While I get back into the swing of writing, here is one which was written but I never quite got around to posting. Continuing from where I left off, here is my journey from Sri Lanka to Georgia, and the beginnings of my exploration of the capital city, Tbilisi.
Posted August 17th 2021
I arrived in Tbilisi, Georgia with a mixture of emotions: excited to be visiting a new country and feeling a little as though I was starting a new era; at the same time a little deflated to be leaving the piece of paradise I’d found in Sri Lanka. Exhausted, due to a slight issue where I’d slept in and missed my original flight, spent over 12 hours waiting in the airport, and hadn’t slept again until safely on board!
My first flight on this journey was directly to Dubai and from there almost directly north. This second flight was probably the most amazing I’ve ever been on. Passing over Iran and Azerbaijan I was struck by what felt like never-ending desert terrain below. Previously I’ve travelled over mountains, oceans, landscapes of green and blue, but never before had I seen sand stretching for such a length of time in every direction. It was incredible to see small towns and villages situated here and there, seemingly completely isolated from the world at large. As we travelled further north the land became more mountainous, the golden sand now becoming lost among a mixture of deep greens, blues and greys.
Our pilot circled widely around Tbilisi in preparation for landing. This took us out and over the far side where the land suddenly fell away, a deep valley of green far below. The city is nestled among a beautiful undulating landscape, the architects seemingly having found one large area of flat land perfect for habitation.
Once on the ground, my Tbilisi adventure began with what has become my typical start to any country: trying to get money from the ATM in the airport; working out how to get to where I need to be; and trying not to be conned out of more than necessary in the process. I shared my taxi to the city centre with a young couple from Germany. We had a pleasant ride with our driver doing his best, in his limited English, to act as tour guide. With mountains in view for the majority of our journey I felt utter contentment. Yes I was in another city, but that vista reassured me that nature was not going to be too far from my grasp – should I reach out and try to take hold of it.
I’d booked somewhere for the first week to give me time to explore the city and decide where I wanted to live for the next X number (as yet undecided) of months. Upon arrival I was overjoyed to discover that I was staying near the top of a hill. This meant every time I walked to or from my accommodation I met with a wonderful aerial view of the city below and its luscious green hilly backdrop. The sun was so gracious as to create the most beautiful array of colours in the sky as it sank behind the mountains every evening.
My first night in the city began as the rest of my week continued – busy. Having made contact with a few people via Facebook groups prior to my arrival, my week became one full of exploration and social interaction, with a little flat hunting thrown in on the side.
The streets of Tbilisi are much more inviting to walk along than those in Hanoi and I found I spent much of my week on foot. I generally ended every day exhausted as I took a long time to find each place I planned to visit; the weather was hot and the city much bigger than it seemed at first glance. One of the most important tricks I had to learn early on was how to cross a road, or more specifically where to cross. Many of the larger roads had a number of subways – underground crossing points for pedestrians. If you realise too late that you want to cross the road you may find yourself in the inconvenient position of being in the middle of two points, having to go either too far forward, or to retrace your steps so you can get to the other side. Admittedly, this never added much onto a journey but when it happens repeatedly, while you’ve already been walking a long time, or while you’re trying to search for something, it can become a little annoying. So the lesson was eventually learned – pay more attention to the map and look around in advance for crossing points.
By the end of the week I’d met several other nomads around the city; been out for a number of dinners; worked out how to use the Metro system, and to cross the roads; enjoyed some live music; tried Chacha – the traditional high-percentage local tipple; and found somewhere to live!
