Blogs from Tbilisi, Tbilisi District, Georgia, Asia - page 3

Having arrived a day before other people in our group we spent the day exploring the city by foot with two of our fellow TLG members. Gerogian drivers are crazy, a zebra crossing does not mean that they will stop or even slow down - there were definately a few close calls today. We explored some of the old city and wonderd through streets and parks. The majority of the buildings were built in the soviet era and are in very poor condition, it is facinating to see how destroyed buildings can look if they are not maintained. It was good however to see that they are in the process of rebuilding and repairing the old buildings with construction work going on all over the town. Not only does this provide jobs but the buildings that ... read more

On Thursday it starts raining and I don’t think it’s ever going to stop. It’s been a strange week with Eka going off to work every morning and me staying at home. I did my first surreptitious wash up after she’d left one morning. Levan was still asleep in the living room so I closed the door to ensure he wouldn’t hear me and sneakily washed up the dishes in the sink. I figured Levan would think that Eka did it before she went to school and when Eka came home she’s think Levan had done it. My god I’m an idiot sometimes. I like the little ways I discover what’s acceptable or what’s expected of me though. On the first day Eka was going to school without me I thought it would be rude to ... read more

I wake up to my first full day in my new home feeling apprehensive to say the least. I’m not sure what the showering situation is so I get up and get dressed as quietly as possible prepared to face my first day without a shower since I last went to festival . I also have quite a lot of washing (that’s laundry to all you Americans out there) to do but I also don’t know what the situation is there either. I know the English are notorious for not wishing to offend people but I take it to the absolute extreme. I am constantly terrified of doing something wrong. Anyway, we have breakfast and Eka tells me we’re going into Zugdidi. I’m eager to see the town but first let me tell you a little ... read more

Time to leave Azerbaijan and see what Georgia has to offer. Ilgar's brother in law had collected me from the bus station on arrival, but Ilgar assured me that is was an easy walk back. It was down hill, but when carrying about 20kilos of luggage, a 30-40min walk is a long way. I stumble across the bus station accidentally as the directions I was given were wrong. The next minibus to Balakan is not for an hour, and it says Zaqatala on the front. It means I get a seat anyway which is good, many people have to stand and I am too tall for these minibuses. Also means that my legs are too long too so the ride is uncomfortable whichever way I travel. Only two hours to Zaqatala, there is meant to be ... read more

In Georgia there are lots of churches and fortresses If we are asked to describe Georgia using only three words we would say "churches and fortresses". If you visit a few places in Georgia you quickly realise that there are churches and fortresses everywhere. Many of them are really old and are also in very good condition. We knew already before we arrived that we couldn't visit them all because we would get bored after the first dozen or so. But even though we skipped many churches we still visited quite a few. In this blog entry we have focused on the capital Tblisi and the places we visited around Tbilisi. First we would like to write a little bit about a town a few hours by car north of Tbilisi, a town called Kazbegi. Kazbegi ... read more