Tehran – Turkmen Visa (2)

The beautiful Turkmenistan visa…. Give one to me, please…

I returned back to the Turkmen embassy. It was always a long journey here. A metro to Mirdamad (750R) continued by a bus to Nobonyod (200 R), then a 1 kilometer walk to the junction of Dr. Lavasani street, a shared taxi to Vatanpoor Street (2000 R), and at last, a short walk to the embassy. A journey to hell.

A couple of a German guy and a French girl from the same hotel simply took a taxi from Mirdamad. They also brought flower and chocolate to be presented to the consul, who might help for the visa.

When it came to my turn, the consul said, “Nothing can be done.”

The photocopy of passport was already sufficient for the visa application. Nothing else. The application was forwarded to Ashgabat, waiting for approval. If the answer was positive, after 7 to 10 days a visa would be issued. The application form given to me yesterday was to be submitted when my visa was already approved. Now what I could do was only waiting.

I also visited the Afghan embassy. It was crowded, full of Afghans. The visa section also closed as early as 11 o’clock. The officer, after knowing I was from Indonesia, kept talking in Urdu with me. He confused Indonesia with India. The price for 1 month single entry visa to Afghanistan was now 75 Euro. Surprisingly expensive.

The officer told me to come back tomorrow, as he would try to talk to the consul who might give me a discount. I didn’t feel confidence though. The expensive Afghan visa price was actually revenge to the Iranian government who changed the same visa price for the Afghans. The officer suggested me to apply in Tashkent. “It would be cheaper there,” said him.