My Celebrity Look-Alikes

Hmm...

The Bars Aren't Temples...

So Farid didn't know what a mullet was, and I explained it to him the other day, and pointed him to Mullet's Galore. He said that actually this hairstyle is now becoming quite trendy here and in Europe as well...AWESOME.

In any case Saturday night Farid and I went to a local nightclub where I spotted the above twinnly-dressed techno-mullets. The dancing was pretty awesome; I told Farid the people-watching was everything I could have hoped for and more. Eventually we went out on the dance floor and showed everyone how it is done ;-).

The weekend was work-filled mostly, and it is looking now with my meeting schedule like I will need to put off real sight-seeing until my next trip back.

One Night in Baku

Last night Farid and I met up with his friend Togrul at a small bar/nightclub in central Baku. It was the first time going out since I've been here and it was night to have a drink or two and relax. The club itself was pretty cool, with chandeliers and lasers and the like (it was actually designed by Togrul), though too dark to get a good picture. They had a singer there that was actually pretty good. She was singing modern techno-type songs like Kylie and had a backup track going. At first I thought it was Karaoke but that turned out not to be the case. People-watching was pretty good. I spotted this pictured gem (Azeri-Mullet). The key interesting point about this mullet was that it was very smooth on top. Otherwise, it was pretty surreal as it got a little later into the night as all the music was Western hip-hop stuff like Snoop Dogg, 50 cent, etc. I had my first tasted of Russian vodka (Ruskiye Standard or something) and also Turkish beer (a pilsner which was pretty good). I also, for the first time, heard about Bluetooth-messaging. Essentially, if you are sitting in a club or something, you turn on your Bluetooth and you can send pictures and messages to other bluetooth phones. Guys also try to get dates this way. Pretty funny...people have the strangest bluetooth names. I suspect this doesn't happen in the US because cell providers "lock" this feature of phones, but here in AZ it is quite common I guess.

Meetings Galore

The past few days have been a whirlwind of meetings. For three days, there was the Alcatel (Azerbaijan Computer and Telecom) conference, then meetings with various people, and preparing for those meetings. And of course US work in the evening hours.

I'm looking forward to taking some time off saturday to see some of Azerbaijan!

First Impressions of Baku (from 10/1/06)

Driving from Farid's summer home to the city center of Baku, I was first struck by the number of trees lining the road. I had somewhat expected something similar to Cairo in terms of vegetation, and was surprised to see how green everything was. Many of the trees looked recent, as in the past 5 to 10 years, which gave my entrance to the city a definite feeling of going to somewhere new and growing.

Another surprise was the lack of covered women. Farid explained that Baku is mostly 'fake Muslims'. The women aren't covered and other traditions ignored (such as Ramadan).

Baku is less crazy than Cairo in terms of driving, but drivers are still pretty aggressive. On our way in we witnessed a high-speed police chase, which strangely ended in the driver and the cop knowing each other and laughing at the side of the road.

As Farid explained, the country is very wealthy from oil. All the cops drive BMWs and outward displays of wealth are quite common. As we drove in, we saw all type of nice car, including a Hummer H2.

Farid and I walked around for a bit, and he's getting a haircut now in anticipation of our meetings this week (though he insists it's for the girls). As I don't have data service on my phone yet, this post like the two before it will probably be delayed.

Summer Home (from 10/1/06)

I woke up after what seemed like minutes, but was in fact hours, at Farid's family summer home. I felt a million times better than last night, and although it was 3pm it seemed like it was morning. The rooster somewhere in the neighborhood that crowed every half hour didn't help to shatter that jetlag-induced fantasy.

Downstairs, Farid's mom (an awesome host) had a spread waiting. Just like my late night (actually early morning) meal last night, there were a million good things to choose from.

I told Farid over breakfast that he should talk to me in Russian first and then in English if I don't understand. Hopefully that will help revive the Russian I learned in high school but haven't spoken in 10 years.

The home itself was awesome...nice garden, great interior. And a nice view of the Caspian. Farid's dad actually designed much of the architecture which was pretty cool.

Zero 7 (from 9/30/06)

Meeting up with people in Instanbul during my 12h layover didn't happen. So instead I rented a hotel room for the day and worked and napped.

The airport hotel was pretty nice for the price ($80), and I felt much better after taking a shower. The little touches were nice, too, such as when I asked for an iron and ironing board to the room, the housekeeping person actually ironed my clothes!

After taking a 4h nap and getting some work done, I walked around the airport for a bit. My first impression after landing was that the airport was DEAD. I soon discovered, though, that the gate areas appear dead bcause they are locked off except for about 1h before boarding. The actual main terminal area was pretty busy, and hd loads of high-end shops. My favorite item on display was Turkish Delights. I will definitely get some on my way back.

Boarding to go to Baku was the fastest boarding I'd ever done. No rows, etc. Just everyone up and bording quickly. As I was trying to acclimate myself to Rusiian by listening to discussions around me, I noticed something else: they were playing a Zero 7 song off the Simple Things album over the airplane's sound system.

In any case, I'm mid-flight as I write this. More to come after I land!

Turkish Coffee (dated 9/30/06)

When in Turkey...
(Starbucks in Istanbul's airport)