Articles from this Category
14 October 2022
Taking on board the recommendation from yesterday’s walking tour that Tram 2 is one of the most beautiful tram lines in the world, I headed out around 0900 to enjoy the sights from it. I headed south first to the final station, where the city was quite modern and the roads wide and nearly like […]
13 October 2022
Leaving Baku Despite a full dinner, I was hungry and tired after midnight. I had a cheeseburger and expensive coffee from McDonald’s. Fortunately, time passed quickly and soon the check-in counters opened at 0135 for my 0435 flight to Budapest. Baku airport had turned busy since I arrived, with many flights leaving in the 0300-0400 […]
12 October 2022
Lazy start My priority for the day was to get my laundry done before flying out at 0435 tomorrow morning. My hotel offers laundry through its posher sister-hotel next door and quoted AZN3 per shirt. No way! I looked online for laundromats and it would have cost AZN20 total to wash and dry. Fortunately, I […]
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 […]