23/09/2026
Travel really is the best medicine for perspective, to challenge oneself, to feel uncomfortable.
As someone who surfs two cultures at Babajis - I actively choose countries to travel to whose culture I don’t understand. Not so much for the landscape and sites - but for the people and for a better understanding of the geopolitics that make up our world. And this holiday it was - Azerbaijan and Georgia.
A few folk were worried for me - ‘isn’t it dangerous?’, with Azerbaijain on the Iran border and Georgia bordering Russia … but to be honest, I felt as safe as I do walking the dog at night in Monbulk - so safe!
And so I set off, reaching Azerbaijan first - steadily travelling through the mountains through villages where life would be tough.
The environment felt harsh, the rivers dry, the roads primed for landslips which Russian Ladas stubbornly chugged up. Maybe for this reason, I felt the harshness in their people (Or did I really? )
I never once felt unsafe.
The Georgia - Azerbaijan border was a 400 mt walk through ‘no mans land’ … fences along each side. Neither side welcoming each other.
And on reaching Georgia, I instantly felt the warmth of the people. The rivers started to fill, picnic spots in the forest lined the roads and the cars were replaced with newer Japanese offerings.
And it made me reflect on how we judge people quite different to ourselves (even in Australia).
And at times - how we may miss the ‘cues of kindness’. How many of these cues did I miss in Azerbaijan? Were her people really so harsh?
Public holiday weekends at Babajis are often tricky… and sometimes, for us, that is because of the different cultures at play.
Unusual in our team (half Aussie / half Indian / many local juniors and some grumpy old timers (yes - me!) ).
We can be intense.
We can be rude.
You can be intense.
You can be rude.
Cultural misunderstandings firing like a kids BB Gun.
And so as we move into a busy public holiday weekend ahead we’re reflecting on the ‘cues of kindness’ we need to give and those cues we may miss.
Here’s to a great long weekend for everyone.
Be kind and look for the cues - whereever you head.
Billy, Babajis.
