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Azerbaijan - A Caucasus Adventure

 "Do you want to go kiss?", said the young mini-skirted woman. I stared at her. "Only 15 Manat ($10)", she said. I was in Sheki, in the Caucasus mountains of Azerbaijan, close to the border with Georgia.  The trip to Azerbaijan was accidental. My initial plan was to visit Iran. I wanted to use a land border to enter Iran. So, I thought of flying into Baku, Azerbaijan, spending a few days there and then travelling southwards to the border to enter Iran. The reason I wanted to use that border was because it is a notorious border. There were supposedly American, Russian and Iranian intelligence agents and recruiters, money exchange scammers and other unsavoury characters over there. I wanted to see what happens. But my Iranian visa got rejected. I surmise that it was due to the U.S. Green Card stamp in my Indian passport. The rejection letter said that I should apply through a local sponsor in Iran. I do not know a single person in Iran, so that was out of question. Me
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Malgudi Railway Station, by public transport.

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From Shimoga, I travelled to Malgudi, the fictional village made famous by the novels of R.K. Narayan. The real name of the village is Arasalu. Had an early breakfast and headed to the bus station. Took a bus going to Hosanagara.  Got down at Arasalu. The ticket was ₹48 (60 cents). The old Arasalu station has been restored and converted to Malgudi Station and.... ......Malgudi Museum. At the entry to the station/museum. It's a small museum but well kept. The museum has artefacts and articles mentioned in R.K. Narayan's novels, like this petromax lamp. A pendulum clock. Old Bakelite switches. The main character, Swami. The ticket counter. The fare chart. An old railway coach has been converted to Malgudi Chai. A cafe. The entire place (station + museum + cafe) is run by one person, Praveen.
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