Hello to all you bright-eyed adventurers anxiously counting down to the epic Day 4 in Baku! After a breakfast that could impress even the pickiest of food critics at our sparkling Diamond Hotel, we hopped into our trusty van like a group of over-caffeinated squirrels.
Today’s destination? Gabala! Since it’s further than your last New Year’s resolution, we had to pack our bags, shed a few dramatic tears saying goodbye to our Diamond Hotel, and embark on our next escapade. Buckle up, it’s going to be a wild ride!
It was a 5-hour journey to Gabala from Baku that felt like an episode of a reality show titled “Survivor: Backseat Edition.” My friend and I, in a moment of pure genius, claimed the back seats and entered hibernation mode. But, just as we were dreaming of snacks, our 2-year-old human alarm clock—who clearly has a talent for miscalculating nap times—decided it was time for a wake-up call. We jolted upright to a picture-perfect view of the village and nature, and I couldn’t resist snapping some photos that might just make us look a little less like zombies!
Then we rolled into the gas station for a bathroom break and to fuel up the van, though let’s be honest, the washroom looked like a monster’s lair from the outside—not a chance I’d risk it! After surviving that ordeal, we hopped back into the van and made a beeline for a restaurant.
The establishment proudly advertised itself as RAJA RESTAURANT. There, we indulged in a feast fit for royalty: Chapati, Egg curry, Noodles, and Cumin rice—talk about a culinary rollercoaster! After this epic meal, we waddled our way to the Tufandag mountains, ready for whatever adventure awaited us (as long as it didn’t involve any more questionable restrooms).
To reach the pinnacle of those towering mountains (a whopping 1920 m high), we had no choice but to hop on the cable car—a magical box of fear and vertigo! As we ascended, I felt like I was auditioning for a low-budget horror movie, dizzy and on the verge of creating my own personal water feature, but mercifully, I held it together. After 3 nail-biting cable car rides (I could’ve sworn we were defying gravity), we finally made it to the top!
I frolicked in the snow like a clumsy penguin, raced around with my mom, and stumbled into a steak and wine shop—not to feast, mind you, but to bask in the warm embrace of a heater. Eventually, our entire gang waddled in, chattering teeth and all, looking like a bunch of frozen popsicles in dire need of thawing out!
After what felt like an eternity, we decided to hop on the sledge, but lo and behold! The ticket counter was closed—cue the dramatic music! Just when despair was about to set in, a wonderfully generous family tossed us their ticket like it was some sort of Olympic baton. Bless their hearts—they only got one ride too, but hey, sharing is caring, right?
Then we heard an announcement that was basically a race starter pistol for our legs, and we sprinted to the cable car like a herd of caffeinated goats. It was 5 PM, aka closing time, and we were not going to let that stop us! We zoomed down, and I proudly declare my family as the speed demons of the mountain—first place, no contest!
After we crammed ourselves into the van, our next stop was the illustrious Nohur Lake. There, we hopped onto pedal boats that had me feeling like I was part of a Peppa Pig episode, just waiting for Peppa to show up and give that iconic pig snort. After exhausting our leg muscles on the boats, we stumbled into a café where I kicked things off with a coffee and ended up finishing with a pizza that could probably qualify as a toe-stubbing hazard. I bravely ordered a caffe mocha, and when my sister left her hot chocolate half-finished, I swooped in like a snack ninja and claimed her chocolatey treasure for myself.
After gobbling down our food like we hadn’t eaten in days, we sprinted to the van in the pouring rain like a scene out of an action movie. We zoomed to the hotel in 10 minutes, but I was in a real pickle—having held in my pee all day, I was about to burst like a water balloon! In a moment of desperation, I snatched the hotel room access card from the bewildered attendant, dashed to my room, and only then did I realize I could finally see straight without the fear of an imminent flood!
As the kids polished off their pizza like it was the last supper, the adults decided to throw a pizza party of their own, complete with roasted chicken and a mountain of french fries—because why not add enough carbs to fuel an entire football team Meanwhile, I heroically sacrificed my social life and went to bed, determined not to let my dwindling energy be wasted on chitchat. I drifted off to sleep, dreaming of tomorrow’s adventure—hopefully involving fewer carbs and more hilarity!
And now, brace yourselves, folks, because my photography skills are about to dazzle your socks off! Enjoy the spectacle!
See you tomorrow for more shenanigans that we’ll probably need to apologize for later!
The End
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