Georgian Airlines and other Georgia Transportation Tips

'Mode': TO
Category: Airplane
Getting TO/AROUND: I did not intend to arrive in Georgia by air, as normally buses are much cheaper...but not in this case...my one-way ticket for Georgian Airlines cost 89$ from Trabzon to Tbilisi, and it included a two-week tourist visa. Had I taken the bus, the visa would have been 60 dollars, the bus twenty, plus an extra 10 for bribes along the way, so it just did not make sense to travel overland! Mind you, the plane was almost prehistoric...entry was from the back, and the air hostess also doubled as the co-pilot! The plane had reclining seats, although I don't think they were meant to be reclining, they just hadn't been fixed to the floor properly. The ceiling was 5ft off the floor, and the air-hostess was 6ft tall and wore high-heels...needless to say, she had a slight hunchback!!! In flight service consisted of a plastic cup of soda water. Take off and landing were both quite bumpy, but it got me there and that's all that mattered. Only later did I notice that the boarding pass had 'Lucky Trip' written on it...would that be lucky to be alive or lucky to have found a seat which was actually attached to the floor?!!

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'Mode': TO,AROUND
Category: Other
Getting TO/AROUND: The easiest way to get to Georgia from Azerbaijan is to take the train. On the map, it does not look far between Tbilisi and Baku, and there are no geographical obstacles in the way, but believe me, it is a never-ending journey! Trains in both directions took almost 24 hours, and are unbelievably slow...sometimes it felt as if I could have walked quicker! The border takes a long time to cross, and gives the border guards plenty of time to ask for 'official fees' and 'presents' from foreigners...I hid my dollars in my shoe, and just waved my credit card at them...and when it came to presents, I find that a bag of dirty washing is seldom accepted! Despite the slothfulness, the train is better than the bus as not only is it cheaper and more comfortable (there are toilets and room to stretch your legs on trains), but also you get a full night's sleep on the train (beds are comfortable, and the border is crossed in the early evening (coming from Tbilisi) or mid morning (coming from Baku)...although sleep depends on whether the people sharing your compartment are hitting the vodka or not! Trains leave either capital every day at 6pm (or at least it should do...) adn cost about 12 dollars (more for a 2 bed compartment, less for a bed in an open compartment). Everyone had warned me about security on these trains, but I didn't find it a problem...as an obvious foreigner, everyone (other passengers, the provodnik (train guard) and even some of the border officials) were very friendly towards me, and did their best to 'protect' me, whether this be from theft or from paying bribes.
Buses and marshrutkas (minibuses) go everywhere from everywhere at all times...just finding out when and where from is the problem! Tbilisi bus station (Didube) is a nightmare. In fact it is not just one bus station, but hundreds of small ones, separated by a straggling bazaar, so finding the right station is nearly impossible for non-Georgian speakers. Just keep asking, and eventually you will find a bus going where you want to go. Kazbegi proved to be problematic...I was sent round in circles for the best part of the afternoon, and it did not help that my destination has also given it's name to a popular brand of beer, so one ticket woman led me to the nearest bar instead of putting me on a bus!!! Borjomi could also cause problems, as this is the nation's favourite brand of mineral water!
Buses are not comfortable at all...all seats recline, just some recline more than others. As a rule, mine never reclined more than a millimetre, while the passenger in front's head was practically in my lap! And the roads are awful...potholes as big as swimming pools, and crazy drivers who insist on overtaking at bling corners, not to mention the cows, who seem to have right of way and just lie down in the middle of the national highway. No, travel in georgia is never dull!

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'Mode': TO
Category: Other
Getting TO/AROUND: Crossing the border from Batumi to Hopa in Turkey via the Sarpi/Sarp crossing is easy. The Georgian side were very friendly, and some of the guards joked about me giving them a dollar for cigarettes and vodka, but there was no pressure, no annoyance when I refused, and no searching of bags. The Turkish side was also simple, adn took less than five minutes. The biggest problem was getting to Hopa from the border. Taxi drivers know they can charge what they like, because you either take a taxi or you spend the rest of your life at the border...the only road to Hopa goes through a tunnel, which you can't walk through, and there are no buses and not enough traffic for hitching. The journey should cost no more that two million lira, but I ended up paying 10 million because the driver conveniently had no change...I was not a happy bunny, especially as I had to wait two hours before we left the border, due to the greedy taxi driver waiting for more passengers. Getting to and from Batumi is no problem as there are regular minibuses to the border (there is a popular beach in the village of Sarpi), and it is very cheap.

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