I has taken me nearly 4 years to migrate East from Japan to Azerbaijan. However, last weekend I could not resist the call of the wild east. Taunting me like some dual-toned singing, Tibetan yak-milking snow monkey. I just couldn't fight it, so I hopped on a bus going East.Well, ok, it wasn't that far east. One Sunday, sitting bored in my living room, I decided to meet
up with a few friends and do a bit of a day trip. Destination? Pirallahi Island (formerly Artyom Island). Located at the far Eastern tip of the Absheron Peninsula, Pirallahi is the furthest East you can drive in Azerbaijan without ending up in the Caspian. It is said that this was the location of the first Azerbaijani oil exploration nearly 200 years ago. And in the 1930's became the forefront of off shore oil drilling. So the question was, what does 100+ years of oil production do to a place?The islands' only settlement is the village of the same name. The
disproportionately Russian village has little to nothing to offer, a dried up park, a few high-rises, the occasional monument and a bus "station". The people were generally friendly if not super curious to why tourists would be coming here. Some of them even spoke a bit of English. Although I'm not sure if shouting "Playstation" from across the road would qualify as language proficiency. There were a few shops, but i didn't see any official looking "tea-houses". Just a bunch of old men playing nards. But, even so, the village makes for a base to explore the 40 km2 island.I had heard conflicting reports about Artyom. One was that there were some decent beaches. I don't like beaches. The other was that there was all kinds of
destruction and carnage and post-apocalyptic scenery. That i like. So after being dropped off at the bus station, i went into search mode. It's easy finding the coast, after all it a 4 km wide island. At first it was a little disappointing. There was neither tropical paradise nor hell on Earth. But, as you get closer and closer to the northern tip of the island things get worse and worse (or better and better depending on your perspective). During oil production the island was divided into two distinct zones. The south was residential and the north 
was industrial. This become SUPER obvious. 100+ years of black gold extraction has left it's permanent mark. Although the water didn't seem as polluted as i though i might be, the remnants of equipment, machinery and, i swear, part of the Mir Space Station lie strewn across the beach and into the sea. Do be careful when frolicking through the debris though as i was nearly attacked by a half-dog, half-dinosaur beast. The owners and caretakers of the northern tip, were kind enough to drive me the 2+ km back into town. Although i wasn't sure if they were more concerned for my near death experience or FrankenPuppys emotional state.All in all, Pirallahi/Artyom island will never really be on the top of
any tourism Azerbaijan brochure. But with time to kill in Baku, it could make for an intrerestingly alternative day trip. The 2-hour bus journey (#50) departs has semi-frequent departures from Ulduz metro station in Baku. If you're looking for comfort, the 45-minute, 10+ Manat taxi leaves from the same place. Either will drop you off at the bus station in Artyom, which is at the north end of town. So with your tetnus shot up-to-date and a good pair of rubber gloves, why not get off the beaten track and head to Artyom?