Author archive
8 October 2022
Khan’s Palace Without the alarm, I woke at 0745, suggesting that I’m somewhat on local time now. I did wake up maybe around 0300 once but continued sleeping very well, obviously! A breakfast of egg, bread, jam and cheeses was served in the garden at 0800. My old guidebook suggests that the Khan’s Palace opened […]
7 October 2022
Above: My overpriced lunch. Today I move on to Sheki in the north-west of the country. I left my Baku hotel before 0800, storing my main bag with them, and found a quiet street where I could order a Bolt car to the bus station. The ride was too cheap for the 25 min ride […]
6 October 2022
Today I did an excursion to the highlands at Khinalug (spelled Xinaliq in Azeri language). There were five customers including myself, plus the guide and the driver. Leaving at 0900, we saw the rush hour traffic coming into Baku and were pleased that we weren’t travelling in that direction. As we headed into the countryside, […]
5 October 2022
Random learnings The sights in the area surrounding Baku are a little hard to get to by public transport. Rather than hire a taxi, it’s actually more economical to book a day tour. I found one online that was cheaper than the prices quoted locally. But prices pasted on the door of the tour company […]
5 October 2022
The Boulevard again I slept well from 2030 last night to 0530. I took it easy and didn’t head out till 0800 because sights here don’t open till around 1000. I had planned on walking to the Flame Towers but did random walks down to the waterfront instead when I realised I had missed a […]
3 October 2022
Onwards to Baku on standby I dozed for about 5h on the flight from Kuala Lumpur aided by a sleeping pill. We landed in Istanbul at 0410, 20 mins earlier than our scheduled time. I have a scheduled 2h45 connection here in Istanbul, to await my standby flight to Baku. Walking past immigration I noticed […]
2 October 2022
Firm travel to Kuala Lumpur The Kuching Marathon started at 0100 this morning and goes until well after daylight for the stragglers. I felt sorry for the participants as it rained heavily through the night. Afraid of road closures, I set off for the airport at 0745. With no hassles on the road I got […]
1 October 2022
Tomorrow I will attempt to fly from Kuching to Baku in Azerbaijan. I start with a confirmed 1045 Malaysia Airlines flight to Kuala Lumpur booked a long time ago partially using points that were expiring. All other arrangements were built around this but plans took multiple turns as most options for the remainder of the […]
26 September 2022
Unexpected dental work I had eleven nights in hometown Kuching, not all of which was pleasant. I had fewer catch-up with friends than normal but more family get-togethers because my nephew Julian (and wife) were visiting from Los Angeles. And there’s also an early birthday dinner with family for my brother’s 60th. The bad part […]
21 September 2022
Onboard the flight After take-off from Melbourne, turbulence delayed the snack/supper service which consisted of a chicken tandoori roti wrap or a vegetarian pie. I took half a sleeping pill and had trouble dozing even though the seat recline was excellent. I must have fallen asleep though because I felt rudely awakened by the breakfast […]