Rygsækrejsen 2015-2016: Hello Turkmenistan

A good long night's sleep. The ferry had gone nowhere during the night. Still anchored but now it was easier to see the coastline and just how close we actually were to the port. 30 maybe 40 minutes sailing max.

We were served breakfast and lunch before we started moving and getting into port. We got off the ferry kind of quickly – if quickly is a word to be used for this ferry trip – and we could go to customs. This bit could easily take 6 hours we were warned. All luggage would probably be searched and the whole truck including tents had to be inspected.

Leaving ship included waiting on the car deck with all the trucks. When our truck made it off the ferry, we were told to walk behind it. Reaching terra firma we were told to get on the truck. Then it did a 360 turn and the driver was told to wait. A few more trucks getting off the ferry and then our driver was told to follow one of the other trucks to the customs area. Then the waiting could start.

When we got to customs we met our guide Slava who'll be with us all the time in Turkmenistan. He seems really nice and speaks good English. With his help we understood the custom procedure and how to fill out the forms about our luggage and the money we're carrying.

After an hour or two where they looked at our passports they finally started to take luggage through x-ray. 2 persons at a time. David was the first to go and he got the honour of showing all his belongings and explaining medications and so on. The next handful of people were searched a bit, but less and less and when it was my turn and I had opened up my bags a guy turned up and apparently said something about it taking too long or let the tourists through. And that was the end of looking through our bags. Still one joker though. Aziza our truck had not been checked by customs yet. 3 gyus went in and somehow they just stayed there for 2 minutes and then they left and we were good to go.

Oh, and then, after filling in forms, stamping of visas, x-ray of our luggage, unpacking in front of the custom officers we were guided to a waiting area however we just had to go to one more office to show our passports and have our names ticked off on yet another list. This time by a very friendly officer who shook hands with us and welcomed us to Turkmenistan. First really friendly person we met in the country.

53 hours! From leaving our hotel in Baku until we could actually enter Turkmenistan. We're not breaking any records for being the group with the slowest crossing but we definitely didn't do it fast either.

Normally people are quite hungry after the ferry so we were taken to a restaurant but since we had been fed on the ferry people just ordered a little. And then off to our hotel to get a shower. A very nice hotel, prices are lower than in Baku.