The next Big Trip™: The Caucasus
It's approaching the middle of the year, so naturally I've been plotting where next to see in the world. Seeing as I'm fast running out of Europe (more or less have, now!) I'm having to look farther away geographically to fulfill it. So what area is still geographically part of Europe that at the same time not a lot of people tend to go? The Caucasus, of course!
Due to the political uncertainty in the region (Armenia and Azerbaijan over Nagorno-Karabakh, and more recently Georgia and Russia over South Ossetia and Abkhazia), it's not really seen as a tourist area, so it's not as easy as other European regions (or on the fringe of Europe at any rate). I've elected to go visiting through a tour group, and surprisingly, not my usual one (Intrepid) as they don't offer a tour there. I'm going through Explore UK instead - the same group I used to go visiting Iceland in early 2010 (yes, right before its volcano exploded), and visiting Belarus this time last year - and taking their Land of the Golden Fleece to visit Armenia, Georgia, and Azerbaijan for a 3 week trip in the mountains.
So, the details so far are:
I had a choice of transit points in eastern Europe to get to Armenia, most of them either in Germany or Austria, but I eventually opted to fly LOT via Poland, as it turned out cheaper in price, and also in time waiting about for a connection in Warsaw. To my surprise, British Airways have a direct daily flight from Baku to London Heathrow that leaves late in the day, also maximising time in the Azerbaijani capital. I've already paid off the trip and flights - early booking ensured rather cheap airfares - so the only things to worry about is getting visas for Armenia (which is a fairly simple application online for an e-visa) and for Azerbaijan (which needed quite a few details but was fairly straight-forward), which I just submitted to the Azerbaijani visa helpdesk Friday morning.
As trips go I've left it a bit late to book and arrange - I had originally arranged to take a railway journey along the Silk Road from Moscow, via Kazakhstan and Uzbekistan, through western China and the Gobi desert to Beijing, but it was cancelled due to low numbers of travellers - so this is the back-up trip. Unsure if I can pick it up later in the year.....but you know me, I've already got ideas where else to go for another major trip bubbling away at the back of my mind. :)
This entry was originally posted at http://mnemonia.dreamwidth.org/325239.html. Comments may be left on either entry.
Due to the political uncertainty in the region (Armenia and Azerbaijan over Nagorno-Karabakh, and more recently Georgia and Russia over South Ossetia and Abkhazia), it's not really seen as a tourist area, so it's not as easy as other European regions (or on the fringe of Europe at any rate). I've elected to go visiting through a tour group, and surprisingly, not my usual one (Intrepid) as they don't offer a tour there. I'm going through Explore UK instead - the same group I used to go visiting Iceland in early 2010 (yes, right before its volcano exploded), and visiting Belarus this time last year - and taking their Land of the Golden Fleece to visit Armenia, Georgia, and Azerbaijan for a 3 week trip in the mountains.
So, the details so far are:
09 Aug: London, UK to Yerevan, Armenia- 10 Aug: Visit Zvartnots, Echmiadzin, Garni, Gegard, Amberd over the next few days
- 13 Aug: Yerevan to Chambarak, Armenia
- 14 Aug: Chambarak to Tblisi, Georgia
- 16 Aug: Tblisi to Kutaisi, Georgia
- 18 Aug: Kutaisi to Bakuriani, Georgia
- 20 Aug: Bakuriani to Gudauri, Georgia
- 22 Aug: Gudauri to Telavi, Georgia
- 23 Aug: Telavi to Sheki, Azerbaijan
- 25 Aug: Sheki to Baku, Azerbaijan
- 28 Aug: Baku to London, UK
I had a choice of transit points in eastern Europe to get to Armenia, most of them either in Germany or Austria, but I eventually opted to fly LOT via Poland, as it turned out cheaper in price, and also in time waiting about for a connection in Warsaw. To my surprise, British Airways have a direct daily flight from Baku to London Heathrow that leaves late in the day, also maximising time in the Azerbaijani capital. I've already paid off the trip and flights - early booking ensured rather cheap airfares - so the only things to worry about is getting visas for Armenia (which is a fairly simple application online for an e-visa) and for Azerbaijan (which needed quite a few details but was fairly straight-forward), which I just submitted to the Azerbaijani visa helpdesk Friday morning.
As trips go I've left it a bit late to book and arrange - I had originally arranged to take a railway journey along the Silk Road from Moscow, via Kazakhstan and Uzbekistan, through western China and the Gobi desert to Beijing, but it was cancelled due to low numbers of travellers - so this is the back-up trip. Unsure if I can pick it up later in the year.....but you know me, I've already got ideas where else to go for another major trip bubbling away at the back of my mind. :)
This entry was originally posted at http://mnemonia.dreamwidth.org/325239.html. Comments may be left on either entry.