It has been a pleasure to stay in the best hostel in Yerevan while backpacking in Armenia recently. It could well be the first time I’ve stayed in a hostel voted best in the country (as recommended by Hotsel World). So if you ever find yourself in Armenia looking for a hostel, head to the…
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Without doubt this is one of my favourite border crossings of all time and I’m delighted to be writing about it here as it hasn’t been covered much on travel blogs. I aim to be the first backpacking travel blogger to write more than 10 posts on backpacking in Nagorno Karabakh. So without further ado,…
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In my latest episode of world borders, I’m covering the border between Georgia and Armenia. I admit I’m well behind in this series (not enough time to update the numerous borders I’ve crossed) but this one will fill in the pieces on my current Caucauses backpacking experiences. Here’s my rundown on how to get from…
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I thought recently about all the capital cities I’ve been to and how they don’t always live up to expectations. I’ve been to capital cities in about 55 of the 80 countries I’ve backpacked through and thought it was a good moment to do a top 5. I write this post from one of them…
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While my motives for visiting Batumi on Georgia’s West Coast were purely visa related (I got my Azerbaijan visa there), I found myself with time on my hands as I waited around. Every morning in Batumi it was time for a massive breakfast/lunch feast. On the first morning we got a tip off from Nina…
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Georgia is famous for having a load of these “cave towns” and while you’re backpacking in the area, you really should try and get out to at least one of them. The top ones are Davit Gareja and Uplistsikhe. Our visit to Uplistsikhe was a bit extra special for me as I was joined for…
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Azerbaijan threw more random highlights than we could have imagined. As part of a tour to Qobustan World Heritage Site we also got to visit an area with lots of mini mud volcanoes. It’s south of Qobustan, by about 10 kilometres, so not too far from Baku either and most people do this as part…
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In the last month or so I’ve managed to visit two locations that were used in top films, without really intending to. I toured Petra in Jordan, which was used to film “Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade”. Then recently in Baku in Azerbaijan I went to the Oil Fields near Baku which were used to…
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Lake Masazir near Baku in Azerbaijan is rumoured to be one of only 8 “pink lakes” in the world. Pink? Yes, the water has a pink and red colour to it, making it stand out. However, Azerbaijan is a rather off the beaten track place to go backpacking, so visiting Lake Masazir isn’t actually the…
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Baku in Azerbaijan is full of surprises and as I backpack my way round some completely off the wall and not even on any beaten path places, I have also taken time out to try the local food. First up – a short post on Pakhlava, an Azerbaijani dessert. Well worth a try! Where can…
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