Imagine Gordon Brown renaming Birmingham as Brownsville. Rather self-aggrandising, perhaps? Not for former Turkmen premier, and serial big head, Turkmenbashy the Great, who though that Krasvodosk would be better off as.....Turkmenbashy.

Turkmenbashy is on the east coast of the Caspian, and we spent a very pleasant coupld of days exploring the region, which, by all accounts, is pretty back-of-beyond, even by Turkmen standards.

The Caspian itself is officially ball-breakingly cold. But it's a fine place to sup back a well-earned Berk beer after a hard day of swimming and sun-bathing. Turkmenistan's leaders have decided that Turkmenbashy might well be the new Dubai, a magnet for international tourists looking to enjoy the sun and the sea. Hence a multi-million pound construction programme of luxury hotels, many of which are magnificent. And all of which are empty. The problem being that Turkmenbashy's summer is only 2 months, not 12 months like Dubai. Damn!

A few hours drive inland is Yangykala Canyon, which is tucked away in an isolated spot in the desert. If geology is your thing, this this little badger is is going to tick your boxes. Despite being in the middle of the desert, it was once, millions of years ago, a sea bed, and still has fossils to prove it. Its bizarre shapes and colours are testament to its long history of tectonic, erosive and weathering forces, that have combined to create a spectacular camping spot, 50 miles from the nearest habitation.