Greetings of Whole Lada Love!

While driving around Azerbaijan, I saw countless old Ladas (I stopped counting when I got to about 2 million). If you have never been to Eastern Europe, you might not know the Lada, a car that was manufactured in the USSR. The original Lada Classic was -and to some extent still is- all over the former Soviet countries, including Azerbaijan.

It was fairly common for me to see Ladas as I toured the country, but in the southern part of Azerbaijan I noticed they were magnitudes more plentiful than anywhere I’ve ever been. Not sure why. Something caused me to take a photo of one, then another and soon enough, there were enough Ladas to fill this gallery:

Photos:  https://balloonbill.smugmug.com/Other/Whole-Lada-Love

Every time I see a Lada, it reminds me of this video, which never fails to make me laugh:   https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PmXAsfeQ_4E

As a kid, I never saw a Lada, but I did grow up with Whole Lotta Love! The Lada needs a lotta love, too, to keep going: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fIQMktyP90s

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Today, by arriving in Ulaanbaatar, my driver and I completed the 3rd of three consecutive days of driving 8 hours each day across the magnificent Mongolian landscape. Arrangements have just been made for me to leave tomorrow and go north for yet another 8 hours, back into Russia, to Ulan-Ude. Lake Baikal is nearby, so with any luck I will be out on the ice again soon enough. It was a good idea to come this way and get to experience going overland across the country.

Stay warm and just be glad neither a lotta Ladas nor the Mongol Horde are headed your way!

Bill