Georgia part III

2017-03-17

Time for another update!

From the monastery on a rock I started driving in the direction of Tbilisi. I saw on Lonely Planet that I would pass Chiatura, where Stalin’s cable carts, which were built in 1950, are still in use today. I had to take a look. When I arrived in Chiatura I took a little walk through the town until I found one of the carts. Apparently they were free so I manned up and just stepped on board.

Looks steady

Looks steady

The whole metal coffin hung by this construction

The whole metal coffin hung by this construction

Of course you have to lift the thing too

Of course you have to lift the thing too

There, made it alive!

There, made it alive!

So, I made it up and down alive and continued on towards Tbilisi because the rest of the town wasn’t very interesting this time of year. I took a wrong turn that led me up into the hills and through a bunch of tiny villages. The road was very good there and the scenery was nice too. Very windy though.

On my way again towards Tbilisi

On my way again towards Tbilisi

In Tbilisi the traffic is insane. Lanes are painted but no one seems to see them, everyone is honking to announce their presence and even more bumpers are missing. However, you do get used to it at some point once you realize everyone is just acting like water in a river (with a claxon). I decided to go to Envoy hostel, which turned out to be a great choice. It was very clean and the personnel was super nice and helpful. They allowed me to store some of my roof stuff in the yard. That evening I went for a walk and ended up in Warsaw pub where I met some Turkish people with who I had some beers with. When the atmosphere became a bit strange we left with a group to some restaurant to have some traditional huge dumplings and some more beer. After that we split up. It was a good evening.

The next morning I went out for some traditional breakfast and a walk along some of the main tourist attractions of town. In the Metheki church I met an Iranian couple that asked if I could tell them some about all the Christian stuff in the church. I could not but instead we spent a few hours walking through town, talking about other things.

The church

The church

Skewer a baby why don't you!

Skewer a baby why don’t you!

Some building the last president put there but are no longer used

Some building the last president put there but are no longer used

Me standing on the Bridge of piece

Me standing on the Bridge of piece

The mother of Kartli from up close

The mother of Kartli from up close

Cool Iranian couple

Cool Iranian couple

Stream near the sulfur baths

Stream near the sulfur baths

That evening I went to have some dinner with a 63 year old Australian dude who’s name I forgot. We had some good talks about travelling and some politics.

Monday the 12th I heard that there would be a rugby match between Georgia and Russia. Apparently Georgia is pretty good at rugby and beating Russia is important to them. There were still tickets available so I bought one and went over to the stadium with an American delegation. There were a lot of American peace corps people in town. We went a bit too late and missed the better part of the first half. In the end, after I wasn’t able to figure out how the game actually works, Georgia won and everyone was happy. The piece corps and me went to have some dinner and later for some beers in town. Again, a good evening!

I decided to stay another day before leaving to Armenia. Armenia, and not Azerbaijan. Because that afternoon I went to get some dinner with a Czech dude, and we got talking about visa. When I checked my Azeri visa I noticed that there were some strange dates on there. One month later than I ordered. Idiots! Also, there are some strange rules at the border for older diesel cars and emission bullshit, so it would have been a problem anyway. Armenia will probably be awesome too

Chaos at the gates!

Chaos at the gates!

End of the first half

End of the first half

Some action

Some action

Some more action

Some more action

The final score

The final score

Huge dumplings with the peace corps

Huge dumplings with the peace corps

The proper way to eat them is to bite a hole and suck out the juice. Then devour the rest.

The proper way to eat them is to bite a hole and suck out the juice. Then devour the rest.

Peace out!

Peace out!

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3 thoughts on “Georgia part III

  1. Hé Iwe, zo te zien gaat het je goed en heb je een geweldige reis. Indrukwekkend. Vooral dat gedeelte met al die sneeuw. Koud maar zo mooi! Goeie reis verder. Groeten Ineke (Meertens)

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