On July 24th, after only three nights in Baku, Azerbaijan, I boarded a plane and took a very short flight to neighboring Tbilisi, Georgia. I arrived late, but my Airbnb host was gracious enough to arrange a driver to pick me up from the airport. The driver was a young guy who had just graduated from a university in the country and who was still looking for his first real job. He was a pleasant fellow, but like many young people, his grasp of history was not as developed as someone with more lived experienced. For example, I noticed the main road leading from the airport into the city was named George W. Bush Street.
Why is your street named George W. Bush Street? I queried.
“I don’t know,” he responded. “Maybe he did some things for our country.” No matter. (A quick Google search later noted that W visited Georgia in 2005, and the country was so grateful that one of the busiest roads in the country at the time was named after him.)
My arrival in Tbilisi, like my arrival in Baku, was at night. So, my first impressions were of the city at dark. Compared to Baku, Tbilisi seemed more congested and had windier roads. The cars on the roads were more varied in type and condition. There might be a new-ish BMW next to an old and Soviet Lada packed full of scrap metal next to a Toyota Prius missing it’s front and tail bumper. Also, there would be random incomplete road construction causing bottlenecks of traffic as cars, taxis, and buses would jockey to get ahead of one another around the impasse.
As my driver and I got closer to my Airbnb, the buildings near the Old Town were older, in varying states of disrepair, and were more adorned with graffiti and Ukrainian flags. “We stand with Ukraine,” “Fuck Putin,” and other pro-Ukrainian messages adorned the buildings as signs or were spray painted on the buildings. In fact, in 2008, Russia occupied and annexed Abkhazia and South Ossetia of Georgia. I was later told that one reason for this land grab might have been to disqualify Georgia from joining NATO at the time.
Politics aside, Tbilisi seemed more rundown than Baku—probably because Georgia does not sit on huge petroleum and natural gas reserves like Azerbaijan. Baku’s building infrastructure seemed newer and better funded. However, what Tbilisi lacked in industrial energy, they possessed in social and cultural energy. The area where I was staying was teaming with small bars and restaurants, so young locals and tourists peppered the area. There was also a DIY, homegrown aesthetic about the establishments. Not everything was a western franchise or luxury chain, which was appealing to me. Also, unlike Baku, there weren’t surveillance cameras everywhere. Tblisi seemed like it had more hustle and could get rowdier than Baku.
Eventually, my driver was able to find the nondescript courtyard where my Airbnb was located. He dropped me off and some kittens emerged from underneath the parked cars to discern if I was friendly and had food. I didn’t, so they skittered off. I then entered the code in the lockbox near my Airbnb door, procured the key, and entered.
The Airbnb was stylish and roomy. There was a bed in a private room and a bed in the lofted area. My friend Laika, whom I would be travelling with, had two requirements for Airbnbs: does it have AC, and does it have a mounted showerhead? The first AC requirement is because she likes to sleep in the cold, which I 100% agree with. The second showerhead requirement is because she has hair and needs two hands to properly wash it. It has been decades since the follicles on my head need to be rinsed, washed, and conditioned, so Laika’s second Airbnb requirement is understandable but not relevant to me. Regardless, we would be splitting the cost of accommodations, so whatever she needed to make her travels more comfortable was fine with me.
After connecting to the Airbnb WIFI, I sent a WhatsApp message to my friend Semaj so that we could meet up the next day. We arranged to meet in the morning at the ticket office of the funicular and explore Mtatsminda plateau that overlooks Tbilisi.
The next day, I made the short trek to the funicular ticket office which was uphill but quite close to my Airbnb. I arrived early and ordered a coffee and sandwich for my breakfast. A little later, Semaj arrived. It had been eight weeks since we had last seen each other. This was prior to my Euro trip, so we had lots of catching up and arguing to do. Semaj likes to present counterpoints so usually he and I end up debating issues. I see the world from my experience as a multi-racial marginalized person in America. He sees the world from his working-class background in the UK. Many of our viewpoints intersect, but they don’t completely overlap.
While I was traveling around Europe, I noticed many people who had migrated to the different countries. These immigrants were Asians, Africans, or Arabs, and there was a multitude of reasons for their migration, be it marriage, work, or asylum. However, the intended trajectory for all these reasons was for a better life. I understand this ambition in my DNA. After all that’s why my mom left Vietnam, my grandmother left the Standing Rock Reservation, and my Polish and Irish ancestors left their countries respectively. Additionally, that’s why I left the US to live in work in Qatar. My position was that human migration is a given in an industrialized, globalized world, and countries need to figure out how to channel, integrate, and benefit from its immigrant population. My assertion piqued Semaj, so we started to discuss immigration.
We drank our coffee and discussed immigration. We bought our funicular tickets and rode to the top of the plateau and discussed immigration. We explored the amusement park atop the plateau and discussed immigration. Finally, we ordered lunch and discussed immigration. Our lunch consisted of Georgian beer; a cucumber and tomato salad with walnut paste; grilled pork; and khinkali, large pork and beef dumplings that you grasp from the top to eat. Then after paying our bill, we rode the funicular back down the plateau and discussed immigration some more. At the end of our debate, I clarified that I believe that immigration is just a given in today’s world and countries need to frame it as an opportunity to benefit from the movement of people. The discussion petered out soon after.
A couple days after I landed in Tblisi, Lakia arrived, giving Semaj and I a reprieve from our good-natured bickering. We all explored some more of the city together and dined at different restaurants. However, Laika and I still needed to finalize important aspects of trips, specifically the overnight train from Tbilisi, Georgia to Yerevan, Armenia and the train from Tbilisi, Georgia to Baku, Azerbaijan. In addition, we still did not have an Airbnb in Yerevan.
According to the internet, we had to go to the train station in person to buy our train tickets. So, we hailed a taxi and headed to the train station. When we got there, we were promptly informed that there were no remaining tickets for the overnight train to Yerevan. Ok. Time to come with a plan B. Lakia and I hailed another taxi and headed back to the city center to locate potential drivers that would transport us from Tbilisi to Yerevan. We got contact numbers. Then we looked at some potential Airbnbs in Yerevan. “Does it have AC and a mounted showerhead?” Yes. “Then this one looks good.” Fine, I’ll book it. Lastly, “What about the overnight train from Tbilisi to Baku?” Ugh, we’re so dumb. Let’s head back to the train station. So, we hailed another taxi and headed to the train station to buy tickets. When we got to the station, we were promptly informed that there were no tickets from Tbilisi to Baku. All tickets are sold out? The train receptionist then crossed her hands indicating that there were no trains going to Baku period. That’s not what the internet indicated.
Laika and I headed back to our Airbnb wondering how we were going to get into Baku. I messaged my driver in Baku, and he indicated that the land border between Georgia and Azerbaijan was closed, so I looked at the prices of airplane tickets and most flights were completely sold out or too expensive for consideration. What was Laika and I going to do? So, we discussed a plan C. After Yerevan, we would come back to Georgia and explore more of the country, specifically Vardzia, a cave monastery site, and Kutaisi, the third largest city in Georgia. We just needed to change our departure tickets from Baku airport to Tbilisi airport, which we did easily enough after contacting Qatar Airways. We also located a driver to transport us from Georgia and Yerevan as well as arranged a driver to take Laika, Semaj, and me on a day trip to Signagi, a tourist site near Tbilisi. With these various logistics sorted, it was time to enjoy one more adventure in Georgia, which I will narrate as a review.
Signagi Day Trip – A One-star Review
My two friends and I were looking forward to a day trip to Signagi and Telavi during our visit stay in Tbilisi. What we experienced was quite possibly one of the most terribly executed excursions ever. Maybe we should not have trusted the 14-year-old boy handing out flyers to deliver an excellent or average day trip experience.
The problem began right from the start. My friends and I were told that we would set off at 8am. The driver would come outside of our Airbnb, so we were outside our Airbnb at 7:50am. No driver. 8am. No driver. 8:15am. No driver. 8:30am. No driver. So, my friend messaged the boy who arranged our trip. No response because his phone was off. After contacting an alternative number, we got a hold of the person in charge of the tour company. However, he spoke very little English. He would contact the boy whose phone was off. We went back inside our Airbnb while the company’s manager and the boy sorted the problem.
Eventually, we were contacted by the boy who said that the driver had a problem with his car. They would arrange for another driver, but he wouldn’t be available until 10am. It takes two hours to drive to Signagi, and we needed to be back by 4pm for one of my friends to catch his flight. That meant we would drive for 2 hours, sightsee for 2 hours, and drive back for 2 hours. This was not a very appealing itinerary, but what could we do at this point? In for a penny in for a pound.
A little before 10am, we were notified that the driver had arrived, but when we looked outside, there was no one, so we messaged the boy. Where is the driver? “He is parked 50 meters away. Can you walk to him?” 50 meters in which direction? Can you tell us where he is parked? “Umm. He’ll come to you.” After about 15 minutes, a white Prius finally arrived to pick us up.
Our driver spoke no English and didn’t seem like he knew the way to Signagi. Additionally, every minute or so he would suck his teeth, making a tsk sound. He stopped twice to ask for his direction tsk and drove most of the time tsk with phone in his right hand tsk so that he could look at Google Maps. I know this because tsk I sat in the passenger seat tsk and watched him for the entire ride tsk. What made the drive even worse tsk was that he drove at 80 km/hour the entire time tsk so every car on the road had to pass him tsk.
My friends and I didn’t speak the entire ride. We were all aghast at how badly the trip had been going. Were we part of some sociological experiment or prank video to see how we would react?
When we finally arrived in Signagi, we wandered the town for a short bit, and then headed to restaurant to get some lunch. Signagi sits on a steep hill and overlooks the vast Alazani Valley, with the Caucasus Mountains visible at a distance. Despite the bungled start of our day trip and the annoying car ride, my friends and I ate a simple but delicious homecooked Georgian meal while enjoying the beautiful vista. If the tour company had some control in this part of the trip, I am sure that they would have found a way to ruin it or make it less enjoyable.
Finally, after our two hours in Signagi, we headed back to our driver so that he could drive us back to Tbilisi. My friend was able to catch his plane, and our driver was able to drop me and my other friend off without any additional snafus.
In the future, I will not trust a 14-year-old boy handing out flyers and representing a tour company to properly arrange a day trip for me. Still, as I like to say, all travel becomes story.
After Semaj departed from Georgia, Laika and I had to catch our ride to Yerevan, Armenia. Thankfully, our driver was on time, spoke English very well, and drove quickly without any weird tics. Laika and I were confident that we would have no problems with making it to Yerevan. However, there was one problem. As we heading out of Tbilisi, Airbnb notified us that our host had not confirmed our booking in Yerevan yet.
To be continued.
The following are my pics from this leg of the trip.
opusculum 