"Gamarjoba! My trip to Georgia... " a Georgia Travel Page by maykal

### June 2005 saw a return trip to Georgia, visiting Tbilisi, Batumi, Kazbegi, Ananuri, Kakheti, Akhaltsikhe and Vardzia...updated comments and new pictures will appear soon :@P

GAMARJOBAT!

Well, Georgia was great, although I haven't seen many parts of the country. I flew from <a href="http://www.virtualtourist.com/m/.133814/1496/?s=H">Trabzon</a> in <a href="http://www.virtualtourist.com/m/.133814/188/?s=E">Turkey</a> to Tbilisi with a dodgy deal with the Georgian Consulate (on a bit of a dodgy plane too!)...the plane and the visa cost $89 and it worked out cheaper than the bus! I almost got deportd at the airport, though....I had the correct visa, but apparently I liked mountains too much, and could have been a potential hostage!! Luckily a friend of a friend of a friend was there to meet me at the airport, and bribed the passport officers with promises of electricity (she works for the local electricity board!). I spent most of my time in Tbilisi, using the picturesque capital as a base to visit other parts of the country,For more info about the capital, please see my <a href="http://www.virtualtourist.com/m/.133814/1574/?s=E">Tbilisi</a> page.

I made day trips to Mtskheta, the ancient capital, and to some remote churches in Kakheti region, as well as spending three days in Kutaisi, Georgia's second 'city where i visited the monasteries of gelati and Motsameta'. The highlight was my trip to Kazbegi, along the Georgian Military Highway, the main road to Vladikavkaz and Russia (sounds very grand, but there are potholes the size of swimming pools, and more cows on the road than cars!). Kazbegi was one of the most beautifulplaces I have ever seen, and I had ideas of somehow finding a job there...but then I heard that the village is completely cut off during winter, which put me off a bit. The accommodation was simple, and the food was ...interesting (raw fish and chilli sauce has never been my favourite breakfast item), and there was no electricity for the duration of my stay, but the views of Tsminda Sameba church on a mountaintop in front of the enormous Mount Kazbek more than made up for that.
Gori was strange, as it was the birthplace of Stalin, and he is still very much the local hero with a huge museum dedicated to his life. I also went to Borjomi, source of the former USSR's favourite brand of mineral water, although the town has definately seen better days! Another highlight of my time in Georgia was going with my Georgian friends to their house in Chokatauri...I don't think I have ever eaten so much food, as everyone offered me grapes, figs, cakes, wine and home-made brandy. This is definately a country I want to return to...

The food there is great, and the people have been very friendly, although my attempts at learning Georgianwere little more than pathetic, and all I could manage was Gamarjobat (hello) and Madlobt(thanks). I can now read and write about three quarters of the alphabet, but it is impossible to read quickly, so I wasn't able to use the buses yet...so I was knackered because I had to walk everywhere!!!
When I get the chance, I would really like to return to Georgia...there is so much more to see, like the tower houses of Svaneti, the remote mountainous region of Tusheti, and of course the Black sea coast (which I had a brief glimpse of in Batumi)...At the moment, Georgia is facing a period of uncertainty, so I hope for all my friends there that the situation improves as soon as possible.
For fairly up-to-date news from inside Georgia, see this English-language newspaper: <a href="http://duggy2.sanet.ge/gtze/">The Georgian Times"</a> or for breaking news stories, try <a href="http://www.civil.ge/index.shtml">Civil Georgia On-line Magazine</a> . <a href="http://www.tbilisipastimes.com">Tbilisi Pastimes</a> is a great site about travel in Georgia.

For the official view of travel in Georgia, check out the website for the <a href="http://www.parliament.ge/TOURISM/ ">Georgian Ministry of Tourism</a> .

I've written a review of Georgia on my other homepage on epinions.com...click <a href="http://www.epinions.com/content_43467116164">here</a> to read it.