August 16, 2013                                                   
Kars to Tbilisi (Georgia)
31-33C

Lucky Hostel, $50, double, with ensuite

It is an all day journey to get from Kars in eastern Turkey to the Capital of Georgia, Tbilisi.

8:00am-9:30am - Dolmus Bus to Ardahan (15tl pp)
10:45am-12:45pm - Station Wagon to Ardahan to Border crossing at Türkgözü (Turkey) to Vale (Georgian side) to Akhaltsikhe. (40tl pp)
(Set clock 1 hr ahead)
2:30pm-6:30pm - Akhaltsikhe to Tbilisi by Marshrutka then Metro from Didube to Liberty Square (20tl pp prepaid in Ardahan)
 
In Kars, we allowed ample time to haul our backpacks over to the Otogar or bus station. It is less than a 10 minute walk from Hotel Bizim.


 
Karrimor Jaguar 75-95 Backpack

I am very satisfied with my new backpack which I now have had a chance to experience awhile. The main selling point for me was the front zipper which allows me to open it up like a suitcase. It is made solidly, has many compression straps, has 2 pleated side pockets, a front zippered space and it is waterproof.


1st Leg to Ardahan by Dolmus
The guy at the Kars bus ticket office remembered us and told us again we would need to get ticket for direct dolmus to Tbilisi in Ardahan (in 1.5 hrs).

The driver drove like a maniac. I loved the arid villages we passed with much smaller scale minarets jutting up out of the center like rockets ready for launch.

2nd Leg to Akhaltsikhe by Car
At the Ardahan station, no one spoke a word of anything except Turkish. We were pointed to one office where we were told there are no direct buses to Tbilisi. The ticket guy sold us tickets for the daily 10:30 bus to Akhaltsikhe, and a ticket for a Marshrutka from there for the 4 hour ride to Tbilisi (60 TL / $31) per person total. And yes, I would get the front seat, no problem, I was told. We had an hour wait and the weather was heating up.  
 
Dave went to to the village to get some yogurt and nuts. He scored pine honey packets which I have been dying to taste. Buses pulled in and left for different destinations.

When our bus had not arrived at 10:30, I mimed to our ticket guy, pointing to the clock and lifting my eyebrows. He mimed back for me to wait. Finally, we were told to put our luggage in a station wagon that had pulled up. Apparently there were not enough passengers to warrant a bus going, so nine people squeezed into the station wagon, luggage on top.

Two cute students arrived, one of them Turkish, but living and studying in Austria, the other Armenian. They spoke to each other in English so we asked her to ask if the driver knew we needed to be put on to Marshrutka in Akhaltsikhe and that that ticket is paid for. It was good that I asked because he had no clue what promises the ticket seller had made to us. We all went to ticket office where we had ticket guy explain it directly to the driver. I am sure we would not have been able to communicate this to the driver had it not been for the girls and we probably would have had to pay again for onward tickets, although it wouldn't have broken the bank at 12 Lari/$8 pp.

The students were on their way to Armenia which could be a short drive if the relationship between Armenia and Turkey was good. But it is bad and no borders between the two countries are open. One must take the longer way around through Georgia to get to Armenia.

At the Türkgözü border crossing, we had to get our luggage off the car and go through customs and immigration while our car waited in the long queue. The process wasn't a model of efficiency but we were told things go relatively quickly at this border crossing. We were stamped into Georgia allowing up to a one year stay for US passport holders. The driver met us on the other side. Some of our fellow passengers hitched a ride on a big bus as it came through the check point so we were no longer packed like sardines in our car. It was a comfortable roomy 30 minute drive from Vale to Akhaltsikhe.


3rd Leg to Tbilisi by Marshrutka
Our Turkish driver disappeared into the ticket office and returned with our Marshrutka tickets. He walked us to a van. We parted ways with the Turkish and Armenian ladies because they were going to Armenia from there. 

I was relatively comfortable in the single seat by the door. Dave, on the other hand, was sweating bullets in the airless back with more and more people piling on. No one was refused. When will they consider this Marshrutka full, I thought to myself? To make matters worse, everyone had pungent body odor. I was happy with my open window.

Still impressive looking remnants of a citadel clung to the mountainside behind Akhaltsikhe. And along the way to Tbilisi, we passed at least 10 more ruins of once magnificent castles and citadels perched sometimes precariously on mountain tops.

The smooth highway snaked down the green mountain then broadened as we got to the open valley. The highway was in new and in great condition so we were surprised to see the carcass of a recently rolled Marshrutka down the hill off the edge of the road. Our driver saw it too and became a little conflicted. Should he continue to drive as fast as he could or back off a bit?

Final Leg on the Subway/Metro
We were let off near Didube metro stop in Tbilisi. Dave got some GEL, the Georgian currency (Georgian people shorten it to Lari), from one of the many ATMs before we made our way through the bustling outdoor market to the metro. Four stops later, we got off at Liberty Square also called Freedom Square.


Lucky, We found It

The 5 minute walk to our hotel took us 45 minutes by the time we found it. The entrance to Lucky Hostel was easy to miss. The dining room looked disheveled and our first impression was that this was not a place we would like to linger. We were shown to a spacious room with a small double bed and single bed. At first glance, it seemed good enough. A bit expensive for what it was at $50 (including a $10 discount). All I had on my mind was a shower. A tuft black hair was in the drain and a dirty dish with two used soaps grossed me out. I showered while Dave went to get some water and cola. The bottom-sheet didn't fit the mattress and top-sheet.... what top-sheet? The curtains hung by just a few rollers in short it looked pretty shabby. We had a nice view across the street of a larger than life statue of a muscled man who held up the eve of the building.



Lebanese in Tbilisi

The Lebanese flag on the window of Cedar of Lebanon Café caught Dave's eye and he took me there for dinner. We just had to see if they had our favorites; baba ganoush, humus, tabbouleh. In fact, they serve all the Lebanese mezzas. Atmosphere is casual and informal. Pricing is reasonable. We were delighted to discover such authentic Lebanese food here in Georgia. 

  

August 17, 2013 - Tbilisi
Lucky Hostel

Cedar of Lebanon, Lebanese Hospitality
 
We went back for another dose of Lebanese hospitality. We tasted and learned about homeopathic medicinal benefits of rose water and orange blossom water - good for the heart and purifies blood. It all sounds a bit suspect to me. I asked about Kibey Naye or raw ground lamb mixed with olive oil, bulgur and seasonings. As an wannabe vegetarian, one of my (secret) favorite Lebanese dishes is Kibey Naye. It is comparable to steak tartar and should only be eaten when super fresh. When I saw it on the menu at Cedar of Lebanon Restaurant, I didn't hesitate. The owner/chef Bihan came out and apologized that he had some but it wasn't fresh. He was getting fresh meat the next day. We promised to be back the next day.



What is a Marshrutka?
 
We wanted to get a few things at Carrefour, which is clear across town. Taxis are not expensive in Tbilisi but we wanted to learn the ropes and take mass transit. We took the metro from Freedom Square to Station Square, then Marshrutka #117, that's what they call a Dolmus here. Marshrutka is a Russian word for routed taxi. The shared taxis got bigger and better over the years, and now, nice yellow Ford Transit vans ply fixed routes all over Georgia. Marshutka hold about 20 comfortably but we had to stand, squished, among 10 more. Unless you catch on near its origin, they are usually piled full. The people standing are not able to see out. It is not recommended if one has claustrophobic tendencies. We stood near the door so we had some air. Still it's stifling hot, sweat pouring down our backs. After 30 minutes we reached Carrefour, the end point of this Marshrutka.


At Home at Carrefour
 
In Carrefour, we were greeted by enthusiastic representatives of different Georgian vineyards offering wine tasting. We read that wine has been made in the Georgian Caucasus for 6000 years and are happy we can sample some before buying. We found several reasonably priced candidates; a Mildaini Winery 2011 Tvishi (semi sweet wine) and a Marani Tsinandali (dry white) to take home. Plus I bought an Ice Wine from Telavi Wine Cellar Marani made from Satrapezo grapes. I was happy to have so much choice for semi-sweet in both reds and whites. 
 
Every day outside our hotel, an old lady sells home grown fruits from a small table. Every day I buy the most delicious little red grapes, peaches and figs from her.



August 18, 2013 - Looking for Another Hotel.

But it appears that here in Georgia, most hotels or hostels are higher priced and have lower standards than most countries we have visited. We walked around and visited other places and found them not much different in standards. We enjoyed checking out the neighborhoods with crumbling old and refurbished old buildings. We went almost as far up as the radio tower, quite a climb. Back down, we came out on Rastaveli, the main street with stately buildings and trendy shops and restaurants. 
 
We found Prospero's Bookstore hidden down small alley. I had emailed from Istanbul about a Lonely Planet guidebook for Georgia. They were out of stock then and were still out of stock. We decided to have lunch in their coffee shop.

After trudging up and down the streets for the better part of the day, I had had it and decided to go back to the hotel while Dave wanted to check out a further afield across the river.

I had showered and relaxed a bit when Dave returned. He was excited about his visit to Hostelland Germany Guest House. "You'll like it" he said, "It is spotless and the lady running it is super friendly". What more could we ask for? We're moving in the morning.


August 19 to September 8 - Tiblisi  
Moved to: Hostelland Germany 70 Lari ($43) Double ensuite. Two floors have spotless kitchen to use.

Bihan had invited us for breakfast at Cedar of Lebanon. Afterwards, at around 11 am, we were packed up, checked out and hailed a taxi for the move to Hostelland Germany G.H.. Hostelland Germany was a great find. It is a place you actually like to spend time in. Our room on the top floor is the only ensuite room. It is spacious and comfortable and spotless. Outside our room is a modern kitchen and spacious sitting area with balcony for everyone's use. Also one other small room with toilet, but guests in that room have to go downstairs to shower. Because we are staying a week-to-week, we got a nice discount on our room from 90 lari ($54) to 70 lari ($43). We are stoked.
 
 


 
Khinkali, A Georgian Staple
 
Had fantastic lunch at Tbilisi Restaurant on the north side of Dry Bridge (left bank). Great food and good place to people watch. We enjoyed the Caesar salad and had our first Khinkali, Georgian dumplings with variety of fillings, meat, cheese, potato or mushrooms. But what makes these so different is that they also have broth in them. There is a trick to eating them like a local without losing any broth down your shirt. Take a small bite first and suck the wonderful broth out. We did pretty well considering it was our first attempt, we only dribbled a little. They are delicious and we'll be back for more.


 
 
Our Neighborhood

I like our neighborhood. Our hostel is on a side street nestled in a courtyard about a 100 meters off a main avenue and well connected with several buses and Marshrutkas. The Marjanishvili Metro is a 7 minute walk. A pleasant 30 minute walk along the river gets us to Rike Park and the Gondola to the citadel perched on a hill above old town.
 
We hopped on marshrutka # 6 heading north to get to the electronics bazaar where they have 100 shops and stalls. We found place in basement that will try to repair my Sony camera. Sony control switch blocks often wear out prematurely and he could replace that and clean the camera. He would look at the 'image jumping’ problem but thought it that would go away when he replaced the switch control.

Also, the computer has been acting up again and Dave had moved all the photo and document files from the netbook onto the back-up drive. The more files he moved, the more frequently the computer froze. It got to the point that he could only hard-stop the computer. Dave downloaded and ran some diagnostics programs which found nothing. The more he read, the more he concluded it was a hard-drive problem. He took it to another shop in the electronics bazaar. The guy there immediately said it looked like a RAM problem but pulled the hard drive out and tested it, just to make sure. "Ah, bad sectors, Need new one." He opened his drawer and pulled out bundled up stacks of hard drives from Seagate, Western Digital, Toshiba, “What you like?” The new drive was installed in less than a minute but it took over an hour to do a clean install of the OS and Office. The software was buggy and Dave spent hours and hours working through the problems. Downloading and replacing the generic windows drivers with drivers specific to his hardware from the Toshiba website fixed most of the issues. It is still not 100% but will hold us over for awhile longer.
 
Marshrutka 6, heading south, crosses Dry Bridge and ends at Freedom square. We got lost in the narrow cobblestone streets of Old Town with its old churches and bathhouses.

We got to know a few areas of town and the layout of this city.by riding several Marshrutka and metro routes

We have our favorite lobiani (bean) puri baker and a few delis that make the best beet salads. Past the metro is Denis, a great little Halal Turkish place with delicious homemade mains, soups and salads.



Getting Lost in the Cobblestone Streets
 
This town lends itself to interesting walks. Many days we got lost in the winding narrow cobblestoned streets of Old Town, passed balconied houses, old churches and bathhouses. We walked past the old ladies who sit on the same spot in the shade of a tree or building, day after day, selling peaches from a bucket, or figs, bunches of, often wilted, flowers, sunflower seeds or cheep trinkets. Some avoid our eyes and hold up a cup for small change. Most beggars are old people and women, which leads me to believe there are no government programs to take care of the elderly.


 
Tumultuous Times

....We crossed the beautiful glass and metal Peace Bridge over the Mrkvari river to Rika Park which lacks shade but has beautifully manicured flower beds and the fragrance of lavender floated in the air. When we got booted off the sturdy swing set in the playground, a local guy came to talk with us. He pointed to the impressive looking building on the bluff and said "That is the Palace. Our president lives there. And there" he pointed across the river behind the citadel, “is where the prime minister lives. They hate each other. The PM wants to tear down the Peace Bridge and this new concert hall and museum" motioning to the interesting glass tube like buildings appearing to grow out of the cliff-side below the palace. It is not completed and who knows when it will be. "Nothing is being done to better the life of the people of Georgia. I cannot find a job, my parents are dead and I live at the monastery". He learned his English at the monastery. We figured him to be in his 40's.

After the Soviet bloc crumbled, Georgia went through its own revolution and a long period of civil war. Things stabilized under a pro-American president. But progress ground to a halt with the global financial crisis resulting in a political power shift away from the President to the Parliament and Prime Minister who is Pro-Russia. The Lame-duck President’s programs are defunded and they have gone to the extent of moving the parliament building to another city at the behest of the Prime Minister’s party.   


Ronald Reagan
 
They have a bench in the park with a life size statue of Ronald Reagan. The bench has a Reagan quote etched in it reading "Freedom is never more than one generation away from extinction…" That sounds great but can be interpreted to have many different meanings. The original speech is incredibly subversive.



Narikala & Alani
 
From there, we took the cable car (using our metro / bus card) to Narikala, the ancient citadel overlooking Tbilisi and Mrkvari river. The views were spectacular from there. We hiked down and found the subterranean restaurant Alani which we had read about in the LP. The place was wonderfully cool, wine was nice, and the chakapuli (lamb with terragon and plums) and shkmeruli (chicken in garlic sauce) were to die for. We'll be back.



An Iraqi named Rasheed

Rasheed, a 40 something Pediatrician from Iraq, moved into the small room next to us for a night. We invited him to share our dinner. He would just have a bite, he said. We ended up in stimulating conversation with him. Rasheed is married to a 21 year old, his second marriage. He was briefly married to "domineering" Doctor who had a meddling family. He pays her $1100 per month child support and has weekly visits with two sons from that marriage. 
 
Life in Iraq is very stressful and he fears for his and his family every day. Just last week,a Doctor he knew well was dragged out of his house and shot. The threat is very real. He would like to immigrate to a safe country. But even as a trained doctor, he cannot find a way. “Iraqi medical credentials are not recognized in the west” he said. “I would have to get certified and that would mean starting all over again.”

He had just returned with his wife and 8 month old twins from a month vacation in Malaysia. This little 2- week vacation is on his own. He's heading to the Black Sea resort town of Batumi.

He asked if it was true that many teenagers end up pregnant in the USA without being married. The thought that virginity is not as highly regarded in the Western societies was hard to comprehend for him. He would not have considered marrying his wife had she not been a virgin. There better be blood on the marriage bed for the woman's sake. Him being a medical doctor he should know that naturally not every virgin is "intact". No, I didn't ask. We left it at that. But he did talk openly about his medical practice, women who wear "stretchy" clothes, homosexuality in Muslim countries, religious repression and expression. It was fascinating to hear his perspective.