A Touch of Paris

Our ferry docked at the port of Baku at approximately 2am. The hours on the ferry were long and arduous, not to mention the ride set us back $US90 each despite being a cargo ferry! Nevertheless the trip was made enjoyable with the company of David (from France) and Thomas (from Norway), our new friends and fellow backpackers both on their way home by land and sea after spending a year studying in Shanghai.

By the time we cleared immigration and arrived at the backpackers' joint recommended by Lonely Planet, it was already 3am and the backpackers' was full. 'You come tomorrow ... 10 o'clock... and I have room for you! Now full!' declared the young boisterous Azeri attendant. We ended up 'homelessly' wandering through Baku by night which startled us with its modern chic boutiques and Parisien styled architecture. Baku is in the midst of its second oil boom and the oil barons are pumping cash into upgrading almost every building fascade there is in the city. Baku certainly posseses some of the most exquisite architecture I have ever seen. Having done it tough in Central Asia in terms of material comforts over the past month (despite the very rich cultural experiences we had), we appreciated Baku so much more. In a zombie-like state, we ended up finding a 24 hour restaurant at 4am to have breakfast at and then took it in turns over the next 4 hours to crash into the comfortable couches to catch up with some Zzzzzzzzzs.

The rest of our 2 days in Baku was immensely enjoyable. We soaked in the atmosphere and enjoyed stopping by a particular bakery for delicious pastries and local treats like baclava. We made the most of being able to savour fine dining experiences for under US$10 each! David and Thomas continued to be entertaining and interesting travel partners and we dicovered our shared passion for good food and adventure as we scoured the city for interesting sights and walked along almost every quaintly cobbled street in the Old Town of Baku.

Baku, you'll be fondly remembered and recommended to our family and friends!