Tbilisi, Tbilisi, Georgia
Next leg of my journey was an overnight sleeper from Tbilisi Georgia to Baku Azerbaijan. Unlike the Yerevan-Tbilisi train I had taken coming from Armenia which runs every other day, the Baku sleeper runs daily from Tbilisi. Similarly I had bought my first class train tickets from Advantour
I had about 3 hours to kill and the train station is a shopping centre so I was looking in some of the clothing stores and ended up buying two spring jackets for $40 each, unsure how this was all going to fit in my hand luggage along with the two rugs I'd bought in Georgia.
Azerbaijan is oil rich and I'd seen youtube videos and pictures on the internet of brand new modern sleeper trains. The train on the platform however looked nothing like this. It's a bit deceptive as when we were allowed to board they are completely refurbished and modern on the inside.
There was Turkish dance pop music playing and we were all westerners again in the first class carriage. My roommate was a retired person from the UK heading to Azerbaijan for the Grand Prix which I had no idea about.
Surprising for a first class carriage on an international border crossing with a train full of westerners our conductor (I named 'Imelda') spoke no English and was rather rough in her manner. Even more annoying the customs form was completely in Turkish, not even bilingual in Georgian or Russian you would expect.
We tried to match some of the words on our visa application. When I couldnt figure it out I tried to ask our conductor. 'Imelda' just checked off all the boxes and handed it back so I had no idea what she had declared declared for me.
The border was very quick in just an hour. I'd arranged my Azerbaijan visa online. However as I'd been in Armenia I knew this would be a problem. After Soviet independence the two had a territorial war for several years in Nagorno-Karabakh which Armenia now occupies. Diplomatic relations are very poor, no direct border crossings. For travelers like myself if you try to bring any goods in or express views on the conflict you can be denied entry.
After checking my passport a customs official was called over. He opened all my bags and checked under my seat yet my fellow passenger from the UK who had not been to Armenia underwent no such search. The customs guy was examining my products in detail, mostly snacks from Canada. I only bought one magnet from Armenia I had well hidden. After asking if I was 'Arab' which I tend to get a lot he was satisfied.
Another passenger however was booted off as his visa was not valid for another 3 days. He was a British guy, something like from an Agatha Christie movie with his waistcoat, spectacles, clutching a novel in hand. He kept going on about murder mysteries on trains and my fellow UK carriage mate who he made an instant UK bond with kept muttering there was about to be another murder mystery.
Fortunately this gentlemen was booted off at an isolated border train station at night after driving all the passengers crazy, so his wish for a murder mystery may yet have come true at this midnight port of call.
The rest of the ride was uneventful. The carriage was locked so we couldnt see the other cabins. Also the bathroom was kept locked for most of the time and 'Imelda' would yell at me when I tried heading to them. The kept the heaters on all night making the room quite hot.
The morning landscape in Azerbaijan was contrastingly different similar to my sleepers in Kazakhstan. There were small houses clung to hillsides with reflections in small lakes. It seemed more like Newfoundland Canada except for the barren landscape.
The train station in Baku was quite modern with the original older terminal beside. I navigated my way a few blocks to where my apartment was close to the station. I'd arranged to meet at 930am and lucky nobody was staying the night before or normally they do not allow early check in. I just wanted to leave my bags and go explore.
After my first two apartments in Yerevan and Tbilisi I was expecting something nice here too. Where do I begin. It's not the nice building you see from the outside. You go in the doors to an entrance at the back with flies and trash, wild dogs barking from inside a window, and climb stairs to the apartment.
There was trash inside the apartment, nobody was staying here and it hadnt been cleaned. The carpets had never been vacuumed. You could tell from the chrome in the bathroom and kitchen it was never cleaned. It reminded me of teaching overseas when they would first take you to your apartment.
It's not something that couldnt be cleaned if I spent an hour and bought some supplies. But why should I when I am paying for five nights accommodation. Light bulbs didnt work, tv didnt work, so I eventually got him to take care of them all over my stay.
See also vlog of todays trip - https://youtu.be/eUQcDct91ts
2025-05-22