Hotel Victoria Tbilisi

... placing their monasteries and churches. From nothern Armenia, we headed southwest to Yerevan, the capital. From what we'd read in our Lonely Planet guidebook, we were sure that we'd like Tbilisi the best, but our experience has been just the opposite. We're glad to have spent a day plus in Tbilisi, but neither of us has any desire to spend any more time there. Yerevan, on the other hand, we really like. There aren't a lot of ...

... SMS from Luka - he's there, we have to look for a man with beard and a hood near the exit. Silly description as many Georgian men seem to have forgotten shaving and many of them have hoods. A couple of minutes and a phone call later I exit the airport with a raised hand and this is when Luka approaches us. Hellos and smiles, a cigarette is lit (no, we don't smoke) and a driver arranged by Luka is there. There is nothing we can ...

... Almaty and then on to Georgia and that I would have two hours in the airport in Aktau. Instead, we flew to Shymkent, switched planes, and then on to Aktau. We were an hour late and then had to wait on luggage. From there, we discovered that the airport was under repair and that we would have to lug our luggage across a parking lot to the other building. By the time I got to the other airport, I only had 15-20 minutes before my next flight ...

... Tbilisi. The TV-Tower is quite an orientational landmark in Tbilisi and, inspired by the Eiffel counterpart, it also performs a variety of flashing and blinking effect each night. There is even a funicular to the top, but seemed to be out of order these days. 15.9.2008: Vardzia Today I get up so early that I have nobody to say goodbye after packing up. As usually, the city is really dead in the morning but I still manage to buy some breakfast (khachapuri, nut sweets and bottles of ...

... muss schauen wie ich an Geld komme. Das hiesige Amex Office, wo ich Ersatz fuer meine TCs wollte (geschieht ja angeblich in 3h), meinte, ich muss eine Nummer in den USA anrufen (hm, ohne Geld?) und dann wird erst einmal die Buerokratie angeworfen und irgendwann bekomme ich vielleicht Ersatz, vielleicht auch nicht... Mein Plan sieht vermutlich so aus: Bus nach Istanbul Bus nach Muenchen Flug nach Neuseeland ich schaue mal was Fluege kosten, sind aber vermutlich recht teuer. Gruss Ralf

... momentarily to draw large breaths. It was so fast we could hardly understand a word, and in fact became quite comical. The building itself is interesting, but rates no comment. Full of very heavily carved furniture, ornate possessions of minor royalty, plus some interesting ethnographic artifacts. Back on the road again, through Kutaisi, on the bypass road with lots of abandoned industry and decrepit high rise apartment blocks ...

... ticket seller, I tried to explain him that we are waiting for the marshrutka that goes FROM Borjomi, and not TO Borjomi. He didn't understand us, and he loked at us like we've just arrived with the last space shuttle from the Moon. In a glance, I saw a moving marshrutka, blue marshrutka, with the quote I've been looking for. TAM - 985. "Come!" I told Michal, and we walked after the vehicle. I still believe that the man who led us to the marshrutka to Borjomi was still ...

... of the city passed too fast to me. I wanted to get to bed as early as possible, to catch some sleep, in order to be conscious the day after. We have only 10 days, and being tired 1 of them is 10% of the trip. Wouldn't it be a pitty? The Georgian government decided to call the major highway that lead from the airport into the city on the name of current US president since he visited Tbilisi exactly 3 years ago - on May 9th 2005. Many efforts were made by ...

... Kuna kloostri külastuseks planeeriti pool tundi, siis otsustasime kasutada aega ujumiseks. See oli väga-väga mõnus. Tagasisõit kulges tuldud teed ja süües kauni vaatega söögikohas.Siinkohal tuleb mainida, et klassikalisi wc-potte leiab vaid hotellist. Igal pool mujal on paigaldatud "Stalini jalajäljed". Sealjuures ei ole tegemist nõukogudeaja jäänukiga, vaid kaasaja toodanguga.

We've arrived in the Georgian capital and are hungry to sample the nightlife after two nights high in the Caucasus. We're coming to the end of two days and three nights in the city and we've had a blast. It didn't start well though - a word of advice, should you find yourself in Tbilisi avoid the Hotel Morkinali like the plague. It barely escaped the last earthquake and clearly all the guests have been chain smoking to calm their nerves ...