Baku Travel Blogs, Travelogues and Travel Journals

All of my possessions, which at one time were spread throughout the bedroom, the bathroom, the living room, the kitchen and the hallway, are now neatly tucked away in three suitcases.  They are waiting me for me to drag them down three flights of stairs, load them into a taxi and check them in with the airlines.  Then I am gone – soon to be merely a memory here.I am leaving the country I have called home for the past two years to briefly return to the place that was my childhood h…

I am a little confused if this candy should be entitled Nestle Chocolate for Men with Nuts or Nestle Chocolate with Nuts for Men.  You know that prepositional phrase position usually makes all of the difference in the world, but here no matter where you put it, it is still funny.  Nevertheless, Nestle has decided that marketing chocolate for men just wasn't enough, now we need to make sure either the chocolate or the men have some nuts.  Maybe having nuts is a requirement to bu…

Baku the CityBaku’s Hyder Ali Airport (everything is named after this dude and his son who is the present ruler) is situated about 45 minutes from the city.  I was picked up by a taxi arranged by my hosts and a taxi driver who spoke no English and had it not been for five words of Azeri I heard him speak, I could  have sworn that he was an interesting find for the Anthropologists of the world as the first driver who didn’t speak any language at all. The drive from the airpo…

Please, please, please, please, PLEASE, DO NOT tell me you are sorry to hear about he having this illness.  There is a difference between being disabled and living with a disability.I have Crohn's Disease.  There, I said it.  Do not worry it; I cannot give you Crohn's.  I have tried various ways to give this fun barrel of merriment to every jerk-wad I have met and every former girlfriend who has screwed me over.  I have tried to use the power of my mind to project the…

My friend Sarah recently gave me a sock puppet thingy as I travel alone a lot.  I do not know what exactly it is.  It has a blue tongue kind of like a blue tongue skink from Australian, it likes to drink vodka (actually too much vodka), and, unlike me, likes Hollywood blockbusters.  I have dubbed it Socko and I have discovered him to be a bit of jerk but oh well, better than traveling alone.

People I met here who contributed to, and improved my trip: Julia (Russia), Joe (Canada)   It wasn't surprising to be heading back to Baku once again, as we always seem to get pinned down in every Capital we visit. Whilst Baku had made a positive impression on me, Misha certainly hadn't, so we planned to make a smash and grab visit to collect our bags and get out of there as fast as possible. These plans had been thwarted though, as we had been held up in Qusar waiting for a lift to La…

The one thing that I can say about almost every international trip I have taken is that my health has not always been in top form.  My first trip to Asia, I came down with a deep lower respiratory infection.  I was practically downing a bottle of cough syrup before taking off to make sure that my coughing would not hinder me on boarding the plane and entering China.  The infection lasted the entire time I was in the Land of the Giant Panda (Chengdu).  During my second trip…

I awoke at 6am, which is not really a bad thing as long as you did not drink a little too much and go to bed at 3am.  I still had things that I needed to pack and I guess my brain was thinking about that and decided to wake me at that time even though my alarm was set for 7.  I stumbled around my apartment in a daze partially from a hangover, partially from only getting three hours of sleep and partially because I had a lot of little things that I had to decide to keep or give away.…

Here are some thoughts and a bunch of photos from my time in Baku, Azerbaijan.

Baku, Azerbaijan - 2008

Cardiff to Baku via Prague. Wales drew 1-1.

2007 was a great year. Set off from London in July in a Nissan Micra for Mongolia. Got there 35 days later, left the Micra in Mongolia for chairty and then had to try and find my way home. Went via Trans-sib to Moscow, had to get out contry asap due to visa. Failed - got detained. Got back 2 weeks late for work and 55 days after London. Completely eyeopening and rewarding experience, if not quite tiring. Lost my camera in Mongolia so lots of friends photos other than my phone :(

I know this is a shock for anyone who knows me, but I am planning something... a silk road trip. I don't have a time frame yet (next spring I hope) but looking for any feedback from anyone. Also would love to find a few places to stay and friendly faces along the way.

I'm competing in the Caucasian Challenge; a motor rally that goes from the Balkans to the Caucas Nations, and many places in between. I'm sponsored by virtualtourist.com!

Living in Europe for a few years and traveling around whenever I can.