#inmyborsalino Archives • Folksy Travel in my Borsalino by Bill Smale

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

A small chapel below the church on the river

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.

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