Trains, Taxis, and Sulphur Baths

17 April 2010, Saturday

We've just returned to our hotel in Tbilisi, the Hotel Boni otherwise known as the Hotel Charm or Sharm. Don't ask. I have no answer. Anyway, it's really a lovely old house but aargh this whole trip has been a lesson to me in how to travel.

First, the train ride. We bought our tickets in Gyumri. There are 4 levels of tickets: bench seats, open sleepers (no doors), 4-berth sleepers and 2-bed sleepers. The prices range from $7-$25. We wanted the 4-berth sleepers but instead were sold the tickets for the open sleepers. The ticket seller told us not to worry, the conductor would upgrade us on the train. I didn't understand this – why not just go ahead and sell us the ticket now? - but all would eventually become clear. It's “the system.” At any rate, I can't even describe the scene in the open sleepers. The train was very crowded and as we passed through the sleepers it smelled strongly of sleeping people in need of baths. As it turns out, if you buy a lower priced ticket they'll upgrade you for less when you get on the train. In other words, you get a better seat for less, and the train employees get a little extra cash in their pockets as the extra that you pay is “off the books.” So we ended up paying more than I had wanted to pay ($12) but we got the $25 2-bed berth for $18. It really was a pleasant experience, very clean and private and quiet.

An old tram car which has been restored into a sitting place in town

The hotel we had chosen in Tbilisi wanted $75 for a double room. Are there any off-season rates, we asked? Yes, he could let us have it for $65. What about a room with shared bathroom? Well, yes, as a matter of fact there's one available: $50. Too much, I said to Judy. Let's go. Okay, well maybe they could let us have it for $40. I agreed and we settled in. It's a pretty hotel, lots of 19th century Georgian antiques decorate it. We're on the 3^rd floor, an attic room with twin beds.

Today was wonderful, warm and sunny, a delight after all the rain we've had the past week. We walked and walked and walked. Our first foray was to the Dry Bridge Market. Oh my, I wanted to buy everything but of course bought nothing, knowing how much I've just given away, how heavy my pack still is, and how quickly it can become completely unmanageable. But it was fun to look at all the art and knick-knacks and dishes and paraphernalia of a foreign culture. After that we wandered down to Old Town, stopping along the way to buy some street food: apples, a chicken wrap, cheese khachapuri. We taxied up to the Narikala fortress, viewed the city then walked down. I wantied to visit the sulphur baths but Judy begged off, pleading with me to allow her to wait in the lovely gardens surrounding the baths. This was fine, but for me - my feet were sore and a nice soak in hot mineral waters sounded like just the medicine.

I was expecting, you know, an American experience, Georgia style. Oh, I knew it would be different, but . . . . not that different. I paid my 2 lari ($1.20) and entered the public baths – women only. As I walked through the first anteroom I found it odd to see 3-4 people sitting at a table and eating in the humidity and sulphur smell, but . . . this is a new experience right? I can handle this. I had already been forewarned about this unusual feature of the baths, so it didn't shock me too much. I passed through two more small rooms – again, a few women and children sitting at a table in each room, drinking coffee and eating, the last room actually in the changing area.

Now is when it gets surreal. For the most part – well, actually, totally – there were a lot very fat heavy-breasted older women in there, and it was very crowded, butt to thigh on the benches. I took a deep breath, thought, “Okay, I can handle this,” and opened the door into the next room – the bathing room – to see what awaited me. There I saw a scene from Dante's 7^th circle of Hell. The women were completely nude, no shy hiding behind towels in here. They weren't soaking in a pool as I expected, but rather were gathered along a trough-like arrangement around the room, pouring water over themselves. The scene was a bit overwhelming. “Okay,” I thought, “I can handle this.” I stepped back into the dressing area and tried to find a seat on the bench with an available locker. All the lockers had locks on them so I asked the young assistant (who was dressed and sitting in the other room drinking coffee) for a lock and an available locker. This seemed to irritate her no end. Nevertheless she complied. I squeezed myself between two sets of heavy thighs and began to untie my shoes. Unfortunately, the locker that I had been given was apparently already in use. A large naked woman was standing menacingly in front of me and pointing to the locker behind me. I was beginning to get slightly nauseous. I'm not used to seeing so much exposed adipose tissue in such a small space. I don't even really like to look at myself in the mirror anymore. Honestly, this whole scene was becoming unbearable.

I walked back out to the young bath assistant and told her that the locker she gave me was already in use, whereupon she began to screech. I guess it's not okay to mention that the locker is already in use by someone else. I figured it was just too much trouble for her to handle in one day. It was also too much for me to handle so I just said, “F*** it” and walked out into the glorious sunshine where people were strolling around with their clothes on.

Sunday, 18 April 2010

I take off on my own into the wild unknown, leaving Judy to spend a day with an Armenian friend. From this day forward I'm truly on my own. I walk from the hotel Boni to Tavasuplebis Moedani (a big traffic round-about) and get on the Metro to the train station. My first goal for the day is Uplistsikhe, a 3,500-year-old cave city just an hour's drive north of Tbilisi. After going up and down several flights of stairs and stopping at two wrong ticket booths I end up at a bus terminal of sorts, or at least a bus parking area, where I'm told that the bus to Uplistsikhe is further along still, at another bus terminal. This bus terminal is for Gori. Okay. Gori will do. It's in the same general direction. I climb aboard.

Upon reaching Gori I'm dropped off on the highway near a taxi stand and must take a taxi to Gori, where I”m hopeful I can find a microbus to Uplistsikhe. I tell the taxi driver what I need and he talks me into letting him take me there. Not cheap, and one of my cardinal rules for saving money is “Don't ever take a taxi!” However, as it turns out in the end, it is expensive but given that I'm carrying a heavy pack, I don't know where I'm going and I've got a lot on my agenda for the day it, it turns out to be the right choice. We hustle through Gori. The taxi driver points out the statue of Stalin – which looks exactly like the statue of some other great Georgian in Tbilisi – a lion of a man, towering over the square in front of the government buildings. I liked the interesting architecture and colors of the buildings. Unlike Armenia, where the Russian-style apartment buildings are all uniformly colored gray or tan, here they have painted many of them bright greens and blues and assorted other colors, and have put decent little porches on each apartment.

Uplistsikhe is very interesting. They say there were upwards of 20,000 people living here at one time. It lasted as a cave city from 1,500bc until 1,500ad when the Mongols attacked. It was at that time that the surrounding forests were destroyed, burned either for fun or warmth. This is the story the guide tells. I think it's also possible that the 20,000 people living there could have gradually used up all the wood themselves. At any rate, everywhere I've been in Georgia has been heavily forested but around here it is barren.

After my little tour of Uplistsikhe, the taxi driver hustles me back to town and manages to get me onto a minibus to Kutaisi/Batumi that is just pulling away from the stop. Probably the last of the day, and most certainly the last minibus I would be willing to take all the way to Batumi – a 6-hour drive. My goal is a night in Kutaisi but as we drive the weather becomes increasingly wet and cold. By the time we reach Kutaisi it's bordering on miserable and I decide I don't want to do the hassle of finding a place to stay in the rain, only to spend ½ day there as I will move on to Batumi the next day anyway. Kutaisi is Georgia's 2^nd largest city and I know there are some interesting sights there. But I opt to stay two nights in Batumi instead and tell the driver not to stop.

Later. I'm now in Batumi. People on the bus were so wonderfully sweet and helpful. We stopped to eat along the way and of course I could not order anything when they asked me what I wanted. Finally I remembered one food – hingali – which happens to be their mother food and they love you for loving it. The woman behind the counter says, sorry, we're out but the cook says, no, I can make it. So she made me up a big batch special.

We reached Batumi in the rain and everyone wanted to help me find my place for the night – helping me to find which bus I should take, etc. Ultimately the microbus driver just drove me to my lodging and dropped me off. I would never have found it on my own, in the rain, at night, not to mention that when I approached the high iron fence with the big “24” on it, a massive german shepherd attacked the fence. I rang the buzzer and jumped back. A man appeared from around a corner and motioned me in through a separate driveway. Perhaps this might not be the best area of town to wander around after dark, but who can say.

My homestay in Batumi

The house is nice, the owners friendly, their 20-something daughter enjoys meeting travelers and having an opportunity to speak English. The graciousness of the Armenians is similarly repeated here and I am motioned to sit, drink coffee, and eat some cookies and chocolates. Georgians look similar to Armenians – dark complected, but the nose is not as strongly defined and the eyes are generally rounder.

Interesting architecture

Today I will explore Batumi. Hopefully the weather will clear. The sky is gray. There is a volcano going off in Iceland right now which has closed most of the European airports and grounded all flights in and out. Apparently it started on Thursday but I only learned of it Saturday night and all my information is second-hand. I'm anxious to find an internet cafe and find out what's happening.