Georgia On My Mind : The Road to Kazbegi

After spending half a day in Tbilisi and the other half in Mskheta, our second day in Georgia was booked for a roadtrip to Kazbegi to witness the Greater Causcausus.

For this trip, there were still 11 of us, all Filipinos except for one Dutch. We booked a bus and a driver to take us there, along with our host Bahman who served us our guide. We  paid 45 Lari each, and I would say 45 Lari well spent.

The road to Kazbegi is not without its so called "Thrills", I would probably not recommend it to the faint-hearted, those who don't like humps and bumps and driving along narrow roads next to steep mountain cliffs. Let us just say that I am grateful to have hired a seasoned professional driver and a guide to take us there.

I don't remember the names of most of the places where we stopped and took photos, but I remember seeing majestic rivers, beautiful green countryside, lambs and their shepherds crossing the street, and  of

course Snow peaked mountains for the first time ever in my life.

One of my most vivid and mundane memory from childhood was staring at a calendar from my Mom's office, and looking at the month of February that had an image of people Skiing in the snowy mountains on a bright sunny morning. I was maybe 4 or 5 years old. I remember thinking how come the snow doesn't melt even if its sunny.

Snow in the summer was sight to see.  I can just imagine how beautiful this town would be in the Winter. They said that its mostly a Ski Resort and that the Great Causcausus rivals the French Alps in that regard.

All through out the ride, we were just constantly in awe (and sometimes in fear.. of heights). It was just Beautiful, the way nature intends itself to be. I was like seeing Mother Nature without makeup on, and just resting easily in a place that not many people know of.



While on the way, our well-travelled friend who has been to Paris and Rome and everywhere else in Europe it seems, said that Georgia is quickly coming up on her top 3 list of most beautiful places ever, that is saying a lot.

I have not been to Europe, in fact this is the closest I have been to Europe, but it still seemed to me that it might not get any better than this one, not just for the landscape, but just the whole uniqueness of it, sitting at the crossroads between Asia and Europe,  a place that has been there for centuries, that still seem mostly untouched.

Georgian art and culture on the walls of the viewing deck to the magnificent Causcausus.

You know how you sometimes you looked at postcards and you imagine yourself in them. Kazbegi is that kind of a place, it is too good to be true that our pictures still seem like the background was photoshopped or something.

Perhaps many will agree that there are some places that cannot simply be captured by pictures or words, no matter what I say or how many millions of photos we've taken, Kazbegi will always be one of those places.

Wish you were here! (actual mountain on the background, no photoshop required)

There's no other way, you just need to see it, you just gotta take that high road, you just need to be there.

Georgia on My Mind : Finding Mtskheta

I'm not a big fan of travelling in big groups, but I would say there are good sides to this. One of that is being forced to move your lazy ass and make the most of your day, the other is basic economics. After checking in at the hostel, getting some breakfast and walking around Rustaveli, we decided to spend the afternoon at ancient capital Mtskheta , about an hour away from Tbilisi. 

To get there, we took a Subway train to Didube bus station. The metro station was a close 5 minutes picturesque walk from our Hostel. Like all metros, you can buy a Metro card and fill it with minimum 2GEL, the ride to Didube would cost only 0.50 GEL. 

Now, it is no secret that I am a big fan of trains and train stations, old European stations are the best as far as I'm concerned.   We took the long escalator down a  rabbit hole on to the platform for Tbilsi metro.  It has more stations underground that my claustrophobic friend was almost to the verge of tears while I just loved every  minute of it. The train was an old remnant of Russian engineering, but I would say its  80% faster and sturdier than the Dubai metro.

Upon reaching Didube Bus station, we were told to look for the mini-buses or “mashrutkas “ going to Mtskheta. Now this is when things got interesting as the station close to a mini market, had lots of people, but we couldn't seem to find anyone who knew english, except for the taxi drivers who are fighting to take us for a grand price of 100Lari. Do not panic and fall for this.

Check out the Cherries.

A good thing, one of myDubai Couchsurfing friend Ron has been to Georgia before and he gave me his Georgian hosts' number, Beka, in case we needed any help. So I called up Beka using my Geocell number (buylocal sim cards, i paid 3Gel for the card, extra 10Lari for Data, Geocell has the best signal). Beka, on the phone, told me to look for a guy who is NOT a taxi driver and to give him the phone. 

They exchanged a few Georgian words, and a minute later the old man was guiding us to the ticket counter for the Mashrutkas to Mtskheta. We paid an amazing 1Lari each and soon we we're on the road, out of Tbilisi and on to ancient capital of Msketa.  

We reached Mskheta a little around 1pm. The goal was to go to Jvari Monastery. Mtskheta is small enough that it is possible to see the entire town on foot. The one exception to  this rule is Jvari monastery, which is far from the town center and located on top of a mountain.

There were a handful of taxis, and we found one small souvenir shop were a lady knew english. She helped us booked a car - 25 lari per car, going up the hill to Jvari.  Being Pint-sized asians, we manage to squeeze 5 of us in each car, so that ended up to only 4 Lari per person. Travelling with a group of Asians has its perks. 

Yes, they use good ol' Mercedes "chedengs" as Taxis. 

I have warned you about Georgian drivers, flatland or uphill, they don't seem to go below 80. Do not question their driving - Its Georgia! 

Finding Jvari Monastery is a little close to finding the Sound of Music set and you can't help but want to spread your arms and sing "The Hills are alive...." 

My friend Harvey and his funky hair got instant celebrity status. 

Certified Asian Tourists that we are, We took a thousand pictures buta strange thing happened when the kids started asking us to take pictures with them. Little did we realize, we just turned from tourist to becoming tourist attractions ourselves. 

A wedding was going on inside, this was the first of many weddings that we will encounter on the trip. Georgians are 80% Christians (mostly Orthodox), much like the Philippines (mostly Catholics) but perhaps the similarities stops at demographics, because unlike us who are mostly Christians in paper, the Georgians seem to be more in touch with tradition, more conservative and generally more...peaceful.  

I had the general impression that to them, Religion was a way of life and not merely an irrelevant accident.   

On the way down, we walked towards the Svetitskhoveli Cathedral, one of most sacred places in Georgia and, along with Jvari Monastery, founded in 1010. 

It was mid afternoon, a wedding was also going on, and for a moment there I just felt like I literally stepped back in time as we reached the façade of an Old tavern where a horse-drawn carriage is parked. 

You're just like a dream...The Svetitskhoveli Cathedral has been there since the 4th Century. 

Stumbling upon medieval times. 

Our late lunch was definitely worth the wait. Grilled pork, potatoes and their amazing homebrewed beer at Old Taverna. Georgian Folk music was playing loud in the background and the happy pretty waitresses were willing to teach us how to dance the Georgian way.  

Pork barbeque, bring your own vinegar!

Dance lessons from Georgian waitress.

I know the days will pass, we will soon go back to pick up our  daily routines, our endless responsibilities, and inevitably our good memories might soon to be replaced by other travels, but for a moment there i wanted to stay in that magic bubble. To live in the sacred  memory of drinking draft beer in a beautiful, medieval place one lovely afternoon. 

Madloba Mtskheta.   

Gaumarjos!

To be continued....(up next the great Road trip to Kazbegi)

Also check out my previous blog about landing in Tbilisi.

Georgia on My Mind : A Taste of Tbilisi

Taking a 3-hour red eye flight on budget airline Fly Dubai, we arrived in Tbilisi early, at 5am on a Thursday morning, a big tour group of 11, all Filipinos except for one Dutch guy. Tbilisi Airport was a quaint little efficient airport in a middle of a sleepy town.

With hardly any line at the immigration, our shiny 1-week tourist visas were issued quickly upon paying 50Lari (around 120dhs) which we took happily, considering how pretty it looked on our passports.

The door going out had a huge sign saying “Tbilisi Loves You” and from that moment on, I somehow sort of knew that this was gonna be a good trip.

Taxi drivers were waiting outside, speaking in broken English and a mix of Russian, and Georgian,  we negotiated a fair price based on what we were told – which was around 25-30 Lari per car, which can hold a maximum of 4 people, going to Rustaveli Avenue, Tbilis's main avenue, and where our hostel was located.

The trip to the hostel took less than 10 minutes, while we buckled up on the backseat thinking Tbilisi Drivers must have been retired Formula One racers.  Soon we had our first experience of the Georgian highway and got acquainted with their speed limits or lack thereof. 

BHM hostel was a nice decent place right across the grand Marriot Hotel along the famous Rustaveli.  Bahman the Iranian owner and operator was nice guy who helped us settle in, gave us tips on where to go, how much to pay, what to try and arranged for the next day’s road trip.

Across our hostel, the Rustaveli Theatre, the largest and one of the oldest Theatres in Georgia. 

There was a bookstore below the hostel, and it was just perfect.

As Neil Gaiman writes - Cities are not people. But, like people, cities have their own personalities. 

As for me, every city I've been to has its own unique smell.  The crisp old-world smell of Tbilisi's  Rustaveli Avenue on that bright Thursday morning was exhilarating to me like the smell of an old book being opened. It was love at first sight. It was my kind of place, a thousand-year old city, charming, brimming with culture and history, and best of all -  non-mainstream.

We were most probably the only Filipino tourist at the time, as we kept on getting stared at and asked if we were Chinese. Anonymity is freedom and frankly a great retreat from  the  condescending cosmopolitan Dubai.

Dobre Utra! Read all about it. 

The tourist / hipster Cafe.

Gorgeous Georgian women. 

Our neighbors whispering about us. 

We spent the morning wandering around, as I soaked in the old architecture and the lovely little pieces of sculpture and street art that lurks at almost every corner.

I'm not a big grocery fan, meaning I don't really like grocery shopping, but I have to admit, Groceries in foreign places are the best way to take a crash course on its people and culture.  Two minutes in a Tbilisi grocery and I discovered the great Georgian spirit, (or spirits)  -

All kinds of Alcohol. Name it and they have it, 2 Liters of beer is only 4dhs, ut the best ones are homemade.

This and pork. Its truly a piece of heaven for deprived pork & beer fans like us coming from Dubai.
History has it that Georgian's discovered wine and that Tbilisi's landmark statue, the Mother of Georgia overlooking the city holds a bowl of wine in her right hand to welcome friends and a sword to ward off enemies.

At this point, I was ready. I was ready to embrace Mother Georgia (ok, and maybe the hot Georgian men)  and drink from her sweet bowl.  Jeff Buckley's version of Lilac wine plays on my mind as I learned one very useful and important Georgian word that came handy in many later situations : Gaumarjos!

(to be continued..)
Up next, the Ancient Capital, Mtskheta...