📅 Sep 7, 2019

Breakfast at GUEST HOUSE "OLD WALL" · 8:01 AM

After a full breakfast at Old Wall, the owner drive us to Sighnaghi for 70 GEL.

Accomodation at Guest House EKA & GIO · 10:59 AM

A simple and cheap accommodation, which is also a sundry shop and wine cellar.

Explore at Sighnaghi · 11:54 AM

Explore the charming Sighnaghi town on a beautiful day. There is a market at the Town Square's park, and don't miss the walk on the City Wall. There is a dog who keeps jumping into a fountain and swam for a few laps. There is a market which sell Churchkhela, a Georgian sweets.
+21

Beautiful View at Sighnaghi Wall · 1:01 PM

The view on the Sighnaghi City Wall / Fortress is really stunning. Someone build a veranda restaurant next to the city wall, where you can have wine and beer while enjoying the view.
+17

Lunch at Qiziyi restoran · 2:24 PM

Another nice restaurant to enjoy cheap sweet wine and great food.

Beautiful Convent at Bodbe St. Nino Convent · 5:16 PM

We walk from town center to this Bodbe St. Nino Convent which take 30 minutes as we are not quite sure of the distance. Should have taken a Taxi instead. This convent is beautiful and fairly crowded. I am not into religion or history, but the building, garden and scenery is beautiful. There is a sense of calmness here. There is a path towards the spring water which I assume is quite a distance, but we skip it as it will be dark soon. We took a taxi back to town for 6 GEL.
+7

Dinner at Ресторан SHIO'S · 7:29 PM

We wanted to dine at OKRO, but sadly it was closed. This place is more touristy. The Shkmeruli - chicken in milky garlic sauce does comes in pretty large portion. Taste wise is just okay.

📅 Sep 6, 2019

Breakfast at Shaki Host House · 7:31 AM

Final meal at Shaki Host House, Sheki and Azerbaijan. Bid farewell to the wonderful host family.

To Georgia Border at Balakan · 10:04 AM

Our host in Sheki arranged a very affordable private taxi to the Balakan border crossing into Georgia.

Base In Lagodekhi at GUEST HOUSE "OLD WALL" · 10:54 AM

After exchanging Manat to Lari at the border, we paid 6 Lari for the taxi to our guesthouse in Lagodekhi. Our "hotel" is a bungalow (in fact every house here is a bangalow). It is nicely renovated, with a garden. The male host is more hospitable, the female host is nice as well. They run a vineyard, so you get to enjoy unlimited wine here.

Hiking To The Waterfall at Lagodekhi Nature Reserve · 11:49 AM

Since we still have half a day, we went to the nearest Black Grouse Waterfall. A very comfortable hike with good weather. The Waterfall is not huge, but the water is strong and windy, and the water is freezing cold. I did manage to go in for a quick dip under the Waterfall, which is quite challenging.
+71

Dinner at GUEST HOUSE "OLD WALL" · 2:58 PM

We have dinner at the host place, which is really great. First time tasting Georgian food, and it is very good. And Georgian wine, a sweeter young wine, which I enjoy very much. We have skewed bbq meat, though the meat is a bit tough. Eggplant with walnut sauce, big mushroom with cheese, potato and Kachapuri (Georgian bread with cheese, the national dish) are absolutely amazing. I have a feeling we shall like Georgian food very much.

Explore at Lagodekhi · 6:40 PM

Saw a fountain in a park while exploring Lagodekhi.

📅 Sep 5, 2019

Hiking From Sheki To Kis at Sheki · 9:55 AM

Discover this one day hiking route on OpenStreetMap (not much information about Azerbaijan hiking on the Internet). We packed bread, nuts and fruits from the day before for lunch. On the way up, we saw some locals with donkies and horses dragging some firewood downhill. The mountain is quite pretty, with plenty of flowers (one of them looks like Lotus), and we found a field full of flowers. There is an intersection near the peak. One route lead to Kis village, and another further up with a small rest stop probably operated by the shepards. We saw a van driving up some local tourists from Kis. We try to reach the peak rest stop, but gotten too tired halfway through, and decided to have a picnic style lunch by the road side. We manage to reach the rest stop after energised through our lunch. The place have a round campfire place and a shed, but no one is around. There is a small hill, but we are not interested to go higher as the weather did become cloudy. Soon we decend to Kis.
+122

End Hiking At Kis at Marxal Resort & Spa · 5:25 PM

After desending from the mountain we end up in a resort, which is quite a distance from Kis village. We could took a cab to visit the Albanian Church in Kis, but we are tired and it will get dark soon. We took a cab back to Sheki for 5 Manat instead.

Explore at Sheki · 5:50 PM

The driver drop us at the modern part of Sheki Town, which we didn't explore earlier. It seems Sheki is quite a popular town.

Dinner At Guest House at Shaki Host House · 6:23 PM

The host cook us some good Dolma for dinner, with minced lamb meat stuffed in pepper or eggplant.

📅 Sep 4, 2019

Our Base In Sheki at Shaki Host House · 9:27 AM

We took a night train from Baku to Sheki, then asked the host to arrange a taxi to pick us up (10 Manatl. The host's son tag along, as he is the only one who could speak English. The house is clean and comfortable, and the host family is very friendly. A strong father, a mom who cook great food, a beautiful daughter and an energetic son.

Explore at Sheki · 10:59 AM

Sheki Town itself could be explored easily by foot.

Sheki's Winter Palace at Shakikhanovs' Palace · 11:25 AM

This is a small Palace, with no crowd during our visit. Cost 5 Manat to enter, same as the Summer Palace. If you visited Summer Palace before coming here, you might be disappointed by its size and simplicity. I am not a history or architecture buff, so it is a small two storey building with beautiful glass windows and carvings.

Hotel Cum Historical Building at Karvansaray · 12:03 PM

This place is a historical building + hotel + restaurant. Doesn't seems like a luxurious hotel despite it's size, probably due to lack of maintenance and upgrade. Still a nice place to drop by since it is free to visit.

Summer Palace Of Sheki at Palace of Shaki Khans · 1:22 PM

The Palace is within Shaki Fortress, which is a big compound with few buildings such as Museum, Art & Crafts, etc. The entrance fee is 5 Manat, and you could pay extra for a guide. This Palace is bigger and more beautiful than the Winter Palace, with a much larger crowd as well. I would say it is a beautiful and interesting building.

Hiking at Sheki · 2:38 PM

We head South towards the mountain, as OpenStreetMap shown a short hiking trail. It is sunny and a great day to have a nice view of Sheki Town. It is a simple but nice hike. We didn't go all the way towards the next town as we would need to find a taxi back to Sheki. We turn back half way through.
+13

📅 Sep 3, 2019

Breakfast at Köz künefe · 9:56 AM

Nice place for local sweets and pastries.

Brunch at Entree Bakery Chain · 10:52 AM

A modern French bakery.

Around Baku at Baku · 11:59 AM

A Fountain Park at Philharmonic Park · 12:16 PM

This is a very small park besides the old city, which has a very beautiful Fountain.

Explore Baku Old City at Icherisheher · 12:45 PM

Since we didn't spend much time at the old city yesterday, we decided to give it more time and attention today. The old city is quite charming, surrounded by a wall, with plenty of the old architectures still intact and quite a few small alley to explore. It is fairly relaxing to stroll around here. We didn't visit the internals of Palace of The Shirvansshahs, as we are no history buff. When we are tired, we took a rest at Seyidli Garden, a very tiny park at a corner of the old city. There is a nice street with a lion art mural.
+30

Snack · 2:14 PM

We snack some local dumpling and pastries at a small unnamed place. Friendly people.

Park at Nizami Park · 5:05 PM

Another small park next to the old city, facing the Nizami Museum of Azerbaijan Literature.

Russian Dinner at Mari Vanna · 6:14 PM

The Russian restaurant is pretty amazing: gorgeous interior and tasty food. The female waitress wears colourful Russian clothing as well. I like the Kvass - fermented beverage from rye bread. Other food are great as well, just that I don't remember their names.
+2

📅 Sep 2, 2019

Arrival In Baku at Heydar Aliyev International Airport · 12:44 AM

Arrived at the airport at midnight, exchange some money at the money exchange (not the best rate), couldn't get a SIM card at this hour. Need to exit the Airport in order get the BakuCard for the Airport Shuttle Bus to the city. Make sure you have small notes like AZN 5 - 10 to make BakuCard purchase via the machine. You can't get back into the airport once you exited, unless you go to the main entrance and pass through security screening. Some taxi driver will ask if you need a taxi, but they are not pushy.

Our Hostel In Baku at Freedom Hostel · 9:36 AM

Luckily the hostel is just 10 minutes walk from the May 28 bus stop. We got a room for 3 of us, the place is clean, friendly and quiet. The owner's father (retired from the army) treat us some local tea, and we met a large Iranian group which treat me their breakfast. The only complaint is the is only one bathroom (two showers, but only one door). Location wise is pretty strategic as it is near the main train station.

Baku Market at Yaşıl Bazar · 11:01 AM

Went to the local market to buy some fruits, nuts and local snacks. Tourists need do need to practice some negotiations skill though, most of them are friendly. Maybe we didn't get the best price, but still quality product and good prices if compared to our country. Later we found Churchkhela (long candy with nuts) in Azerbaijan actually taste better than the ones in Georgia. Or maybe it is not Churchkhela, but something similar.

First Meal In Baku at Anadolu Restaurant · 12:06 PM

The is nice restaurant which serve both Azerbaijan and Turkish cuisine. We didn't quite like Dovga (yogurt soup), probably our taste bud is not used to the taste. The thin bread with some mince meat in it is quite nice. Potata with meat is not to our liking, as it probably uses some intestines. My favourite is the Yaprak Xingal, like layers of pasta with meat, caramelised onion and yogurt.

Walk Along Baku Boulevard at Dənizkənarı Milli Park · 1:24 PM

This is a park next to the Caspian sea. Mini venice and carpet museum is here as well. The park is nice and spacious. It is good to pack some snack or fruits, and relax at a bench.
+5

Baku City View at Highland Park · 4:07 PM

We plan to take the Funicular (tram) from Baku Boulevard to Highland Park, but sadly the tram is closed so we just have to walk. This park offer a great view of the city, sea and Flame Towers.
+1

Walk Around Baku Old Town at Icherisheher · 5:27 PM

This is the historic and touristy place of Baku, the Walled Old City. It has an old charm with restaurants crowded with tourists.

Dinner at Dolma restaurant · 6:35 PM

This is an underground restaurant, quite popular among the tourists. Food are generally good, with good service. The Pomegranate Wine is a mistake. We tried the local specialty, Baliq Levengi, fish stuffed with walnuts (sadly, we didn't like it).

Beautiful Fountain at Fəvvarələr Meydanı · 9:11 PM

Probably due to old Soviet influence, they are plenty of nice fountains at park.

📅 Aug 31, 2019

Lunch at Restoran BBQ Soon Hing · 12:01 PM

Besides the dry Wantan Mee, the Curry Wantan Mee is very good as well.