Georgia Experience

Tbilisi - my dream come true

Advantages: Beautiful city, sulphur baths, dine in a shed, the market, the people
Disadvantages: Beggars can be overwhelming, poverty, bizarre alphabet

...Seeing a film set in Tbilisi called “Since Otar Left” only strengthened my desire to visit the city. I finally realized my wish to go there last year. Tbilisi is situated in the heart of Georgia; it’s pretty, it’s old and there’s a lot of history but it’s not a tourist destination. If you go to Tbilisi you’ll encounter lots of non-Georgians but few of them will be tourists; it’s much more likely that they will be the staff of international aid agencies ...
...has the effect of making Tbilisi a city of extremes. One minute you can be considering splashing out on sushi in a hip restaurant, the next you are fighting off a family of beautiful but waif-like children. Tbilisi is vast; it has a population of almost two million but it probably seems bigger because of its geography. It is built along the steep banks of the Mtkvari River so it tends to grow lengthways. It has three bus stations – all miles from ...

fizzytom 04.06.2007 · Read full review
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Review of Tbilisi (Georgia)

Nothing to write home about - and you can't

Advantages: Good base for historic sites. good places to stay
Disadvantages: Nowhere to eat out, very little in town, mostly unfriendly people

Telavi is yet another town in the former Soviet Republic of Georgia that most readers will not have heard of. It is the largest town in the Khakheti region, a part of the country that is known for its vineyards and its important and ancient sites. Unless you have your own vehicle, the only way to get to Telavi is from the Georgian capital Tbilisi. There are no trains, only minivan services from beside the Samgori Metro station station. The journey ...
...Telavi next to the market. These days Telavi has no hotels; an enterprising person would do well to remedy this as the area is quite picturesque and does attract tourists coimng to visit the historic sights. Telavi used to have a hotel - the former "Inturist" concrete monstrosity is now packed to the rafters with refugees from the war in Nagorno-Karabakh in neighbouring Armenia. Instead backpackers use homestay accommodation which can be booked ...

fizzytom 05.06.2007 · Read full review
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Review of Telavi, Georgia

I'm a backpacker - get me out of here!

Advantages: There's a route out; good khinkali
Disadvantages: Signifies the end of Georgia; nothing to do

Poti - the tourist town from hell…if I do one good thing in my life it will be to stop hapless travelers ever setting foot in this awful place. Words can barely describe just how painful my memories of Poti are and my ankles still bear the scars of the one night I spent in this almost unspeakable town. Poti is Georgia's busiest port; it should really be a thriving prosperous place for two reasons. First, it sits on a plain in a valley created by ...
...refers to this as "the Euro-Asian Transport Corridor" because it is home to the main road and rail links from the Black Sea to the Caspian Sea by way of the Georgian capital Tbilisi. And at the end of road? Oil. It may be Azerbaijani oil and not Georgian but lucrative markets in Europe have meant that the oil has to be carried over to the Black Sea for shipping or piping to buyers. Azerbaijan has become a prosperous country from its oil but if Georgia ...

fizzytom 29.03.2007 · Read full review
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Review of Poti, Georgia

Georgia on my mind

Advantages: Wonderful people
Disadvantages: Ridiculous officials

Before I start I feel compelled to issue this caveat. I do know that the political situation in Georgia is currently a little uneasy and I would understand that some readers might be put off by this. When I visited earlier this year, I experienced no problems although tourists are advised to be careful in certain areas in the eastern part of the country in the Caucauses. I hope that readers will read my review with an open mind. Georgia is safe for ...
...mainly some research before you go - I would not let the current events stop me from going back - even today. Georgia is a small country tucked away between Europe and Asia. Until the beginning of the 1990s it was part of the Soviet Union, these days it is often at loggerheads with the nation that invested so much in it. Readers may recall events last winter when the Russia cut off gas supplies to Georgia in a row over the huge amount of money the ...

fizzytom 10.10.2006 · Read full review
Ciao members have rated this review on average: exceptional
Review of General: Georgia

Batumi - the end of the line

Advantages: Close to Turkish border to so easy to leave
Disadvantages: Scary folk, pot-holed pavements, poor hotels, lack of diversions

...always like to try… Batumi is situated on Georgia's Black Sea coast, in the province of Adjara; it's the end of the supply line that transports oil from Azerbaijan. From Batumi the oil goes off in massive tankers over to Eastern Europe or through the Black Sea and the Dardanelles into the Mediterranean. You would think, then, that Batumi might be a cosmopolitan and thriving city as ports often are. If you heard that it's Georgia's premier beach ...
...is less appealing. Batumi is actually quite a cosmpolitan town; our taxi driver told us this when he pointed out the terrifying tower blocks that greet visitors arriving via the border crossing with Turkey. This is home to the refugees and they come from several different places. Many are from the province of Abkhazia in the north of Georgia and arrived when fighting broke out as the region declared itself independent of Georgia with the backing ...

fizzytom 25.10.2006 · Read full review
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Review of Batumi (Georgia)