The Travelling Oogs

I put on my sunglasses, I was blind in them but at least I could avoid all eye contact. From the moment I stepped out of the hotel, the harassment was incessant. I was expecting it from touts who just want me to look at their shops. But random strangers who had no qualms about invading my personal space? Case in point, someone practically lifted my umbrella up, only to say “Hey Japan”. He was not even trying to sell me anything, which led me to wonder what he expected out of me, an acknowledgment that I may or may not be from Japan? It was unsettling, and I was suitably freaked out. Quickly, I ducked into a cafe and ordered myself some coffee. It did not take long before a local at the next table decided that it would be cute to display his knowledge of motorcycle brands.”Hey, hey Japan, Suzuki, Kawasaki, Konichiwa, Japan, Japan.” I was not amused.

Having read many accounts about travellers getting their Azerbaijan visa within a day without an LOI, I showed up at the embassy in Tbilisi armed with my passport and way too much optimism. The security guard gave me a form where I had to fill up at the side of the road before I was let in. I walked up a flight of stairs towards a slightly ajar door. Through the gap, the official took one look at my Singapore passport, demanded to know where is my LOI and asked me to “go away” when I said I don’t have one. A few seconds of pleading (it did not work), he gave me a name card to a travel agency, X-Tour, located at 68 Chavchavadze Ave. A 15 minutes walk from the embassy, it seems like the sole purpose of this agency’s existence is to process Azerbaijan visas. “3 working days!” The lady at X-Tour told me after asking what passport I was holding.