Overall I thought Baku was cool. In another 10 years it’ll be even cooler once they finish all the construction in the mid-town area. But, there is a lot of corruption in Baku and this kind of sticks out with the police and general government operation. Even the taxi drivers were worse than a lot of places I’ve been too and I’ve seen some creepy taxi drivers in my travels.
Here is a general overview of how my vacation went:
Day 1:
Drove 12 hours from Muganlo to Baku. These two places are about as far apart as Atlanta and Charleston, but it takes 12 hours due to the speed limits and corrupt police looking for anyone driving over it. For the 12 hours I figured out that we averaged 45mph. Yeah, it was a long trip. But the host-brother’s little 1-year-old boy was great for most of the trip and only had a few moments of screaming and crying. That was good. The borde
r crossing was uneventful so that was cool too. The only trouble I had was the guy stamping me out of Georgia because he wanted to know why I hadn’t left Georgia in a year. My response: “Beats me man, you’re right I should hurry.”
Once we got into Baku, we stopped off at one of the famous mosques before getting to my host-family’s apartment. There waiting on us were a bunch of the host-aunts and cousins who had prepared a meal and drinks. We sat around all night and ate and drank and I got to see some of the relatives that had visited us here and meet some new ones as well.
Drove 12 hours from Muganlo to Baku. These two places are about as far apart as Atlanta and Charleston, but it takes 12 hours due to the speed limits and corrupt police looking for anyone driving over it. For the 12 hours I figured out that we averaged 45mph. Yeah, it was a long trip. But the host-brother’s little 1-year-old boy was great for most of the trip and only had a few moments of screaming and crying. That was good. The borde
r crossing was uneventful so that was cool too. The only trouble I had was the guy stamping me out of Georgia because he wanted to know why I hadn’t left Georgia in a year. My response: “Beats me man, you’re right I should hurry.”Once we got into Baku, we stopped off at one of the famous mosques before getting to my host-family’s apartment. There waiting on us were a bunch of the host-aunts and cousins who had prepared a meal and drinks. We sat around all night and ate and drank and I got to see some of the relatives that had visited us here and meet some new ones as well.
Day 2:
Baku is hotter than the sun! So, me and the Aslan (host-brother) and one of our cousins went to the beach. The Caspian is cleaner than I’ve been told it was and the water was very clear. So, swimming was great and the beach was awesome. My host-cousin works for the life guards or Azeri coast guard, so we got to take a private boat tour of the harbor and even dove off in the middle of it to swim around in some of the really cold water. It was awesome! After we had a small lunch, we drove about 20 minutes over to another beach and went swimming there and spent the rest of the day lounging in the sand.
Baku is hotter than the sun! So, me and the Aslan (host-brother) and one of our cousins went to the beach. The Caspian is cleaner than I’ve been told it was and the water was very clear. So, swimming was great and the beach was awesome. My host-cousin works for the life guards or Azeri coast guard, so we got to take a private boat tour of the harbor and even dove off in the middle of it to swim around in some of the really cold water. It was awesome! After we had a small lunch, we drove about 20 minutes over to another beach and went swimming there and spent the rest of the day lounging in the sand.
Day 3:
Spent the day with Aslan and one of his friends from University walking
around the city center and taking in all the sites. Lots of fountains and shops. Other than that, not too much. That night the whole family went for a walk in the Bulvar Park. This is a park that runs the length of the city’s center right on the Caspian. Really cool, but a lot of walking.
Spent the day with Aslan and one of his friends from University walking
around the city center and taking in all the sites. Lots of fountains and shops. Other than that, not too much. That night the whole family went for a walk in the Bulvar Park. This is a park that runs the length of the city’s center right on the Caspian. Really cool, but a lot of walking.Day 4:
I slept in late, went to the Internet café and then took a shower. We spent the day at Aslan’s wife’s mother’s house sitting under some fruit trees and eating. That night we went back to walk the other half of the Bulvar Park.
I slept in late, went to the Internet café and then took a shower. We spent the day at Aslan’s wife’s mother’s house sitting under some fruit trees and eating. That night we went back to walk the other half of the Bulvar Park.
Day 5:
Not much happened. Hung out at the house because it was hotter than the sun outside. But, that night I met up with some Peace Corps volunteers from Azerbaijan and they showed me some of their favorite spots in Baku for nightlife. Really fun night and it was a nice break from the family.
Day 6:
After a taste of life in Baku without the family I decided to not go with them to visit more relatives and instead went
and toured old-town by myself. It was a really cool day spent exploring and just walking around. Aeries are really polite for the most part and that was refreshing since if you speak Russian in Georgia most people get snooty. In Baku they are more than happy to help you. Hey Georgia, get over yourselves! Anyway, around 6pm I got kinda tired so I decided to sit on a bench in the center and relax and read a book. After about 15 minutes though the PC volunteers that I had spent the previous night with walked by and invited me to hang out with them again. So, I did. Another fun night ensued.
Not much happened. Hung out at the house because it was hotter than the sun outside. But, that night I met up with some Peace Corps volunteers from Azerbaijan and they showed me some of their favorite spots in Baku for nightlife. Really fun night and it was a nice break from the family.
Day 6:
After a taste of life in Baku without the family I decided to not go with them to visit more relatives and instead went
and toured old-town by myself. It was a really cool day spent exploring and just walking around. Aeries are really polite for the most part and that was refreshing since if you speak Russian in Georgia most people get snooty. In Baku they are more than happy to help you. Hey Georgia, get over yourselves! Anyway, around 6pm I got kinda tired so I decided to sit on a bench in the center and relax and read a book. After about 15 minutes though the PC volunteers that I had spent the previous night with walked by and invited me to hang out with them again. So, I did. Another fun night ensued.Day 7:
World Cup Final night. Aslan, the host-cousins and I did nothing but sit around and play backgammon all day waiting on the HOT SUN to go down. Once it did we started getting ready for the Final. We showed up to the bar we were going to watch it at 30 minutes late, but no big deal. We were late because one of the friends was across town placing bets on the game. He lost his money after the regular time finished 0-0. Congrats to Spain by the way. I was pulling for the Netherlands, but oh well.
World Cup Final night. Aslan, the host-cousins and I did nothing but sit around and play backgammon all day waiting on the HOT SUN to go down. Once it did we started getting ready for the Final. We showed up to the bar we were going to watch it at 30 minutes late, but no big deal. We were late because one of the friends was across town placing bets on the game. He lost his money after the regular time finished 0-0. Congrats to Spain by the way. I was pulling for the Netherlands, but oh well.
Day 8:
Hangovers are best cured at the beach sitting at nice tables under umbrellas. So, that’s what we did. Too hot? Get in the water. Thirsty? Waiter! Another round please. Nice.
Hangovers are best cured at the beach sitting at nice tables under umbrellas. So, that’s what we did. Too hot? Get in the water. Thirsty? Waiter! Another round please. Nice.
Day 9 and 10:
Spent visiting more relatives. Nothing to report other than I must have about a .615 winning percentage in backgammon. Not too bad.
Spent visiting more relatives. Nothing to report other than I must have about a .615 winning percentage in backgammon. Not too bad.
And on the 11th day I boarded a bus and came back to Georgia. My host-brother was staying for another 2 weeks and I wasn’t going to burn up all my vacation time melting in the Baku sun and playing backgammon while drinking scalding hot tea. The bus ride back was actually a lot nicer than the private car because they don’t have to worry about cops. Only 7-hours for the trip back and no kids.
So that was Baku. I recommend it. I think you could cover all you wanted to see in about 3 or 4 days though. It was nice to get out of Georgia and it was cool to hang out with Aslan away from the family, but this next vacation will be a lot better. Starting on the 8th I’m going to The Ukraine with a friend of mine here and we plan on having a little more fun. Hopefully it won’t take me two weeks after that vacation to sit down and tell you about it. I probably could have done a better job on this one, but the vacation was a little too hot, a little too long and a little too boring… eh.
Peace!
Go Braves!
Go Braves!
2 comments:
so, I can check Baku off of my bucket list,huh? Glad you got a break--sounds like it was an experience for sure. Enjoyed the post--have a safe trip to the Ukraine. Love you!
Sounds like a not bad trip. How much was the visa over there?
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