Soundtrack:
Georgia On My Mind
Tuesday,
11 September 2018
I
had a nightmare where I was with an evil person and we were hurting each other
with our hands. I woke up feeling pain on my wrists as if someone had indeed
held them tightly and hurt me. It was 03:40 then and even though I tried, I
couldn’t sleep thereafter and finally at 05:00, I got up and headed for the
shower. Performed prayers and freshened up then waited for breakfast. Lot had
told me the bus times back to Tbilisi were at 08:10, 10:00 and 12:00 noon if I
recall correctly. She had advised me to take the first bus out as it would be
too hot after that and as I had more or less covered the main sights, I was ready
to leave.
I
left at 07:20 and walked to Kilikia bus station about 1.5km away. Lot had told
me I didn’t have to cross the road (my map told me otherwise) and as she had
taken the bus to Tbilisi before, I trusted her. So I was not happy when I asked
around and was told I needed to take the bus across the road. I had to go down
stairs into the underpass to the other side and my heart just sank at the sight
of the horrible bus station. It looked straight out of the 1970s and only one
woman seemed to know a bit of English, well, enough English to point out the
marshrutka to Tbilisi to me. I approached the driver and asked if he was going
to Avlabari and he said he was heading for Ortachala. I asked where I could get
the bus to Avlabari and he replied in Armenian and gestured. I asked if it was
across the road and he seemed to agree so I headed back down the underpass.
This time I asked the drivers themselves and was again told I needed to go to
the other side. So there I went again down and up the stupid stairs. I had just
about given up at that point and told the driver I would ride in his marshrutka
even though he was headed for Ortachala bus station. I paid 6,500 Dram for my
fare.
We
left the sad excuse of a bus station at 08:44 and after some time, stopped at a
supermarket in a town that looked like the rain had just stopped minutes
before. The driver told us to change money there and I took the opportunity to
use the bathroom. I bought some chocolates before selling off the remaining
Dram and received 5 Georgian Lari.
The
border control was smooth and we had to take our bags to enter Georgia (as what
happened early the previous pre-dawn). We reached Ortachala around 14:20 and
after a while, I ended up sharing a cab with another woman who was in the same
marshrutka from Yerevan. The driver gestured that I was to pay 10 Lari for the
ride to Avlabari. She and the driver got into an argument – I tell you,
Georgians talk really loudly that I had problems differentiating if they were
talking or arguing – and I started getting uncomfortable. So it was with relief
when I spotted Isani metro station. The argument had by this time reached a
peak and the woman got out and not to be outdone, I got out too and gave the
driver 5 Lari. He started protesting and I told him 10 Lari was to Avlabari
metro station and as I was getting off before then, 5 Lari should more than
suffice. Then I turned and walked away before he could start shouting at me.
At
the station, I paid for 3 Lari – 2 Lari for the card and 1 Lari for the value
in the card (each trip costs 0.5 Lari)– and rode the train until Avlabari. At
Avlabari, I had to ask a few people the direction and no one knew English.
Finally I said ‘Abano?’ (short for Abanotubani which is the district in Old
Tbilisi where my guest house was) and threw out my hands and one guy pointed
the way. I walked down the road and was not amused to find a road construction
ahead. Luckily, I met three teenagers and one of them told me the bridge ahead
was closed but I could detour and use an alternative road. So I followed behind
them down the hill. Whoa, I thought, it’d be a torture walking up this hill to
Avlabari the next day.
I
reached Red Fox Guesthouse about 15 minutes later and it was half-way up
another steep hill. I didn’t realise Old Tbilisi is hilly! I forgot to save the
safe box code in which Tamara, the owner, had left my room key so I struggled a
bit. Thankfully, a British bloke came out and I asked if there was WiFi. He
confirmed there was so I got in and used the WiFi to access my email for the
code. I could have sworn I had saved the code but it turned out I didn’t.
Anyway, no harm done.
After
performing prayers, I went out to explore Old Tbilisi. It was a charming area
with sulphuric bath houses (bain in French means bath so I gathered that bano
is Georgian means bath too) and I enjoyed strolling around the bath houses
before climbing up to the Central Mosque and down again and wandered around the
streets. Then I walked across the Metekhi Bridge and walked along the Mtkvari
River to the Bridge of Peace. I crossed back the river and wandered around
before making my way back to the guesthouse. There are a lot of Muslim tourists
and a few halal eateries so it’s really a Muslim-friendly city. I also noted
with a little amusement those who approached me during my walk trying to sell
of wine tours could speak English but it was so hard for me to find anyone who
could speak English back at Avlabari just ten minutes away.
I
arrived back at the guest house just after 20:00, had a shower and performed
prayers before going down to the kitchen to have dinner. A Georgian couple had
also returned to their room and I could hear their loud conversation. Either
the walls were thin or it’s just their nature to speak loudly!
A bathhouse
Chreli Abano
Bridge of Peace
Wednesday,
12 September 2018
I
went out early in the morning after showering and prayers. I always love going
out for a brief morning walk and have the place all to myself. True enough,
hardly a soul was out and about unless you count the workers who were already
hard at work sweeping the pavement and clearing rubbish. I don’t know why more
people don’t do this but in a way it’s great because I get to enjoy a peaceful
morning and I can take pictures without being disturbed.
I
returned back to the guest house and met Tamara, the owner. I had to wait while
my breakfast was being prepared but it wasn’t a long wait. At times like that I
would fantasise having my own small guesthouse to run but I doubt I have much
patience to deal with annoying guests.
After
breakfast, I returned to my room to retrieve my bag. I left it at the reception
then walked over to Liberty Square metro station. While it wasn’t a hilly route,
the station was much further than Avlabari. But it was OK because I didn’t have
my suitcase with me then. From Liberty Square, I rode the metro to Didube
(pronounced as Dee-do-bay) as I wanted to get a marshrutka from there to
Mtskheta. Oh my, I wasted about 20 minutes walking around trying to find the
counter. Hardly anyone spoke English and I don’t speak Russian. Finally I tried
to locate the buildings in this post I read and saved the night before and eventually
located the blinking counter. And guess what, the lady behind the counter could
speak English!!! I paid GEL1 and boarded the marshrutka. It left at 10:30.
We
arrived Mtskheta about 20 minutes later and I headed for Svetitskhoveli
Cathedral, a UNESCO World Heritage Site. I walked around the cathedral before
entering. Interestingly I found a bilingual epitaph in Georgian and Arabic
scripts which I later found was for Tamar, the first wife of George XI, a Georgian
monarch who had to nominally accept Islam before he could be confirmed as a
viceroy by the then king of Iran. After that I walked out to the small bazaar
outside to River Mtkvari (it looked more like a lake instead of a river)
and across the river high up the hill was Jvari Monastery. There were many taxi
drivers outside the cathedral offering to bring you to Jvari but I couldn’t
spare the time.
Svetitskhoveli Cathedral
Tamar’s tomb
I
strolled back through the bazaar and set about locating the marshrutka stop for
the ride back to Tbilisi and just about managed to board one. It was 11:55 then
and we reached Didube at about 12:20. I rode the train back to Liberty Square
and walked back to the guesthouse. After performing prayers and a light lunch,
I left and walked up to Avlabari. I had thought about it on the walk back to
the guest house and decided I didn’t fancy dodging tourists and lugging my
suitcase up the cobbled streets to Liberty Square. From Avlabari, I rode the
metro back to Didube and from there, I boarded a marshrutka to Kutaisi. The fare
was GEL10.
It
was supposed to be a 3.5-hour trip to Kutaisi but we were asked to change
marshrutkas about 31km outside Kutaisi. The second marshrutka was newer,
cleaner and more comfortable and I got down at the last stop which was just
outside McDonald’s about five hours since I boarded the marshrutka in Tbilisi. There
were other marshrutkas there heading back to Tbilisi and Batumi which is a city
by the Black Sea. It’s tempting to go there (then I can say I went to both the
Caspian and Black Seas in one trip) but I was going to fly out from Kutaisi the
following afternoon so no Batumi on this trip. I wandered around and finally
walked into McDonald’s in search of someone, anyone, who could speak English. I’m
not the type to really speak out but needs must. So I marched to the counter
and asked if anyone spoke English. Thankfully, the manager and one of the girls
at the counter spoke some English and they helped me with the bus info. I had
to go into McDonald’s again to ask where I should wait for the bus no. 1 to the
city centre. She brought me out and pointed across the road and told me to wait
outside a pharmacy. The marshrutka came within seconds and I reached the city
centre minutes later. I got down at the first stop after we had crossed the
river and walked to my guesthouse. And my, there were so many dogs around. I had
to walk carefully around dog poo and potholes before reaching the guesthouse. I
opened the gate and saw a Siamese cat. What a relief!
After
putting away my bags, I ventured out to find a moneychanger to change my note
into smaller denominations to pay for my room (my host didn’t have smaller
change). It was approaching dusk then and when I returned to the guesthouse, it
was already dark.
The
owner had some guests or neighbours over and yes I could hear their
conversation. It sounded somewhat like Japanese at some point. I was too
knackered and managed to fall asleep.
To
be continued
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