We’d forgotten what chilly feels like!

Walking through the streets of Baku to find a restaurant was such a contrast to India. Crisp, cool air with a clear evening sky is not something we’ve seen for months.

The 2am get-up worked ok, and our driver was bang on time to take us to the airport.

We did manage to rack up 5 reasons never to fly Gulf Air again:

1. They had some problem with their booking system and it had lost our seat reservations and it took quite a bit of persuading before they could put us so we were sitting together

2. The in flight entertainment system had the Hollywood movies blocked. Just the Hollywood ones, French, German, Hindi, Arabic were all fine. We asked and the flight crew had no idea why - they just said all Gulf Air flights in India were the same and they hadn’t had any explanation

3. We ordered vegetarian meals, but somehow they had these on the list for Sarina and I, but not for Tiger

4. The plane was supposed to be some super-duper new Airbus with seats that reclined way back etc. It wasn’t, it was an old A320.

5. Gulf Air is the national carrier of Bahrain and the airport is not the best. They are building a new one, but in the meantime, it’s a tired old shed. (Oh, and Bahrain has a very questionable human rights record including a systematic approach to removing opposition in the country.)

Still, the staff were really nice and none of this was a big problem for us. They did manage to achieve the important parts correctly - they transported us and our bicycles safely from Delhi to Baku via Bahrain, on time, so we can be grateful for that.

Now it’s time to get the puffa jackets out and prepare to explore Baku - with the added excitement that we’re here at the same time as the Formula One Grand Prix. Fun.