Crazy Apple Lady

 

Monday we started our journey to the mountain village of Sheki via the bus terminal in Ganja. We arrived early for our 1:45 PM departure time, and decided to buy our tickets early to avoid the rush that may or may not throng the window at the last minute.  Checking the POSTED sign IN the station, our price to Sheki would be 2.37 manats which we would round up to 2.50.  Keep in mind this is an official government run facility.  When I went to pay for 4 tickets to Sheki, the worker asks for 12 manats.  Again, not being an economics major or anything, 2.50 times 4 is 10 last I checked.  I again pointed to the advertised price, and the man then asked for 10 manats.  Wow.  After buying tickets we hunkered down in the bus station to wait for the boarding time and were accosted by a crazy apple lady with a full gold grill of teeth.  She tried to sell us apples for 3 times what they were worth and then wanted to buy our Azeri to English dictionary from us.  She tried everything to convince us...including telling us it was to teach her children English so they could have a better life.  The military types finally escorted her out of the station.  When we boarded our bus (a really uncomfortable Soviet era relic that stalled at most stops and coasted downhill suspiciously quiet), only to have the crazy apple lady follow us right onto the bus.  Again she tried to score the dictionary from us but we refused.  As some crazy people do, she then became belligerent and had to again be escorted away from us.  Last I saw her she was yelling curses at us from outside the bus as she walked by.