Three months later....
John went off to see about his new job today. To do so he had to fly to Baku since his new job will be there, and not here. But I think this is the job he really wanted and so when it sort of became obvious he was going to get it, he stopped looking for something around here. Of course, we were in Canada for the past 3 weeks, so looking around here, from there, isn't as easy as it sounds....internet and cell phones, notwithstanding. One thing for sure, this job will be head and shoulders above the last job which SUCKED....big time. He decided he had to get out of there about 4 months into it, and by Christmas he had made up his mind he was done. Completely done happened at the beginning of April but luckily we could stay here in the apartment and get paid for it until the end of July, so we had some time....which really flies quicker than you'd like when you're looking for a job and you want the pay checks to keep coming. My first choice would have been to stay in Dubai, but.....
What do I think about going back to Baku? Well.....I hear it has changed quite a bit. There are a lot of malls and many more restaurants. Check out the new Park Bulvar Mall along the boardwalk downtown.
I hear that the Chinese restaurant that we used to frequent is now a Cinnabon - Schlotzky's deli combo, and that Costa Coffee is coming soon. I am a Costa Coffee regular, here, in Dubai. This time around we are going to live in an apartment in the city center, so I can go out and wander on my own. Go to the market and do things without having to drive or get a driver. Though, I am really anxious to try out one of these brand spanking new purple London cabs.
Baku was an interesting place the last time around....in some respects much more interesting than Dubai. But why should the fact that there is now this in Baku be interesting as well....Are those Christmas decorations and KFC? Is the Colonel being taken for Santa Claus?
John is going to drive this time, so there will be no "Ali" to smooth the way for so many things...but he says I can have a driver if I want. Guess that's something I'll decide once I get there.
On Sunday, I have to rely on a Dubai Taxi driver to find the Azerbaijan consulate so I can apply for my visit visa. The whole system is changed, now, and I have to apply for the visa before I leave the U.A.E. instead of getting it at the Baku airport on arrival. As soon as it is approved, I'm going over to meet John and we'll look for a place to live. I expect this will be a lot easier this time since we know the place, and where to look before we even get started. I think I'll stay for 2 weeks since there ain't nuthin' shakin' 'round here these days. It's also as hot as Hades right now!
While I'm waiting I suppose I could be productive and clean out the closets and wardrobes...but seriously, how bad can it be after only 9 months? I think I'll concentrate on eliminating shoes this time. I bought way too many pairs of flip flops when I was in Canada last month.....flip flops are year 'round Dubai wear and a weakness. I am going to have to make room for some regular shoes. I'm a little light on the regular shoes these days.....and long pants. And I am not sure about winter coats...somewhere along the way I lost my favorite one. I need a leather jacket. Baku is cold and windy for part of the year. Okay....what I need to do is organize....find the winter clothes and sort out everything by season. AND then...when all of that is done. I can figure out how many wardrobes I need to buy from Ikea before we leave...since I've never seen a closet in a bedroom in Baku.
I've done some looking online at apartments, and every last one of them comes furnished.....right down to the toasters and dishes. Should be interesting fitting in what we have with what's there. With any luck I can get the landlord to remove the things we don't want or need. We tried that here and it didn't work out so well. Our Russian landlord just doesn't answer his phone in a hurry, and when he does, he tells you that the fridge not working in the apartment is your problem not his. HAHA!! (John managed to repair it himself...but we had made a pact that if he wasn't able to do so, we would go buy a new fridge, and take it with us, before we spent one Dirham fixing the landlord's.) Mr. Zakir....our Azerbaijani landlord was way more accommodating than this guy....maybe they think refrigerators aren't all that important in Moscow...and he's forgotten that this apartment is not exactly in Russia.
Had we stayed here we were going to be moving anyway, so I suppose the getting out of one place, and into another isn't going to be all that different. And like I said, we haven't had a lot of time to make a big mess of our stuff....should be easier this time. I'm curious to see Baku again. Honestly, it was a place I never thought I would be back to once we left. I wonder how many kids Ali has now. I wonder if I will be able to buy decent cuts of meat in the supermarket or if I will have to import it again.
One thing I know now, that I didn't know last time, is that a direct round trip flight from Baku to Dubai is less than $300. I see shopping weekends in my future. Must keep the account at NBAD open.....just in case this line-up gets old in a few months....
***Sees Debenhams and TWIRLS!!***
John went off to see about his new job today. To do so he had to fly to Baku since his new job will be there, and not here. But I think this is the job he really wanted and so when it sort of became obvious he was going to get it, he stopped looking for something around here. Of course, we were in Canada for the past 3 weeks, so looking around here, from there, isn't as easy as it sounds....internet and cell phones, notwithstanding. One thing for sure, this job will be head and shoulders above the last job which SUCKED....big time. He decided he had to get out of there about 4 months into it, and by Christmas he had made up his mind he was done. Completely done happened at the beginning of April but luckily we could stay here in the apartment and get paid for it until the end of July, so we had some time....which really flies quicker than you'd like when you're looking for a job and you want the pay checks to keep coming. My first choice would have been to stay in Dubai, but.....
What do I think about going back to Baku? Well.....I hear it has changed quite a bit. There are a lot of malls and many more restaurants. Check out the new Park Bulvar Mall along the boardwalk downtown.
I hear that the Chinese restaurant that we used to frequent is now a Cinnabon - Schlotzky's deli combo, and that Costa Coffee is coming soon. I am a Costa Coffee regular, here, in Dubai. This time around we are going to live in an apartment in the city center, so I can go out and wander on my own. Go to the market and do things without having to drive or get a driver. Though, I am really anxious to try out one of these brand spanking new purple London cabs.
Baku was an interesting place the last time around....in some respects much more interesting than Dubai. But why should the fact that there is now this in Baku be interesting as well....Are those Christmas decorations and KFC? Is the Colonel being taken for Santa Claus?
John is going to drive this time, so there will be no "Ali" to smooth the way for so many things...but he says I can have a driver if I want. Guess that's something I'll decide once I get there.
On Sunday, I have to rely on a Dubai Taxi driver to find the Azerbaijan consulate so I can apply for my visit visa. The whole system is changed, now, and I have to apply for the visa before I leave the U.A.E. instead of getting it at the Baku airport on arrival. As soon as it is approved, I'm going over to meet John and we'll look for a place to live. I expect this will be a lot easier this time since we know the place, and where to look before we even get started. I think I'll stay for 2 weeks since there ain't nuthin' shakin' 'round here these days. It's also as hot as Hades right now!
While I'm waiting I suppose I could be productive and clean out the closets and wardrobes...but seriously, how bad can it be after only 9 months? I think I'll concentrate on eliminating shoes this time. I bought way too many pairs of flip flops when I was in Canada last month.....flip flops are year 'round Dubai wear and a weakness. I am going to have to make room for some regular shoes. I'm a little light on the regular shoes these days.....and long pants. And I am not sure about winter coats...somewhere along the way I lost my favorite one. I need a leather jacket. Baku is cold and windy for part of the year. Okay....what I need to do is organize....find the winter clothes and sort out everything by season. AND then...when all of that is done. I can figure out how many wardrobes I need to buy from Ikea before we leave...since I've never seen a closet in a bedroom in Baku.
I've done some looking online at apartments, and every last one of them comes furnished.....right down to the toasters and dishes. Should be interesting fitting in what we have with what's there. With any luck I can get the landlord to remove the things we don't want or need. We tried that here and it didn't work out so well. Our Russian landlord just doesn't answer his phone in a hurry, and when he does, he tells you that the fridge not working in the apartment is your problem not his. HAHA!! (John managed to repair it himself...but we had made a pact that if he wasn't able to do so, we would go buy a new fridge, and take it with us, before we spent one Dirham fixing the landlord's.) Mr. Zakir....our Azerbaijani landlord was way more accommodating than this guy....maybe they think refrigerators aren't all that important in Moscow...and he's forgotten that this apartment is not exactly in Russia.
Had we stayed here we were going to be moving anyway, so I suppose the getting out of one place, and into another isn't going to be all that different. And like I said, we haven't had a lot of time to make a big mess of our stuff....should be easier this time. I'm curious to see Baku again. Honestly, it was a place I never thought I would be back to once we left. I wonder how many kids Ali has now. I wonder if I will be able to buy decent cuts of meat in the supermarket or if I will have to import it again.
One thing I know now, that I didn't know last time, is that a direct round trip flight from Baku to Dubai is less than $300. I see shopping weekends in my future. Must keep the account at NBAD open.....just in case this line-up gets old in a few months....
***Sees Debenhams and TWIRLS!!***
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