Chacha, Khachapuri............and ruski, ruski, sex, sex?


Advertisement
Georgia's flag
Asia » Georgia » Tbilisi District » Tbilisi
August 29th 2013
Published: August 29th 2013
Edit Blog Post

Total Distance: 0 miles / 0 kmMouse: 0,0

Kars (Turkey) to Tbilisi (Georgia)

Kars - Ardahan - Artvin - Batumi - Zugdidi - Hostel half way to Mestia - Mestia - Ushguli - Tsageri - Kutaisi - Family stay close to Kashuri - Tbilisi via Gori (Total Distance on trip 10268 KM (Just over 6000 miles)

My first Chacha since 2007My first Chacha since 2007My first Chacha since 2007

A free Chacha courtesy of a Cafe owner
My last two days in north-easternTurkey were certainly the icing on the cake cycling through challenging yet breathtakingly beautiful scenery varying between mountains and lakes.

I was joined on one occasion by a scruff of a dog whom I named Latch. After briefly patting him on the head, he ended up joining me for the next 25 KM. It was only a long downhill stretch where I eventually managed to evade him and was personally a little sad when we went our separate ways as he had kept me such good company on the long undulating road.

After a particularly long day's ride climbing over the highest pass of the trip so far I found myself in the town of Artvin, where I met a cyclist called Murat who kindly invited me to stay at his house for the evening. There I met the remainder of his family who fed and watered me and then took me along to a Turkish wedding. A wedding celebration in Turkey is a wonderful experience where you typically have 300 guests attend, who all pay a minor contribution to the wedding. The highlight of the evening was watching the guests dancing the Halay
A dog called 'Latch'A dog called 'Latch'A dog called 'Latch'

I named him Latch after he latched on to me.
to traditional Turkish music.

The following day my generous host Murat elected to cycle the 100 km to the Georgian border with me. On reaching the Black Sea one instantaneously felt the humid heat return which had plagued me so much in the southern part of Turkey.

Although I had had a most wonderful time in Turkey, I was looking forward to crossing the border into Georgia for a change of scenery as well as diet. Khachapuri (cheese pastry) now replaced the doner kebab and Chacha (grape vodka) took the place of Chai.

My first port of call was the city of Batumi, in the autonomous region of Adjara, which I had visited on a previous overland trip in 2007. The city had certainly changed much since then with numerous futuristic design buildings appearing all over the horizon

In the city whilst residing at the Batumi Globus Hostel I was very fortunate to meet a wonderful family from Iran, who accepted me into their fold and with whom I spent the next few days going to the beach and visiting the botanical gardens. Here I found out much about the Iranian way of life and was
Latch the dogLatch the dogLatch the dog

He followed me for 25 KM
equally honoured to taste some of their food which they prepared for me.

Although I don't consider Batumi to be the real Georgia I'm accustomed to, it was a great chance to relax and swim in the Black Sea, meet other backpackers and generally have a lot of fun drinking beers and eating pizza. During my stay there were also many Ukrainians staying in the hostel and it was brilliant listening to them sing and play tunes on their guitars after they had drunk a few Chachas.

Leaving Batumi behind, rather than cycling directly to Tbilisi via Kutaisi and Gori, I elected to visit Svaneti, a region in the north of Georgia which other backpackers had told me was a stunningly beautiful area. It would take a few days to reach the towns of Mestia and Ushguli in this region and it would be mainly uphill and for the most of the part off-road.

The ride proper started from a place called Zugdidi where I stayed in a cheap hotel for the night. Unfortunately on this occasion I did not elect to inspect the room first and paid the owner the money upfront. It was whilst the
LatchLatchLatch

Waiting for me to carry on cycling
Gentleman owner was showing me the bathroom facilities that a woman came in and said 'ruski ruski, sex sex that I realised that I had inadvertently booked myself into a hotel that doubled up as a brothel.

Cycling around the Svaneti region has undoubtedly been the most challenging part of my bike ride thus far, but also the most rewarding. In particular the ride from Mestia to Ushguli (highest inhabited village in the whole of Europe) was on the main off road and the 45 KM distance took pretty much all day. Walking into the village of Ushguli is like stepping back in time, but the background of the mountains overshadowing the towers which emanate from every household is a picture I would not like to miss out on. Here whilst staying in a guesthouse I really had to drag out my linguistic skills as all the other guests were from France.

While the Turkish people still remain in my eyes the most hospitable and generous people on this planet, I have also been warmly welcomed into Georgian people's homes, been given free shots of Chacha, and biscuits and an ice-cream from a small general store.

On
Cow herdersCow herdersCow herders

Met these guys along the way. They could speak limited english and we chatted about their life as a cow herder
one occasion, whilst cycling on the backroads to Tbilisi I had underestimated the length of my journey. It was starting to get dark and also started to rain. I saw some Ladies in a garden and approached them and asked if I could pitch my tent in their garden for the night. They invited me in, let me sleep in one of their outhouses and then introduced me to their daughter and daughter's friend. One of the girls played the piano and they both sang me a song originally sang by Adel. It turned out that one of the girls had come second in Georgia's own show of 'Georgia has got talent'.



Arriving in Tbilisi, I met up with three other touring cyclists all cycling independently of one another. With a few days to rest I paired up with Buggi the German cyclist and headed up to Kazbegi (without our bikes), a beautiful region to the north of the capital which is one of the most iconic and photographed places in Georgia. Here we wandered up to the Monastry which is overshadowed by Kazbegi mountain 5033 m high. (3 times the height of Ben Everest).

One of the other cyclists I met was en ex squaddie called Derek, who unfortunately lost his wife from cancer two years ago, whilst himself suffering from Prostate, Brain and Lung cancer. Operating with only one lung he is currently cycling from the Uk to Everest base Camp and beyond to prove his Doctor wrong that he wouldn't be able to achieve this feat. Inspirational to another level! I shall be meeting up with him again in Baku in Azerbaijan and may even cycle with him for a while.

Prior to arriving in Tbilisi, my ex-boss from my piloting days had also put me in touch with some ex-pats in the capital and a couple of drinking sessions in Betsy's Hotel were very much appreciated, where even the Deputy Ambassador for the UK turned up for the evening.

So having refreshed my tastebuds I am now setting off tomorrow in the direction of Azerbaijan. I have just heard that a couple of my Swiss friends have been denied entry into Iran due to the escalating situation in Syria, so I am hoping that this will not haphazardly affect my application process for my onward journey to Central Asia.


Additional photos below
Photos: 117, Displayed: 26


Advertisement

Entering the town of BatumiEntering the town of Batumi
Entering the town of Batumi

Much development has gone on since I last visited in 2007
BatumiBatumi
Batumi

The Georgian President wanted Batumi to look like a mini Dubai


29th August 2013

Latch
Clive, Another great blog. It's great to hear of your adventures and of the fascinating (and generous) people you are meeting. As for the phots, they're great so keep them coming. Keep tredding and stay safe! Andy L
29th August 2013

Latch
Clive, Another great blog. It's great to hear of your adventures and of the fascinating (and generous) people you are meeting. As for the phots, they're great so keep them coming. Keep tredding and stay safe! Andy L
29th August 2013

Keep at it!
Hello from the States. I was just skimming the site when I ran across your latest entry. Good luck with your ride, I have always wanted to do something similar, do a tour of a part of the world I know little about. I'll be interested in reading your entries and viewing your photos. Keep at it!
30th August 2013

travel
Hey, your posts are very nice. I read so many posts by you and found them so interesting. You put the right content with beautiful photographs that is very nice.Keep sharing! http://www.vacationinindia.org/
1st September 2013

Hi Clive, great blog once again. Keep them coming, they area fascinating especially since some of the places you have been to recently I recognise from out trip through Georgia, etc a few years ago. best of luck with the next leg......things will start to get even more interesting from now on. Be safe

Tot: 0.134s; Tpl: 0.014s; cc: 10; qc: 80; dbt: 0.0777s; 1; m:domysql w:travelblog (10.17.0.13); sld: 1; ; mem: 1.3mb