Blogs from Baku, Azerbaijan, Asia

So I guess its been about 50 days since I have set foot in Azerbaijan, and this means its time for another blog update. The last month or so has been pretty damn crazy. A massive list of random things have occurred and also I learnt a hell of a lot more about surviving in Azerbaijan. Guess we can start with what happened around the 20th of last month. So I managed to get my self food poisoning, which was honestly the closest I have come to wanting to die on the spot. Thanks to the dam Turkish restaurant nearby I ended up spending 2 days alternating between lying in bed trying not to die and throwing up. Not a fun experience but at least Im a LOT more careful about what I eat now days. ... read more

k so its been a pretty busy week for me. Started work, as well as finding my way around here. Ive learnt a few new things and also finally met Tatiana the MCP of AIESEC Azerbaijan and also one of my flat mates. I also learnt how to find a few new places and walk around on my own and generally start building the foundations of living here. Ive also found my arch enemy here. Taxi Drivers. So I guess we can start with work since its probably the central feature of my life. I work as a Study Abroad Manager which is a fancy name for someone that helps students going overseas to study with their university and visa applications. I now know more than I ever wanted to about Germany University and Visa processes. ... read more

So after spending a horrible 7 hours in Dubai Airport I finally made it to Baku. Thankfully I was able to nap on the plane and having a burger made me feel less sick and tired upon landing. The immigration process was suprisngly smooth, I almost laughed when the officer asked me if I spoke English. One of those, dude its the only language i speak moments. Getting my bags through was also scarily easy, they only x rayed my small bag and then just let me through. So I got picked up by Piri, the MCVPTM here and he was nice enough to buy me a bottle of water to help out a very dehydrated me. I think after Malaysia, the heat wasnt as bad and considering itts like 30 + degrees here, im suprised ... read more

Time for a trip slightly more off the beaten track, mainly because I had airmiles to use :) Transport The amusing start to my visit to Azerbaijan starts on the airport tarmac. Usually the pilot is told a gate number then follows the numbering system of the airport lanes and turnings. In this airport, those signs do not exist so a small Lada turns up with large yellow lighting on its roof, flashing FOLLOW ME. It then drives around the airport twice as we follow in the plane. Interesting. Turns out that the majority of people drive Ladas. On the surface you'd think that Baku has a structured traffic system. The roads are paved, multi lane motorways in places, street lighting lines the roads, lanes are clearly marked and there are numerous road signs. This does ... read more

Unser Aufenthalt in Baku beginnen wir mit einem Spatziergang der Strandpromenade entlang (mit Gepäck, direkt von der Fähre kommend). Wir sind überrascht wie modern und westlich sich die Stadt hier präsentiert. Nach den vielen Städten, die einen klaren sowjetischen Schriftzug tragen, fühlen wir uns in Baku wie „zurück in Europa“, irgendwo in einer Stadt am Mittelmeer. Die vielen modernen, glas- und stahlbetonten Gebäude machen Baku westlich, modern und eben europäisch. Aus einigen Gesprächen der folgenden Tage lernen wir, dass dies noch nicht lange der Fall ist und wir Zeugen dieser Transformation sind. Ebenfalls unser Hotel knapp ausserhalb der Stadtmauern am Fontänenplatz ist wieder „wie zuhause“. Zuvorkommender Service, lächelnde Mitarbeiter an der Rezeption die Englisch können. Im Zimmer funktioniert alles (auch die Sanitäranlagen) und ist modern. Statt Kopftuc... read more

After another day with the family in the dacha, and we flew to Moscow for a change in planes for Baku, Azerbaijan.... a new chapter in our saga. Four days of exploration in an amazing part of the Caucuses, hosts and friends who dined us out of sight, wined us profoundly, showed us amazing cultural and physical places and welcomed us to their families, homes and laboratories. Baku is an oil rich beautiful city....we stayed in a small modern hotel in the middle of the walled Old City 12th century with its mosques, castles, shrines, museums and sense of history....reminded us of the Old City Jerusalem. Our last day there was Independence Date (from USSR in 1991)...we left Baku for Moscow and then home, with a display of fireworks to wish us well....quite a finish for ... read more

And so the time has come for us to say goodbye to Baku. It's been fun but it's time to move on. We've spent the last week saying goodbye to friends, colleagues and students, and we've also made new friends which is so sad as we were about to leave! It's been hectic, social and very enjoyable. We thought we should try to get into the old city one more time as it's an area of Baku we haven't really spent any time exploring. It's a nice area to wander around and we just hope that it's beautification and modernisation doesn't go too far. We even managed to get in to see Samir, a carpet seller friend of a friend, who treated us to some refreshing tea and was perfectly hospitable. He didn't even try to ... read more