれいに舗装されていて、楽しくはしれました。
今日はリカンベントを買って、はじめてほかのサイクリストと一緒に走りました。結果的には、平らなところには、ほかのサイクリストと一緒に走れました。下り坂のところには、僕のほうはひときわ速かった。しかし上りになると、リカンベントの弱点が現れました。やはり、リカンベントだと、座っている位置は一切変わりません。いつも同じポジションに座っているため、使うを微妙に変えたりできません。一方、普通の自転車の場合、ペダルに立ったり、体重を前に動いたり、後ろに変えたりすることができて、のぼりのときに使う筋肉を変えることができる。比較的に、疲れるまで時間がかからないわけです。
permalink この記事についてコメントを書く6th December
結局フェリーは午後4時ごろにバクーに到着しました。いつトルクメンバシにでたのはよくわかりません。寝ていましたので。
Many of these on the Caspian Sea - an oil driller’s dream (Caspian Sea) / 石油の豊富なカスピ海
バクーのホテルはウズベキスタンのブハラ町で逢ったバックパっカーに教えてもらって、3人部屋にUS$10でベッドをゲットできました。間違いなく、このたびの始まりから今まで一番きれいなホテルです。もう中央アジアではありません、という感じです。本当に違います。
町の雰囲気はヨーロッパに近いかな。しかし人はどちらかというと中東。バクーは石油の町で、道に高級車が多い。
そして食べ物。天国です。中央アジアは本当に苦しかった。選択肢も多く、味が豊富。もう我慢しなくても良い感じがしてきました。
permalink この記事についてコメントを書く5th December
日本語要約：カスピ海フェリーは不定期だとわかっていましたが、なんらかな奇跡で、僕がトルクメンバシに今日着いたら、たまたま今日2つのフェリーがありました。ラッキー。フェリーの出発時間は不明だが、一応明日アゼルバイジャンの首都であるバクーに着くだろうと思われます。僕がフェリーに乗って、夜9時に寝た時点では、まだ出発していなかった。
On the train to Turkmenbasi, Turkmenistan / トルクメンバシ行きの列車にて（トルクメニスタン）
The Caspian Sea is a deep aqua blue, at least here in Turkmenbasi. Turkmenbasi itself feels like the end of the world. Old Soviet apartments with small wooden framed windows. None seem to have been constructed as if there was a sea to look out on. No bay windows with a view of the sea in this town.
Now it just so happens that the Caspian Sea ferry is not a regular service. That is, it is entirely possible to have to wait three or more days for a ferry to arrive.
However, by some great divine intervention - I prefer to consider it due to my great foresight and planning - there was not only one ferry today, but two. I was in the enviable position of being able to choose which I would travel on. Not that there was much difference. They were both the same black and white, and were identical in shape.
One of the Caspian Sea ferries, Turkmenistan / カスピ海のフェリーのひとつ（トルクメニスタン）
I chose the ‘Azerbaijan’. Here is a run down of costs:
Payable at the terminal:
Ticket - US$45
Bicycle fee - US$5
Documentation fee - US$12
To be paid on the boat:
Bicycle fee - US$5 (yes, again)
Bicycle security fee - US$3
Cabin fee - US$10
Total: US$80
The money you pay for a bed (cabin fee) is negotiable. The steward first started at US$50. This was for my own room with shower and toilet. I said he has to be joking (it was in very bad condition), and that I would be perfectly happy to sleep on the floor of the seating room.
Hearing this, he quickly dropped to US$25. I said no way, but if they would consider US$10, then I would take it.
It seems that US$10 for a bed is standard - some other Turkmenistan citizens on the boat said that they also paid US$10.
All payments are made in US dollars only, including the payments at the terminal. It is a wise idea to have lots ot small denomination US dollars - change is not always available.
Meals on board are catastrophically expensive unless you are willing to haggle lots. I didn’t end up eating at the kafe on board since I had my own food, but I was quoted US$10 for fried potatoes and eggs. After saying that it was too expensive and that I would eat my own food, the price dropped to US$5.
I got onto the boat at 4pm, but the boat still hadn’t left the dock when I went to bed at 9pm.
permalink この記事についてコメントを書く4th December
トルクメニスタンの首都であるアシュガバットに着いたのは朝10時でした。列車は3時間遅れていました。中央アジアはそんなもんです。
カスピ海のフェリーターミナルがあるトルクメンバシ町(Turkmenbasi)に行くには、また今日の夜に列車に乗りました。アシュガバットをでるのは夜6時半で、トルクメンバシに着くのは明日の朝10時の予定。切符の値段は40,000マナット（200円）。相当安いです。
というわけで、トルクメンバシ行きの列車が出発するまで、一日近くありました。自転車でアシュガバットをうろうろすることにしました。面白いですよ、この町。
というか、トルクメニスタンの大統領が面白いんです。どこにも、彼の像あるのです。そして政府が作った建物、公園（利用者なし）、広場などが圧倒的に多い。
3rd December
日本語要約：夜中1時の体温はまだ40．3度でした。朝4時半に時点で38．4度に下がって、8時にノーマルな36．7度でした。下痢はまだ大変。原因は不明です。アゼルバイジャンに着いたらお医者さんに相談しに行きます。夜6時のアシュガバット行きの列車に乗っています。
My temperature at 1am this morning was still 40.3 degrees. By 4:30am however, it had fallen to 38.4, and by 8am, it was a normal 36.7.
Had this happened a day later, I would have been in a tent in the middle of the desert on my way to the town Merv. Sweating like I did when coming down off that 40 degree fever, I would have been in serious, serious trouble has I been in a tent whose temperature would surely have been below zero.
I still have crazy diahorrea though. The food here in Turkmenistan is terrible, so even though I am very hungry, I don’t have an apetite. I ordered a pizza (pizza is my favourite food for when I have no apetite) at a fancy ish restaurant, and was served a pizza consisting of cheeze, mutton, onions, and of course, salt. Way too much salt, way too much mutton, and way too much onion in this country. They have pies of the same constituent here. They are terrible…
So at least all is well as far as the fever is concerned, so I was able to buy a ticket for the train bound for Ashgabat. Leaves at 6pm. Cost of ticket is 40,000 mannat (less than US$2). Gets to Ashgabat at around 8am tomorrow.
I get to the train station at 5:30pm, and am told that I can’t take my bike on the train, because there is no baggage car. No dramas however as there is another train at 7pm with a baggage car.
All checked in baggage gets checked in at a different building. It cost 20,000 mannat for the baggage processing fee, and I was asked to pay 50,000 mannat to the baggage handler because it was a heavy bike. What a joke. Not wanting to tick anyone off however, I paid all requested money, and all was well.
I am on a train bound for Ashgabat. It has really bad toilets.
Turkmenistan railways train toilet - not pretty (between Turkmenabad and Ashgabat, Turkmenistan) / トルクメニスタンの列車のトイレはひどい（トルクメナバッド・アシュガバット間の列車にて）
2nd December
朝起きて、体温を測ったらまだ38度でした。暖かいホテルの部屋にいるが、食べ物がない。食べないわけに行かないので、しょうがなくて近くのコンビニに買いだししに行かないと行けない。熱が38度で、マイナス5度の外にでるのはあまり最高な条件ではありません・・・
Oh great President Niyazov (Turkmenabad, Turkmenistan) / トルクメニスタンの大統領の像（トルクメニスタン、トルクメナバッド町）
買ったのはヨーグルト、チーズ、アイスクリーム。とにかく食べやすいものが必要でした。
昼頃に下痢が始まりました。ひどい下痢でした。結局水の状態になっていました。下痢止めはもうない。我慢するしかなかった。
午後4時半に体温は39．8度でした。夜8時に40．4度に上がりました。
Turkmenistan money - this is about US$10 (in the largest denomination notes) / トルクメニスタンのお金が安い！これが１０００円くらい
1st December
日本語要約：朝の気温は氷点下16度。国境を無事に越えたが、体が暖まらない。トルクメナバッド市に着いたら、体温が38度。状態はよくない。
I woke to -16 outside the tent. According to the thermometer on my watch, it was -1 inside the tent. Can two layers of nylon insulate up to 15 degrees? I have my suspisions about the inside tent reading.
Everything at this temperature is ten times as difficult. Undoing your fly to relieve yourself, pulling tent pegs out of the ground, stuffing a sleeping bag into its stuff sack…I didn’t even try to cook my porriage for breakfast. But that was more to do with the fact that the water in my bottles inside my tent was frozen.
I was packed up and waiting at the border gate by 7:30am, but had an excrutiating 1..5 hour wait to get into the customs and immigration building. By the end of the first hour, I had pulled my sleeping bag out and had wrapped this around me to keep warm. Even then I was very cold. I was just keen to get cycling to warm up.
The border crossing was straight forward. The only catch that was different from other borders was that I had to pay $12 (in US dollars) for a ride in a police car to Turkmenabad.
I’m sorry, can you repeat that? A ride in a police car to Turkmenabad?
Well, that is what the rule book says, but the sight of a fully loaded touring bicycle was enough to put them off, and I did not have to ride with the police to Turkmenabad. I did however still have to pay the $12. According to other cyclists I have spoken to, this is standard. No big deal. The immigration and customs officials were the most professional and well groomed of any officials I have met anywhere so far on this trip, so the whole process is all perfectly pleasant.
The immigration building is however open at both ends, which means that a cold breeze wafts through all the time. I was very cold by the time I had finished, and even the short 45 minute cycle to Farap did not warm me up. In fact I was colder.
I was quite throrougly not in a good way by the time I had arrived at Farap. I went to a small cafe and ordered permenyi (meat filled pasta), but couldn’t stand the sight of it let along the taste. The 750ml of weak hot tea I drank did not stop my shivering either. At this point I thought I may have mild hypothermia.
If there had been a hotel in Farap, I would have stayed there. There isn’t, so on to Turkmenabad it was.
What a ride. Nothing to eat, very cold, and legs that felt like lead. My body ached - back, pelvis, shoulders. I had to stop often to regain some form of strength. At one point I needed to pee. Standing up off the bike I felt as though I was floating, but feet were of lead.
Out of sheer neccessity and need for a warm bed, I made it to Turkmenabad, checked into one of the two open hotels, and promptly collapsed into bed. My body temperature at around 5pm was 38 degrees celcius.
permalink この記事についてコメントを書くNovember 30
Distance / 距離： 110.63km
Time / 時間： 6h 32m
Average speed / 平均速度： 16.9km/h
Distance to date / 今日までの積算距離： 415.73km
朝早く宿をでました。7時の時刻で、まだ氷点下8度でした。息でひげがすぐに凍って、しばらく鼻の先が痛かった。早く暖かくならないかと思いながら、道をお周りさんに聞きながら国境の方向へ進みました。
2時間も走っていないところで、ナーン（平らなパン）を焼くお店を見つけました。2枚をくださいと頼んだら、「ちょっと待っててください。できたての暖かいやつをあげるから」と言われて、オーブン（釜？）からとったばかりのパンをゲットできました。しかも「お金は要らないから、どうぞ」。ありがとうございます！
国境についたのは4時半ごろでした。3時ごろには氷点下3度にはなりましたが、それ以上に、一日昇りませんでした。4時半はすでにマイナス4度。
ウズベキスタン出国手続きはスムーズに行きました。5時にトルクメニスタン国境に到着。
実は、トルクメニスタンのビザは明日から始まりますが、ウズベキスタンに入国するときに一日早く入国することができましたので、トルクメニスタンももしかしたらできるかなと思って、国境の警備員にパスポートを見せました。
「よろしいでしょうか」と僕が聞きました。
だめでした。
「ビザは明日から始まりますので、だめです。明日にまた合いましょう。」と警備員が無表情に言いました。
しょうがなくて、ボーダーの近くの平らのところにテントを張りました。小さな焚火を起こしたら、ウズベキスタンの軍隊の人に怒られて、消されました・・・今夜は寒くなりそう・・・
