It's 4 in the morning when he reaches Batumi. Around feels like a very poor neighborhood in Latin America or somewhere. Dark, dirt roads as streets... graffiti covered abandoned buildings. Except.... you see women outside sweeping the streets... another running an open air watermelon stand...

Is it safe or dangerous here? The images are confusing .

They reach the bus station which is completely dark. Everybody gets off and scatters. No, definitely not hanging out here... Hmmm... well, I guess if it's safe for women to be out alone at this hour, it should be safe for me... right? He reassures himself

He starts walking... down a potholed, semi-paved road... past run down and abandoned structures... Not sure this is such a good idea...

And then, he rubs his eyes... could it be real? a cybercafe open at this hour? Sure enough! I eagerly heads inside, and connects with the outside world.

Second impression of Georgia

It's almost sunrise when he heads out, and the first thing that catches his eye are the words "F-- you!" drawn on a wall. Georgians have just recently taken a huge interest into learning English... so it's good to see they're putting their new language skills to good use!

And then ... a beautiful cathedral... then there's a pleasant street lined with some decently preserved buildings. Hmmm... maybe this town isn't as bad as it looked a at 4 in the morning.

And then it just keeps getting better, and better... and better... he approaches the town center where there's a grand plaza, surrounded by a palace, a palace-castle fusion building... another innovative modern building with a baroque twist being built... Batumi is trying very hard not only to look like Europe, but to look like a beautiful European city.

And it's not just 19th century architecture. Down towards the shore there are a some stunning innovative skyscrapers being built... a tower with a gleaming silver ball at the top... another plaza with a large fountain and statues of Greek Gods.

Sandwiched in between, you've still got some leftover ugly Soviet style "apartment box buildings"--but Batumi has even found an innovative solution for these . Tear them down and build something else? No. Cover them over with cool fiberglass designs--turning them into something beautiful.

This feels like an architect's paradise. He didn't realize how thirsty he was for beautiful architecture. Here it seems that the motto is: make every building amazing, unique and beautiful!

He notices that one of the skyscrapers being built here is a Donald Trump building. Clearly Batumi is getting tons of money from the outside to fund these massive projects. But at what cost? Is the country running up a massive debt? Is this a bubble that's going to burst, like in southern Spain? With it's towering hotel/casinos, Batumi it seems wants to be the Las Vegas of the East--and there are some Western Europeans who are being drawn here. But ironically, it seems that for this project to succeed, Georgia is going have to get most of its tourists from its arch-nemesis: Russia.

Next order of business: buy a pair of swimming trunks and go for a swim in the Black Sea . He leaves his stuff and the hostel and heads down to the rocky shore, where he enjoys the balmy waters among Russian vacationgoers... doing a sort of "swim-hike" up along the shore, gazing up at the towering skyscrapers...

Next? I guess I should get away from the city center and see the real life of typical Batumi residents. Yes, away from the city center the apartment buildings do start to look pretty bleak and life looks pretty tough... Then city fades out quickly, and he finds himself veering back to the shoreline to what seems like an endless display of architectural and sculptural ingenuity. It seems like they brought every great designer in the world to come work on this city. There's a giant lit up arch welcoming to the city... and lake with and garden island in the center and dancing fountains that will light up at night... there are tower, Greek style temples, Chinese pagodas... everything you could imagine along this stretch. Normally he would call this overkill and wasteful, but not today ... he's just going to enjoy the experience...

A lot of people out and about. He notices a couple of African fellows, which seems a little odd... Georgia doesn't seem like the land of opportunity--and it's certainly not the gateway to anywhere else in Europe! Students perhaps? Businessmen? He notices several people approach them wanting to take their pictures, and the fellows take it in good sport. Maybe some of these people have never seen an African before.

Finally the park starts to fade away, and there's just an occasional fisherman. But he feels like walking further... following a road as it veers inland through lush vegetable plots and orchards and loops around the airport. It's getting late--but he starts thinking it would be fun to hike all the way to the Turkish border...

Finally he starts worrying that he's pushing his luck and might miss the last bus into town. So he hops on an overcrowded bus full of jolly rural folks, including an old fellow standing, holding a a plastic cup full with beer to the brim, swaying with the bus's movements .

This feels more like the "real" Georgia.

Back in the city, he stops for a beautiful fountain show with classical and modern music... then follows the lively boardwalk once again--which is packed with people and has a couple of good buskers, some playing Georgian and others English music...

And so his Georgian adventure comes to an end.

Conclusion of the Georgia Journey.

As the Traveler bids farewell to this welcoming country, he feels a warmth with a tinge of sadness towards this country. It's beautiful to see how this country is working so hard to get a "fresh start", leave behind the shadow of its Soviet past and try hard to connect with the West. And yet... geography seems to be Georgia's curse. With Russia to the north, as a controlling parent who doesn't want to let its child grow up and be fully independent ... to the west is the Black Sea, Turkey, Bulgaria, the Balkans... it's a long complicated road to create a direct link between Georgia and The West. And Russia has made it painfully clear that it wants Georgia within its own sphere of influence.

And within are the Georgian people, trapped in a holding pattern, with still few decent job opportunities in their own country... a very difficult route to immigrate West... and now a closed border if they want to suck in their pride and go look for work in Russia.

He thinks back to the wistful welcome he's gotten from people... they are happy that someone out in the Free World at least knows that they exist.

He remembers the parties that got started at the drop of the hat... the concert and drinks on the van from Sighnagi... the impromptu concert on the train to Gori... the folks at the park... the taxi drivers telling him about the "good old days" . Georgians do seem to be able to just relax and enjoy the moment more than their Armenian and Azeri neighbors.

He wonders what he would advise this country, if it were to ask his advice. Continue dreaming of becoming part of The West? Or be more pragmatic, and settle for being a satellite state of Mother Russia? Or maybe align itself more with its former overlord, Turkey? Should they continue with these massive makeovers of Tbilisi and Batumi to turn them into world class attractions, or just focus on the basics?

Any path this country takes has the risk of leading it to failure. But at least the country is trying... whereas neighboring Armenia feels like it's kind of given up... And unlike Azerbaijan, Georgia is a democracy... so hopefully its leaders will be held accountable for whatever choices they make.

I really don't know which path it should take. I think either aligning itself with the West, or with Russia could bring prosperity or stability... or it could lead to it becoming a neo-colony of either one. One thing is for sure: Georgia will not prosper all on its own.