I crossed a pretty chaotic border into Georgia at Sarp. It took ages cos they thought my passport was fake cos there are creases around the photo. Got through in the end though and into another country!
I liked Georgia straight away, the road wasn't a groomed dual carriageway but a smaller bumpy road which hadn't destroyed the scenery. There were waterfalls and statues and churches instead of mosques. I won't miss the morning call to prayer before sunrise! I got to Batumi that evening and was offered a cheap bed in someone's shed. I had a shower heated by a wood boiler and then went round to a guys house who could speak English. He was called Mareb and had a love for heavy metal music! Spent a great evening drinking coffee, Georgian cognac and Russian vodka and watching videos of Iron Maiden on his massive TV!
The next day I woke up at 9 with a hangover and there was a monsoon outside. I used it as an excuse to have a lie in and got going about 12. As I rode through Georgia I fell in love with it! The scenery was amazing, great people and incredible food. I decided not to rush through the country which is very small. I rode about 60 miles per day at a leisurely pace and stopped every time I was offered tea, wine or beer.
It's impossible to describe how beautiful the country is. The Georgians somehow manage to build fantastic old churches on top of mountains which make the scenery more spectacular. I visited a few and saw a lot of ancient frescos.
The highlight of Georgia was being invited into people's homes. I stayed in a small village with a history teacher. His wife was a fantastic cook and we had a huge meal with pork, cheese, fish, salad, bread and great home made sauces. An American guy called Sean joined us and told me about life in the villiage. He is spending a year there teaching English and is living with a local family. In the recent winter there was lot of snow and they often get snowed in because the road gets closed. Not a problem though because every house there grows grapes and makes wine which is stockpiled for winter! Breakfast was interesting! A cup of coffee and some cointreu! I managed to get away with only having a shot. My host however downed 3 full glasses before going off to school to teach - incredible!
The next day I climbed over a beautiful pass and got my first view of the Caucas mountains. The snow capped peaks were stunning. I descended to Gori, which is where Stalin was born. I met my uni mate, Henry Roe and we went to a restaurant to celebrate! We had a blow out meal with wine and it cost about a fiver each! After the meal we were invited to join a table of middle aged local men for a piss-up! Zaza offered me a place to stay in Gori for as long as I wanted. I was impressed with how much Georgian Henry had picked up in 7 weeks. He is also teaching in a school here.
The next day we met at the Stalin museum which is very interested but a bit surreal. There is no mention of Stalin's appalling treatment of his own people and he's portrayed as a God in the museum! There is a split view in Georgia about Stalin. Some people loved him because they had a job and a car and stability. They were able to ignore the huge number of people he killed - around 20 million, many of whom were Georgian - because they had a good life. Now unemployment is Georgia is high and the country is stuck in a rut, not really going anywhere. There are also a large number of people who detest Stalin though.
The museum included his death mask, outfits, letters, photos, a statue of him and a train carriage where he met Roosevelt and Churchill after WW2 to discuss governing the countries they had liberated. There is also Stalin's childhood home which is in its original place. The rest of the neighborhood was knocked down and a temple was built over his house so that it now resembles a shrine.
I left Zaza's and cycled towards Tbilisi. I wanted to stop at Mtsketa on the way which is the old capital and spiritual home of Georgia. I spent the afternoon there, looked around a very impressive old cathedral and relaxed in a park. I was invited to camp there and a spontaneous party started, inevitably involving large amounts of Russian Vodka! I cooked rice for everyone on my stove, which interested them as it runs in petrol. I played music from my phone and educated them in Pink Floyd and Bob Dylan!
The next day I met Henry again in Tbilisi, which is a fantastic city. It's beautiful, with loads of ancient churches, hills, a bustling old town with great restaurants and bars, and a great atmosphere. Unfortunately I watched Man U get annihilated by Barcelona in the Champions League Final, but other than that we had a fantastic time.
The last part of Georgia was great, over some more mountains, then a long descent to a very hot, semi desert plain. I saw snakes on the road as I crossed the plain to the base of the Caucus mountains and the Azerbaijan border.
Georgia has been the most incredible country. It's beautiful, the people are unbelievably hospitable and the food is fantastic. Go there soon, Ryanair are going to start flying there I hear and I can't help thinking that the inclusion of Brits on stag do's on the streets of Tblisi won't improve the country much!
I liked Georgia straight away, the road wasn't a groomed dual carriageway but a smaller bumpy road which hadn't destroyed the scenery. There were waterfalls and statues and churches instead of mosques. I won't miss the morning call to prayer before sunrise! I got to Batumi that evening and was offered a cheap bed in someone's shed. I had a shower heated by a wood boiler and then went round to a guys house who could speak English. He was called Mareb and had a love for heavy metal music! Spent a great evening drinking coffee, Georgian cognac and Russian vodka and watching videos of Iron Maiden on his massive TV!
The next day I woke up at 9 with a hangover and there was a monsoon outside. I used it as an excuse to have a lie in and got going about 12. As I rode through Georgia I fell in love with it! The scenery was amazing, great people and incredible food. I decided not to rush through the country which is very small. I rode about 60 miles per day at a leisurely pace and stopped every time I was offered tea, wine or beer.
It's impossible to describe how beautiful the country is. The Georgians somehow manage to build fantastic old churches on top of mountains which make the scenery more spectacular. I visited a few and saw a lot of ancient frescos.
The highlight of Georgia was being invited into people's homes. I stayed in a small village with a history teacher. His wife was a fantastic cook and we had a huge meal with pork, cheese, fish, salad, bread and great home made sauces. An American guy called Sean joined us and told me about life in the villiage. He is spending a year there teaching English and is living with a local family. In the recent winter there was lot of snow and they often get snowed in because the road gets closed. Not a problem though because every house there grows grapes and makes wine which is stockpiled for winter! Breakfast was interesting! A cup of coffee and some cointreu! I managed to get away with only having a shot. My host however downed 3 full glasses before going off to school to teach - incredible!
The next day I climbed over a beautiful pass and got my first view of the Caucas mountains. The snow capped peaks were stunning. I descended to Gori, which is where Stalin was born. I met my uni mate, Henry Roe and we went to a restaurant to celebrate! We had a blow out meal with wine and it cost about a fiver each! After the meal we were invited to join a table of middle aged local men for a piss-up! Zaza offered me a place to stay in Gori for as long as I wanted. I was impressed with how much Georgian Henry had picked up in 7 weeks. He is also teaching in a school here.
The next day we met at the Stalin museum which is very interested but a bit surreal. There is no mention of Stalin's appalling treatment of his own people and he's portrayed as a God in the museum! There is a split view in Georgia about Stalin. Some people loved him because they had a job and a car and stability. They were able to ignore the huge number of people he killed - around 20 million, many of whom were Georgian - because they had a good life. Now unemployment is Georgia is high and the country is stuck in a rut, not really going anywhere. There are also a large number of people who detest Stalin though.
The museum included his death mask, outfits, letters, photos, a statue of him and a train carriage where he met Roosevelt and Churchill after WW2 to discuss governing the countries they had liberated. There is also Stalin's childhood home which is in its original place. The rest of the neighborhood was knocked down and a temple was built over his house so that it now resembles a shrine.
I left Zaza's and cycled towards Tbilisi. I wanted to stop at Mtsketa on the way which is the old capital and spiritual home of Georgia. I spent the afternoon there, looked around a very impressive old cathedral and relaxed in a park. I was invited to camp there and a spontaneous party started, inevitably involving large amounts of Russian Vodka! I cooked rice for everyone on my stove, which interested them as it runs in petrol. I played music from my phone and educated them in Pink Floyd and Bob Dylan!
The next day I met Henry again in Tbilisi, which is a fantastic city. It's beautiful, with loads of ancient churches, hills, a bustling old town with great restaurants and bars, and a great atmosphere. Unfortunately I watched Man U get annihilated by Barcelona in the Champions League Final, but other than that we had a fantastic time.
The last part of Georgia was great, over some more mountains, then a long descent to a very hot, semi desert plain. I saw snakes on the road as I crossed the plain to the base of the Caucus mountains and the Azerbaijan border.
Georgia has been the most incredible country. It's beautiful, the people are unbelievably hospitable and the food is fantastic. Go there soon, Ryanair are going to start flying there I hear and I can't help thinking that the inclusion of Brits on stag do's on the streets of Tblisi won't improve the country much!
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