I left off between countries - a strange place indeed to be waiting around... Time zones, languages, climates, cultures, and dogs were are swirling together there in between Anatolia and the Caucasus, Europe and Asia (or perhaps Asia and Europe?), the former Ottoman Empire and the former Soviet Union, the day and the night, the Lira and the Lari, and a bunch of relaxed guards who were almost as confused about the fact that we were there as we were confused about where "there" actually was... or something like that. If eastern Turkey is at times a strange place, Georgia is [View Full Entry]

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I got rave reviews as a tour guide from the guys I took to Georgia a few weeks ago, so this weekend Cyrus wanted me to take him. I can't imagine why. If Seinfeld was the show about nothing, then my tours are the tours about nothing. I sit on Nino's balcony and read. Sometimes I sit in a cafe, usually the same ones. I don't go to old churches, I don't go to cultural events, and I don't go anywhere that's hot. Getting There The marshrutka (mini-van) ride from Yerevan to Tbilisi takes about 6 hours, counting the two hours [View Full Entry]

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Day 5 Today I decided to go to Gori to check out the Stalin museum and the fortress. Gori is the town that Stalin was born and raised in and is located 1 and a bit hours east of Tbilisi. I had to take a Marshrukte (minibus) from Tbilisi's Didube bus "station" (read: giant car park). Which was an adventure in itself trying to find the right one as Georgian isn't written in Cyrilic i found it quite difficult. After getting to Gori and going round the Stalin museum (rip off!! $10!!!) which paints Stalin as not quite as bad [View Full Entry]

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Day 3: So today was a pretty lazy day. All i did was lay on the beach and wait for my train at 11pm. I still managed to get a little sunburnt despite the fact the sun never peaked through the clouds all day! After boarding the train in what can only be described as a tropical storm, i tried to get some sleep but the air-con in 4 person cabin was "broken" so i couldnt sleep for hours. :( The train carriage also looked so old that Stalin could have ridden it and toilet looked (and smelt) like it [View Full Entry]

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I confidently wave goodbye to my hosts and step outside, hoping to catch the 1oclock marshrutka (it's 1:15) if I'm not too late. An overcast day in Sukhum(i), a few drops of rain. I've spent the morning at the museum, then at the botanical gardens, then buying stamps and other souvenirs to bribe the Abkhazia-lovers back home. Pretty full day so far. Now I need to catch a marshrutka to Gal(i), another to the "border" at Ingur(i), deal with the Russian soldiers there, walk across the bridge and into Georgia, then take a marshrutka to Zugdidi in time for the [View Full Entry]

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Day 1: So, I leave for Heathrow at ridiculous O'clock in the morning. After 3 and a half hours and sleeping through the inflight meal (grrrrr!!!) i arrive at Istanbul airport and join the monster que visas. Eventuly i get to Trabzon and have my now broken bag (grrr!!!) searched by customs. I find the place i want to stay. Which is a catholic guesthouse attached to a church. It's a very nice place and the owner is aswelll, its technically free but they ask you to make a donation to the church (which i do). As I'm pretty knackerd [View Full Entry]

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Sitting on Nino's balcony It's past midnight. I hear voices, distant TVs. I see headlights race up the hill on the far side of the river. I read, write, contemplate. I'm reading The Moor's Last Sigh by (Sir) Rushdie. I copy passages that speak to me into my journal: (She) drank her own bitterness and called it sweet, walked in her own desert and called it lush ... If Nino were here there would be endless Georgian toasts and bottomless glasses of strong liquor. Suddenly, skyrockets explode in the sky. I am literally thrilled by my private show. Traveler Tales Getting [View Full Entry]

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Som vanlig er med nasjonaldager her omkring, ble vi vitne til digre men relativt vennlige militærparader... [View Full Entry]

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Dagen etter hviledagen i Kutaisi var det fremdeles meningsløst kraftig motvind, men vi kunne ikke bli der lenger, og tok fatt på veien videre østover. Det gikk meningsløst treigt treigt, og vi var i tvil om vi i det hele tatt ville klare den planlagte etappen på ca 10 mil før det ble mørkt. Det ville nok vært mulig å finne et krypinn i Zestaponi ca halvveis, men byen virket lite fristende, så vi hamstret vann og croissanter og fortsatte. Etter Zestaponi begynte stigningen mot en fjellovergang på knappe 1000 m. Fjellandet Georgia er ikke bare omgitt av noen av [View Full Entry]

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Her er en kort oppsummering av hva som har skjedd siden forrige blogging. Mer utfyllende blogger vil komme etterhvert... Torsdag 17. mai Sykkeldag fra Trabzon til Hopa. 17,7 mil på selveste syttendes mai! Vi passet på å få i oss respektable mengder iskrem denne dagen, og nynnet Valdresmarsj mens vi syklet med Svartehavet på venstre side. Fredag18. mai Sykkeldag fra Hopa - grensa til Georgia - Kabuleti (via Batumi). Den georgiske grensa bød, på tross av mange rykter om korrupt grensepoliti og tollere, på den bortimot enkleste grensekryssinga hittil. Resten av dagen ble brukt til å ta inn over seg [View Full Entry]

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