Georgia: first experience
A couple of days ago I drank excellent homemade wine, walked the streets of old Tbilisi, enjoyed the wonderful water from the city of Borjomi... yes, you are right, I was in Georgia.
Today my story will do without lyrical digressions. Only invoice. Firstly (I live in Kyiv), a visair (low-cost) dug up a direct flight from Kyiv to Kutaisi, who is smarter, he managed to buy a ticket for $ 50 (round-trip), while I was catching a woof, it cost me $ 90 (booked tickets in June). I booked the hotel through booking (I chose the price-quality ratio), I chose the guest house on. st. Grishashvili, 19 (90 lari per day, it's about $57 for three) almost in the center of the city.
The main thing to remember in Kutaisi is that the airport is under construction. The customs officers will stamp your passport and give you wine. Another airport attraction is the unmarked toilet. Secondly, BE CAREFUL, impudent taxi drivers work there! During the trip, the cost of a ticket can increase from 20 lari to 20 dollars! If you take a taxi, immediately agree on its cost in front of witnesses, plus demand a guarantee (scare them with the police)!! ! Eh. A good thought comes later.
In addition to taxis, there are minibuses that come under the "flight of visas", their cost to Kutaisi is 3 lari, to Tbilisi - 15 lari (it used to be 10 lari). There is a choice.
Remember, if you decide to go to Tbilisi by train, it costs 10 GEL, then there is only ONE wagon in the train!! ! So book your tickets online. And then you can not get on this train at all. (I was taken like a “hare” to the next stop of Rioni, thanks to the conductors of the car, and our Ukrainians, whom the taxi driver took to the exchange office, changed the money for the ticket). At about one in the morning, I settled in a seated luxury carriage, where, probably, the film “Gentlemen of Fortune” was staged as honest guests.
I got to Tbilisi.
I decided not to mess with taxi drivers. Minibuses start "running" early in the morning. By 7.30 I was already in the guest house. THANK YOU to the owners, there was a free room and our "gang" was settled. Were showered until two o'clock in the afternoon.
Tbilisi. Restaurants, wine, food - for every taste and budget. You choose. Ask, I'll give you points. Unpleasant, but true in some restaurants, waiters forget to bring change, although there is already a 10% tip in the bill. Don't let yourself be fooled!
Sulfur baths. The most beautiful motley ones are still closed for repairs in others from 20 GEL per booth. As for me..... stinks . . but the skin becomes very soft)))
Vardzia. We wrote off in advance on the forum about Georgia with local residents who advised us to take a car (justified). The tour cost $ 100, plus for gasoline - they charged us God-like $ 50. You can try to book an excursion on the spot from 100 to 150 dollars plus gasoline... don't settle for more! And it's worth going there.
Mtskheta. The first capital of Georgia - of course, you need to take a minibus from Didube metro station for 30 minutes - the issue price is 1 GEL.
Bazaars. Check everything with the owners, at the reception desk, acquaintances....ask for advice. On one of the last days, we met guys from Riga at the central market where they slipped dried persimmon with a bonus - larvae and some flies, as well as mead, fermentation, which, judging by the taste, has just begun.
If you have a lot of money, buy wine in stores, if you don't have much. . . then it's better on tap, but try it before you buy it! Do the same with tea! The price of draft wine is from 3 lari... and up to....
Return to Kutaisi.
A minibus is easier than 3.5 hours and on the spot, but what sacrifices? ! My back hurts so I didn't take the risk. In Ukraine, for a long time there are no such dead minibuses in which sometimes, in the “sic” position, you have to sit through the entire route. I went by train - twice cheaper (5 GEL) and twice longer (6 hours). There is nothing special to see in Kutaisi, but you can always find…
From the Kutaisi bus station there is a minibus in the direction of Somtredia (something like the name of the town sounds like this), which for 2 lari will take you to the airport where there is NOTHING except the customs office, but... there is a toilet, however, until it closes.
. . . two hours and I'm in Kyiv. . .
