#georgia Archives • Folksy Travel (in my Borsalino) by Bill Smale

September 9, 2026September 9, 2026

Georgia Uplistsiche Caves

The Georgia Uplistsiche Caves are kind of an unusual set of caves and that they were not created for people to live in a community permanently. They were used for very temporary purposes and very much for ritual and religion. As opposed to the caves in Cappadocia, Turkey, you will find probably no opportunity to go very deep inside since they were not made for permanent dwelling. But it is very much worth the trip to go see these caves a couple hours away from Tbilisi. The stories and the history of the area is very interesting.

Restaurant menu Georgia Uplistsiche Caves — This was our menu at the restaurant.

Area map Georgia Uplistsiche Caves — Map of the whole area and the caves layout

Sewer line Bill Smale — The path leading up to the cave is actually the open sewer line used many hundreds of years ago

Climbing up Bill Smale — It’s a little bit of a climb up, not too bad

Not too crowded Bill Smale — It wasn’t too crowded but there were a number of people visiting

Ritual bowls Bill Smale — Were they used to do some rituals

Church on a temple — The church was built on top of another religious site. The Georgians will tell you Christianity came here in the late 300s which seems pretty early but it is well documented

Nice view — it it’s a beautiful view all around

Decorations — There is some fairly intricate decoration in the sides and the ceiling

Fires in the caves — You could see in various places the rock is darkened where they used to have some fires for keeping warm or for cooking

The queen’s hall — The history of the queen is a very popular story and this is where she came to perform rituals

Again, the darkened areas where they had fires going

Fallen down structures — You can see where there were some structures that have fallen down over the centuries

Throne hall — This is the throne hall where, of course, royalty performed ceremonies

the Chronicles of Georgia

overlooking the major lake near the capital and the capital in the distance a recent structure was built to graphically describe the history of Georgia which goes back many thousands of years. The figures are very interesting and while this is a new complex structure it’s worth a visit partly because of the beautiful view of the area. The lake is actually a reservoir. What you will notice is many of the figures are of religious significance. As you probably know this is a Greek orthodox influenced religion.

Small chapel — This is a small chapel on the complex

A typical Georgian style church in the distance

September 8, 2026September 8, 2026

Tbilisi Part 2

I recommend staying in Tbilisi and taking tours from there since they are so well organized and a very affordable way to see the sites and experience some traditions. If you are accustomed to driving in Thailand or Napoli you might think of renting a car. If not I would think twice. White knuckles are waiting for you. But the tours require up to 6 hours of van/mini bus rides during the day trip so be prepared for those long rides.

The other issue is going close to the Russian occupied areas. Foreign Ministries warn people about those areas so I recommend heeding those warnings. On the other hand the countryside is very beautiful so you might want to consider venturing into other towns to stay and experience the great hospitality Georgians are famous for. While I was there 4 young people from several nationalities were missing or found dead for various reasons. Two were related to fights which I am sure you won’t be involved in. One was a disappearance and the other was a young Thai YouTube traveler, well known in Thailand, who might have just died of natural causes. But I found no concern for danger while there. Most everyone is very friendly and welcoming. Russians may need extra caution since they are not well liked.

A hill walk Tbilisi Part 2 — One beautiful walk up one of the hills

seagulls Tbilisi Part 2 — Seagulls are showing up more inland as their fish food in the ocean is being taken in larger quantities by fishing conglomerates.

Metekhi church of the Nativity

church Tbilisi Part 2 — The prominent Church on the river

easy accessible church Tbilisi Part 2 — This is one of the main attractions in the city and an easy walk from the tourist center.

orthodox churches Tbilisi Part 2 — It seems in Orthodox churches people need to stand and do their rituals.

2 dimentional art Bill Smale — Beautiful 2 dimensional artwork that orthodox churches seem to be famous for.

coffin Bill Smale — Someone famous is encased here

tourist center view Bill Smale — View of the main tourist rendezvous area

mail villa Bill Smale — Walkway to a main villa

river cruise — A cruise down the main river splitting the town

Good view of church — the image inside the small chapel

A good view of the church and small chapel as well as the dock

Statue of King Vakhtang Gorgasali ვახტანგ გორგასლის ძეგლი

his and her bags — If this is a “his and her” set can you guess which is hers?

My Hilton stay, very inexpensive, getting up the new sign on their grand opening.

Hilton hotel — I think this hotel was Chinese by a different name and changed to a Hilton franchise. Everything inside is from China including the noisy elevator. Don’t get a room adjacent to the elevator. Each floor pass creates an irritating noise. I didn’t bother changing rooms.

Chacha — The famous Georgian liquor. Try it out. You might like it.

Vegitarian pork — ThisThai restaurant I didn’t visit but it had an interesting deep fried veggie pork dish on the menu.

georgian food — Some typical Georgian food. I found it delicious. I think you will find things you like.

Nan with egg — I had the one on the left, the NAN style bread with an egg and some cheese. It was tasty.

Roman figure — It reminds me of the famous Rome figure in “A Roman Holiday”, Hepburn and Grant.

These on the left and right are hot spring spas with a hefty price tag for a menu of services. The river is a hot spring.

No mention what this was but obviously was some building, maybe an outlook.

hill hotels — Aging hotels. The one on the right was a little more expensive than what I wanted to spend for a stay.

delicious pickles — I love these types of pickles. I went through a few bottles during my stay.

fruit cups — I thought these cups with fruit were to make smoothies as in Thailand and Lao but they are just cups of fruit to take away.

cheap ice cream — This cheaper version of gelato was ok, a little too sweet for me.

City center and St. George — St. George slaying the dragon

EU style car license plates — The auto license plates are designed ready for EU membership.

chinese ev — A Chinese assembled VW? There are many Chinese electric vehicles here.

preserved grapes — Preserved Grapes on a string created for long storage, good for traveling soldiers as the story went.

August 19, 2026August 19, 2026

Tbilisi Introduction

When doing a Tbilisi Introduction I think it’s helpful to mention that This Georgian city is very close to Armenia and Azerbaijan. It is the capital of Georgia so it’s an important city but the main areas are fairly compact and easy to get around. There is public transport but everyone recommends using a Bolt hired Car Since it’s easy and very inexpensive. The city is facing same population pressures of most cities in the world since young people are moving away from the countryside to more opportunities in the metropolitan areas. It’s a good walking city, not expensive and the food is delicious. If you visit make sure to try all the different kinds of Georgian food you can. The variety is very interesting.

Unique writing system Tbilisi Introduction — Water by any other name still taste as sweet. Here you will notice the writing system is not related to any other and the language is unique.

Thai restaurant Tbilisi Introduction — Even here Thai people Set up restaurants

Old town Square Tbilisi Introduction — The old town large square

Georgia bread with cheese Bill Smale — I thought I was getting just a piece of dough with some cheese and other stuff on top but it came out as this huge pizza size, soft dough and tasty bread with cheese and a green addition

Parking in the plaza Bill Smale — While I was eating my breakfast three groups of cars had parked here in the main plaza in old town and each time the police came by and chased them out

Old church view Bill Smale — The old church with the famous statue on the river

Kura river Bill Smale — The Kura River runs right through town

Coffee stand Bill Smale — A cute little coffee and snack stand

Cable car — Getting on the cable car to go up the hill

Top of the hill — Looking down from the top

Cable card station at the top — The cable card station going down

Interesting building — One of the more interesting buildings

Greenery — On the other side of the hill you see a lot of greenery

Mother of George — The mother of George statue at the top of the hill

She is wearing traditional Georgian clothing

Russian invasion — Russia invaded and occupied 20% of George after the fall of the USSR. This has created a lot of animosity

Decorated benches — Many of the public benches are decorated like this

Looking at the river — Looking down on the river

Food for soldiers — At one stop on a tour the small shop sells products made from fruit which can be kept for a long time outside the refrigerator and Was food for travelers and soldiers

Going up and down hills — Just walking around the city. You have to be ready to go up and down hills here

Hot Springs — This is a hot spring where you can enjoy some sulfur spa relaxation. There are quite a few earthquakes in Georgia so on your Tours you will be filled in on what building buildings have replaced those which crumbled

August 10, 2026August 10, 2026

Stalin’s Home Town

As you probably well know Joseph Stalin was a Georgian not Russian. He joined the socialist revolution in Georgia, became the high ranking leader and then supported the Russian revolution, met with Lenin And eventually became the number two in the Russian revolutionary movement. I took a tour to Gori where Stalin was born and raised. There you have a very nice USSR era museum in his honor. I recommend you visit Stalin’s Home Town. I found it fascinating and I think you will too.

Selling trinkets Stalin’s Home Town — Some of the little trinkets sold out front

Private train Stalin’s Home Town — His private train

CCCP Stalin’s Home Town — CCCP is the Russian for USSR

Meeting room Bill Smale — Is meeting room rebuilt for p.m.

Stalin’s slide rule Bill Smale — The slide rule he used

Stalin’s cigars — Cigars he never smoked

Tobacco leaf artwork — Artwork depicting a city using tobacco leaves

In 2008 Russia invaded and occupied 20% of Georgia claiming they were assisting the Russians living there. Georgians have a very angry attitude about this occupation.

Right near the museum I was a little surprised to see US junk food

Vaccination certificate — These dogs were just playing around. The yellow tag on the Brown dog’s ear indicates he was vaccinated

Private compartment — A private compartment

Double compartment — a double compartment

The watchful eye — The very watchful eye of the lady who checks your tickets to get on and view the train

Near the museum I found a combination restaurant with a very strange combination, Sushi and hamburgers

Another side of the museum — The museum from another side

July 31, 2026July 30, 2026

Georgia Wine tasting

Down Below I will make some comments about the Georgia wine tasting itself but first I want to explain that Tbilisi Was my first stop in Georgia and I decided to stay here and do some tours to the surrounding areas to get an idea about the country, the culture, the food and so forth. You may like to rent a car and go around but kind of like in Thailand the rules are a strong suggestion so you have to be very careful. What I found interesting is they had a few cars with the steering wheel on the right side instead of the left side so I guess those were imports. The city is pretty well organized but public transport is mostly by taxi or the Bolt app. Things here are not that expensive and you can see the desire to join the EU and decrease the influence from Russia which occupies 20% of the country so you can imagine the animosity. There are a lot of people begging and many people trying to find different ways to get money from you so just try not to fall for those on the street requests.

Turkish coffee Georgia Wine tasting — Getting a Turkish coffee before the tour which was a full day

Grape strings Georgia Wine tasting — Strings of grapes and other fruits mixed with flour and a center with a nut and put on strings. I bought one with grapes and it was very tasty. I highly recommend trying some when you’re here. We were told soldiers would take these with them and they would last up to two years without any preservative methods.

Bread without yeast Georgia Wine tasting — The old way of making bread without yeast so that it can stay longer than yeasted bread. There are two special tricks to the bread you see here. The fuel to make the bread is wood from the grape plant after they pruned the vines. The second trick is the lining of the oven is red brick which breathes. These things help create a unique consistency and taste.

Petting the cat Bill Smale — Everybody loves a kitten. There were many tourists Here petting the kitten and the little boy waited until he got his chance to come in pet the cat.

Monastery of Saint Nino Bill Smale — Monastery of Saint Nino at Bodbe. The story is Nino came here in 326 after after a vision of Mary to spread Christianity in Georgia 600 years before the Tzar Of Russia decided to adopt the Greek branch of Christianity because he could become the head of the church. Here you see the Bell tower

Crypt of Saint Nino Bill Smale — Not much is left of the original monastery but we were told that inside this building the crypt we saw was the burial coffin of Saint Nino. There are many beautiful frescoes inside dating back 200 years. Photos were not allowed.

New church — A new church is being built on the site

Organized garden — This is extremely well organized and a nice place to walk around

Statue — Then we went to the town of Sighnaghi. This is the statue of a famous philosopher who died at the age of 35 with a statue that makes him look much older and wiser

Memorial for the dead — Near the statue is the list of names of those who died in World War II. This town is the center hub of protection for a number of surrounding Villages. We were told out of 6000 residence in the area 4000 died in World War II

Surrounding villages — Looking down into the valley which has almost no rain throughout the year you can see where they have some ponds Fort water storage. It’s a very active agricultural area groin many different kinds of things. In the foreground you can see the flag of Georgia

This is interesting to see a Mexican restaurant here. If I was alone I doubt I would eat here. I have had enough European style Mexican food for the rest of my life.

The castle — This is the old fort and there were walls all the way around with Lookout towers

Everywhere you see people selling things. You also see the red Tiled roofs which are fairly new since the year 2000. This was a very poor town and the roofs were made of everything that would protect the house. But now people are able to afford a nicer roof because of tourism

Castle gate — One of the gates to the fort

On the right you will see a bell tower for the church which is built on top of one of the Lookout towers

Village below — You see the villages below and on the left side you can see the extent of the wall which goes all around the area to protect the village on top

Walkway along the wall — A lot of the wall is falling down but we have a walkway to take us along part of it

Clamping — Parkway down the hill is a glamping hotel

Lookout to OURS — On the corners of the wall you can see one of the 23 Lookout Towers

Lunch and wine tasting — Now we go to the winery for a very late lunch add wine tasting. Georgia wine history

Evidently UNESCO recognizes Georgia As the first wine producing area. Archaeologists Found remnant of winemaking In clay pots going back 8000 years.

The wines — This is just one of many vineyards. The first red wine had an extremely strong alcohol smell which I didn’t like. The “semi sweet“ rosé and reds were actually very sweet. The one wine I appreciated most was the most expensive, having a flavor similar to a Cabernet Sauvignon with a nice semi full body. But I bought the rosé foreign after dinner aperitif. In the photo you can see one of our Russian companions on the tour

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