Excelsior Hotel Baku
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Travel Blogs from Baku
Baku
Just got out of the airplane, first thing I notice is the strong smell of oil and gas. But I think to myself, must be the typical airport smell. The VIP bus, the company organized, is already waiting for me. I'm getting accompanied by one customs agent to the lounge where they offer me a cold beer while waiting for my visa. After 45 minutes I …
Funicular
They have a funicular to get you up/down the hillside.
However, I showed up on lunch break. Being adventurous, I climbed my way to the top. Stupid me. 3/4's of the way I ran into construction - I found a way around but I should have waited.
Interesting cemetery at the top (see next entry).
I did take the funicular back down.
Almost got caught taking a photo of the UN Building (see that guard?)
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Ancient Rock Carvings @ Gobustan
We ended work early which gave us the opportunity to do a little sightseeing. Luckily they arranged a driver for us to go south about an hour to see the Gobustan Rock Carvings.
Another UNESCO World Heritage Site checked off the list.
I really wanted to see the lions, but they don't let people go into that area.
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Still In Asia Or Is This Europe?
... or that buses were not running on that day and that one should ignore these people and wait for the bus. And that is exactly what happened. No buses today, the taxi drivers insisted. When we approached the official Information Desk at the airport, they too corroborated the taxi drivers statements leading us to suspect if they were hand-in-glove with the drivers! But after waiting in vain for several minutes and not seeing a single bus arrive ...
Amazing Azerbaijan!
... on taking us to where he thought the Embassy was and not where Helen insisted it was. After about 20 minutes we pulled up outside an official looking building that looked closed and empty. It was the old Turkmenistan Embassy. The driver then took the next hour and a half looking for the new Embassy.
When we got there we had to queue for another hour before the officials agreed to let Rogan and Helen get all our visas for us. This task ...