Blogs from Azerbaijan, Asia

1. Shoe gazing is when people points their camera down towards their feet and snaps photos for several reasons such as self-portraiture paired with anonymity, style and a sense of place. 2. Yes I have participated in shoe gazing. I participated in this when I got my first pair of 3's (jordans). They were $175 and I got them the day they were released from footlocker. I pointed my camera at my feet and took a photo with the shoes on for memories and also for Facebook and Twitter. The shoe gazing was caused because the Jordans became a part of my new style and needed to be remembered. I do that for every pair of jordans I get now. 3. I do believe there are certain attributes that are considered "the beautiful norm". Teenage girls ... read more

Seki is in the countryside, 6 hours minibus ride from Baku. Not remote like Laza, the town has an old and new section and is surrounded by hills. Although even in the villages the men's fashion remains skinny jeans and thin striped shirts. They seem to look better than Western European men in skinny jeans, I think they are built correctly for the look. Older men wear black flat caps. I have to resort to much persuasion to get to Seki in a day from Laza. The big 2pm bus from Baku is full and there are many people waiting to buy tickets for the 3pm and it's only just gone 1. A minibus is almost full and has a space for me but not with luggage. I decide to wait around anyway and finally the ... 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

China is.. We arrived at Xi'an train station after a pretty horrific train journey sat in an overcrowded carriage on a hard seat for the whole night. We had arranged for our hostel to pick us up but when we emerged from the station there was no one to be found. We waited for a bit and then got in a taxi after several dismissive no's from drivers and made our way to the hostel where upon we were told the pick up guy was sick... Thanks for the notice guys!  We were both tired but I forced myself to stay awake and headed into town to sort out our train tickets out of Xi'an whilst Rhian slept. This turned out to be the most uncomfortable thing I've had to do on the whole trip! I ... read more

Früh am Morgen liessen wir uns zur offiziellen Haltestelle der Busse nach Stepanakert bringen. Unser Koffer wurde zwischen verschiedensten Waren auf dem Dach platziert. In einem vollgepferchten Bus (improvisierte Bretter sorgten für zusätzliche Sitzplätze im Gang) gings los nach Karabach. Wir erreichten Stepanakert nach einer ca 5 stündigen Fahrt bei schlechtem Wetter und einer kurzen „Grenzkontrolle“ (das Visum hatten wir uns bereits vor einigen Tagen organisiert). Die offizielle Hauptstadt der Republik Nagorno Karabakh scheint eine saubere Provinzstadt zu sein, wären nicht die offiziellen, glamourös renovierten Gebäude der Regierung und viele teure Autos mit getönten Scheiben. Der Name Nagorno Karabach setzt sich übrigens aus dem russischen Wort "bergig" und dem aserischen Wort Karabach für "schwarzer Garten" zusammen. Die Armenier selbst nennen Karabach eigentlich Arz... read more