Articles from this Category
11 October 2022
Above: Inside the Heydar Aliyev Cultural Centre. The glossy stairs down are a little freaky.. Travelling back to Baku Evim Otel had organised a car at 0800 to take me back to Baku as other options would involve a change in Ismaili and would leave equally early. I had breakfast before 0730 before dutifully waiting […]
10 October 2022
Getting from Sheki to Ismaili Today I go halfway back to Baku, overnighting at Lahich (travelling via Ismaili). After yesterday’s painfully slow transport experience, I was prepared to make life easier. After breakfast, at 0830, I ordered a Bolt car to take me to Sheki’s bus station rather than spend 30 mins walking. Why not? […]
9 October 2022
Quick look around Qax I had been afraid that I wouldn’t be able to fill today, my extra day in Sheki. I couldn’t have been more wrong as my simple trip to the next town of Qax (or Qakh), an hour away, turned into a whole day affair. After breakfast, I started my walk downhill […]
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 […]
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 […]