I found the land border crossing from Georgia to Azerbaijan a little intimidating, especially as we were separated and had to pass each check-point individually. First, I had to exit Georgia. When the guard saw my passport, he picked up the phone, and said something about “Australian”. Georgia had just changed its visa rules about 10 months ago, so while I would have needed a visa to enter in 2009, I no longer needed one in 2010. I held my breath and hoped that his superior was looking at the most recent rule book. Happily he was, and with a nod and a stamp, I was permitted to leave Georgia and wander through no-mans land.

I crossed a bridge, looking down at the cows of ambiguous nationality grazing below me, and walked towards a twelve year old boy carrying some sort of large rifle. In front of me I could see a very large “Azərbaycan” sign in front of me, but I decided not to take the risk and get a photo. Happily, not all on the internet are so risk averse.

Photo from wikipedia.

Once I was across the border, I surrendered my passport with its visa, and all our bags were searched for anything Armenian – postcards, maps, even the Georgia, Armenia, Azerbaijan Lonely Planet. They carefully examined our water bottles to ensure that the writing on it was Georgian and not Armenian. There was some debate over some Georgian postcards, but finally we were all returned our passports and permitted to enter the Republic of Azerbaijan for the next chapter of our adventure through the Caucasus.