Night-time companions

My roommate tonight is a little lady from Japan. She looks to be about 45 but told me she's 60! She's traveling alone and so far has visited 73 countries. I'm totally amazed. She's such a funny little woman. She mutters to herself, her English is just barely understandable. One must have a very forgiving and sympathetic ear to understand her. She travels with a 20 lb rolling cart and a 7 lb day pack. She got ready for bed, slipped on a hairnet and a face mask then set to snoring happily away. If she can do it, I can do it!

Last night I shared a room with a young French woman who I never met. I spent the night in Irine's Guesthouse in Tbilisi. It was a funky place, a bit cluttered but clean, with flags from all over the world hanging from a rod on one wall. I unfortunately had to retire to my room very early as Irine smokes like a haystack as does her friend who was staying there. Irine is quite heavy, mostly just sits in her chair and smokes while her sister cleans.

Street scene in Tbilisi

The night before I slept on an old Russian train from Yerevan to Georgia. My compartment mate was a Georgian, Surob, who was returning home from a 6 week workshop in India. He was very sweet and gave me a wonderful introduction to Georgia. When we arrived in Tbilisi he had his wife drop me off at Irine's. I would never have found the place otherwise.

Train station in Yerevan