OUR HARDEST BORDER CROSSING DAY (Azerbaijan to Georgia)

Рет қаралды 4,888

Күн бұрын

In this travel day vlog, we left Azerbaijan to enter our next country on this full-time travel journey. We left our hostel in Ganja, Azerbaijan on a marshrutka minivan to Qazakh a small city close to the border for AZN 4 each. Then we took the local minibus to Red Bridge the border crossing checkpost between Azerbaijan and Georgia. This check-post is the most popular one for tourists to cross the border between the two countries. And many told us that it was closed.
When we reached the border around noon, we exchanged our remaining AZN Manats for GEL Lari (and later found out we'd been scammed). On the Azeri side, we had a 30 minute long interview before we could exit successfully - thankfully we had complied with all rules including the often overlooked registration within 15 days of arrival in the country. And then we walked through no man's land to reach the Georgian side!
We went through a 45 minute interview only because we have Indian passports - and it seems to happen to many non-western nationalities here. And we had to provide information/documents to prove that we were only visiting Georgia as tourists for less than 30 days. After all of our documents (as described in the video) were verified, we were stamped through. The officers on both sides were polite and courteous, but on the Georgian side, they were more friendly too!
And after we entered the country, we realised that we had been scammed on the Azeri side.
This is where we applied for our Azerbaijan evisa: evisa.gov.az/en/ and this for Georgia evisa: www.evisa.gov.ge/GeoVisa/ (facilitated by DU Digital Group which also manages visa application portals for Malaysia and Bangladesh)
Discourage illegal immigration and spread awareness about legal ways to move from one country to another. Illegal immigration not only means causing immense damage to your nation and fellow citizens, but also to your own lives - you don't want to waste the good years of your life being stuck somewhere because of bad agents and unrealistic dreams.
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We're Shishira & Navneeth, a couple from Bangalore, India. We left home in May 2022 to travel the world full-time for a year and we're sharing our everyday life on the road since then on KZfaq and Instagram. We also publish free travel guides, photos and more on our blog! 🤓
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Пікірлер: 61

@nandeeshbk7659 8 ай бұрын

Very happy to see both of you! Let your dreams and wishes become true and successful! God bless you!

@TheBackpacksters 8 ай бұрын

Thank you so much! 😊

@WanderEats 8 ай бұрын

So glad to hear you guys taking time off to just chill and relax. Do manage that and avoid the dreaded KZfaq burnt-out :)

@TheBackpacksters 8 ай бұрын

Thanks Daryl! It was long overdue 😅 might need a longer one in SE Asia again 🤓

@WanderEats 8 ай бұрын

@@TheBackpacksters oh yes pls.. come on over!

@1993pavankumar 8 ай бұрын

Very happy to always see both of you travel across the world. I have a small query, I hold a Valid multiple entry B1/B2 visa (USA). I also do plan to cross into georgia at the red bridge. Do I need e-visa or will I be visa exempt?

@TheBackpacksters 8 ай бұрын

Thank Pavan! With a US visa, you're eligible for a visa exemption and don't need an eVisa beforehand 🤓 good luck on your journey!

@BayAlmi 5 ай бұрын

Hi happy travelers! I read up online that the border between Georgia and Azerbaijan has remained closed since the pandemic. And train is suspended issit true? Is that the reason why you guys opted on using the pedestrian boarder crossing? Wish u both safe travels always!

@TheBackpacksters 5 ай бұрын

That's right Noor, there is no train service! But we took the land route anyways because it was more affordable 🤓 Thank you!

@satnamSingh-ws5zh 4 ай бұрын

@@TheBackpacksters Hi,Is it possible to cross from Georgia to Azerbaijan as I am reading that land borders are closed.Is there any option to cross on foot?Thanks

@yavuzdama9123 2 ай бұрын

No, you not cross on foot Georgia to Azerbaijan.

@some18youknow 2 ай бұрын

Question, could have gotten a train from Ganja, all the way to tbilisi?

@yavuzdama9123 2 ай бұрын

Not operating

@TheBackpacksters 2 ай бұрын

Temporarily not plying

@thewhitecoatjourney3177 6 ай бұрын

Hello,what all documents you guys have attached in Additional to obtain Georgian evisa?

@TheBackpacksters 6 ай бұрын

All previous visa stickers (not all entry stamps), ITR (only showing tax paid summary - illegal to ask/give IT username password), cover letter, hotel bookings and itinerary.

@thewhitecoatjourney3177 5 ай бұрын

@@TheBackpacksters If Aadhar card not attached then Will it be a issue?Pan Card I will attach only..Is it ok..

@wjo576 7 ай бұрын

Greetings from Bahrain...just returned from Baku. We were not allowed to exchange our remaining Manat into USD unless we cross the baku immigration. There was only one Premium Bank counter and the cashier handed over a soiled USD 100 note which cannot be exchanged anywhere. We didn't check it either believing its an official bank counter plus the exchange rate is higher. Bitter ending to a beautiful trip.

@TheBackpacksters 7 ай бұрын

Ohh. That sounds bad.. Don't exchanges in the city centre help with this? The airport is always a bad place to convert 🙈

@wjo576 7 ай бұрын

@TheBackpacksters thanks for the response. I understand that there are no private money exchanges in Azerbaijan..only few bank branches and AzerPost have exchange facilities & that too they operate from 0900-1700 (Mon-Fri). We knew that taking back Manat to Bahrain is not a good option as it is not a known currency. We had around 270 Manat left.. and buying anything at Baku Duty-free apart from liquor is not worth.

@siddhantjuyal7443 2 күн бұрын

Also isn’t the Azerbaijan border closed to enter though land? Then in that case how did you re-enter Azerbaijan ?

@TheBackpacksters 2 күн бұрын

We didn't re-enter Azerbaijan. Please watch the video to understand what we did 🤓

@siddhantjuyal7443 2 күн бұрын

Hi I will also try to cross the border from Azerbaijan to Georgia. I have an evisa already and a single entry visa of Azerbaijan. However in case the Georgian authorities still don’t let me enter them in that can I still go back to Azerbaijan like you guys did though considering that I have only a single entry visa of Azerbaijan.

@TheBackpacksters 2 күн бұрын

We didn't go back to Azerbaijan

@SAQIBARAZ 4 ай бұрын

On internet it's been showing that land border is being closed in azerbaijan. can we go to russia from azerbaijan by land border and i want to know that how did you know whether land border was operating or not because on the internet it's been showing that azerbaijan land border is closed

@TheBackpacksters 4 ай бұрын

Have explained the border very clearly in this video! 😃 you can exit Azerbaijan land checkpoints (subject to certain conditions like we experienced) but not sure about entry to Russia... We asked many locals and also visited the Georgian embassy in Baku before making this journey.. that's how we knew that the border was open! Hope it helps you with your travel plans 🤓

@majjisathish6549 8 ай бұрын

hearty welcome to Georgia congregations

@TheBackpacksters 8 ай бұрын

Thank you! 🤓

@sinansalim2588 8 ай бұрын

While we crossing Georgian border in the immigration control do they Georgian visa??? Because I am Oman resident

@TheBackpacksters 8 ай бұрын

Aren't you eligible for a visa exemption? 🤓

@sinansalim2588 8 ай бұрын

@@TheBackpacksters yes I am just for a safety I am asking do they ask Georgia evisa or something while trying to cross the border

@TheBackpacksters 8 ай бұрын

If you're exempted then no visa required 🙌🏼

@sinansalim2588 8 ай бұрын

@@TheBackpacksters can you tell me how much cash we have to carry while when we are in immigration like how many dollars we should have

@TheBackpacksters 8 ай бұрын

Did you watch the full video? 😃 you can withdraw at ATMs - they don't insist on cash but good to have USD 500/person.

@shailajak.s1087 8 ай бұрын

Nice

@TheBackpacksters 8 ай бұрын

Thank you!

@Zarfot-7 7 ай бұрын

Hey whats the best way to go from ganja to sighnagi

@TheBackpacksters 7 ай бұрын

There are many public buses available from Ganja to the border and onwards to the Georgian capital Tbilisi and then to Signaghi 🚌

@Zarfot-7 7 ай бұрын

@@TheBackpacksters thank you for your reply

@TheBackpacksters 7 ай бұрын

Sorry, a quick correction 😅 ^^

@airbendingseneca 8 ай бұрын

that's unfortunate. it sucks that we are a society that makes crossing man made borders so difficult!

@TheBackpacksters 8 ай бұрын

Totally agree! 😔

@varunihari4509 8 ай бұрын

Wish people don't travel by illegal means or cheat honest travellers

@TheBackpacksters 8 ай бұрын

Very true! 🙌🏼

@hanumeshkavital916 7 ай бұрын

Brother baku to tibilusi Direct buses are available in Baku ?

@TheBackpacksters 7 ай бұрын

No direct bus because the border is not officially open for all. So you'll have to do the route that we did in this video 😅

@Jitendra-dl1kb 8 ай бұрын

why not carry US dollars? or exchange into? dollars are widely accepted.

@TheBackpacksters 8 ай бұрын

That wasn't the problem 😅

@Jitendra-dl1kb 8 ай бұрын

@@TheBackpacksters I meant you have dollars. Is not possible to pay directly with dollars? I see that you exchanged dollars for Manat. Where are you guys now? anytime soon visiting Schengen countries? There are many beautiful countries in Europe.

@TheBackpacksters 8 ай бұрын

We usually withdraw from ATMs and didn't find one at the border. And we had read about Taxi scams on TripAdvisor, so we chose to not get into the hassle of it without the option of buses. Anywhoo.. we do want to explore EU, but we'd have to expand our travel budget for it significantly 😅

@richmondawuku9121 2 ай бұрын

I want to try this can someone help me out

@TheBackpacksters 2 ай бұрын

Try what? 😅

@shomarodrigues6828 8 ай бұрын

I am feeling bad for you guys

@TheBackpacksters 8 ай бұрын

All a part of this quest! 😔

@Jitendra-dl1kb 8 ай бұрын

What's the point of going to foreign countries and search for Indian food. It will be much more expensive then the local food and it definitely won't be authentic. Always focus on eating nutrition dense foods and carry peanuts these are easy to carry and eat on the go. It gives healthy fats, protein. affordable and budget friendly. You have nice healthy hair. Make a channel named Curly Shishira. 🙂

@TheBackpacksters 8 ай бұрын

Thank you for the advice, we'll definitely carry some peanuts and focus on better nutrition! 😃 Its just that when we're on the road full-time, Indian food sometimes makes our day - from all of our other vlogs, you'll see that we mostly eat what fits into our budget (and that means local cuisines). We typically like to eat Indian food once every ten days or so for the comfort it provides (considering we've been on the go since May 2022 full-time 😅)

@hanumeshkavital916 7 ай бұрын

Ho brother ಕನ್ನಡದವರ ? ಖುಷಿ ಆಯ್ತು

@TheBackpacksters 7 ай бұрын

🙏🏼🙏🏼 thanks Hanumesh! 😃😃