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| The Caucasus - My Journal |
Finding a Home in Tbilisi
Kutaisi -> Tbilisi, 22nd August
After a quick breakfast of Catchupuri (again, no cafes were open before 10am) I headed over towards the bus station in order to find a mashrutka to Tbilisi. I told the taxi driver what I was looking for (using nouns only...me...mashrutka...Tbilisi) and he dropped me off right in front of a half full mashrutka which looked like it'd be ready to leave pretty soon. The mashrutka driver helped me cram my bag into the limited luggage space then I moved over to loiter with the other passengers who were waiting in the shade of a small tree.
While I was a waiting, a tall guy with short, dark hair (actually, that's how every Georgian looks, the only way to tell them apart is by their varying degrees of eyebrow bushiness) began talking to me when he realised I was a tourist. It turned out that he had been living and working in Moscow for the past few years, but he was keen to move back to Georgia so was visiting Tbilisi to check out the job prospects. Apparently good jobs are difficult to find in Georgia without the requisite bribes or connections so he was coming in to do some ground work. I was a little wary at first, a Russian in Georgia who seemed to have good money (he had 2 houses in Tbilisi, regularly went on holiday to expensive beach resorts and had a sister studying in Stockholm) could have "special" connections. But he was really friendly and I doubt the mafia types travel by public mashrutka so I became a bit more comfortable talking to him.
The journey was fairly comfortable and only took 3.5 hours, despite the 6 hours stated in the Lonely Planet. We stopped at the edge of a huge bus station with busy traffic rushing past in both directions and dozens of buses flying every which way. I looked around tentatively...how was I going to get to my guesthouse? Luckily, the friendly Russian/Georgian guy helped me on my way by waving down a cab for me and assured that the driver charged me the correct fare (4 lari, about 1 pound 30).
The problem with the Caucasus is that the low level of tourism means that hotel options are very limited, particularly in the main cities. The choices are normally limited to very expensive luxury hotels or pretty expensive dirtbag hotels with complementary cockroaches and must. However, in many cities, the budget traveller gap has been filled by homestays. Homestays are where locals turn a spare room or two into a small dorm or double room and rent it out budget travellers, just like a family run hotel or Bed & Breakfast. The best homestays often reach legend status among backpackers and can explode to have up to a dozen beds squeezed into the house. I'd used the Lonely Planet Thorntree Forum to find a homestay in Tbilisi, a small, friendly home near one of the main squares. The taxi dropped me off right in front of a gate that was only marked by a big painted "5" and I shuffled tentatively down the covered passage to a small house.
The front door was open, so I took a few steps in. There was no sound other than the blare of a TV in the front room, so I knocked gently on the glass door. There was no response. I knocked again, and pushed the door slowly. It was then that I noticed a rather portly, bald man fast asleep on a grey couch, so I quickly closed the door again and looked elsewhere in the building. I suddenly noticed a scrubbing sound coming from a closed door by the kitchen, which subsequently opened and a small, friendly lady wandered out. She didn't look surprised to see me, and so I made the international sign for sleep. She shook her head and made a sign that either meant We're closed or We're full. Damn. Just when I thought I'd found a place quickly and with no problems. She said "Sorry" a few times but I just smiled and shrugged and pulled my rucksack back on before squeezing back out of the house.
Luckily, I'd printed directions for two homestays. The other one was a little farther out of town, but still in an acceptable location, so I hailed down another cab, read him the address and we zoomed off again to the other side of town. I managed to track his route through the city using the map in the guidebook, and after a few wrong turns, he dropped me off by what seemed like the right place. I paid up and walked towards the unmarked building. Luckily, the directions I'd found on the internet warned that the number of the house was hidden by bushes and the staircase looked very ominous, even though the homestay inside was very, very clean and comfortable and run by a super-friendly lady. Even more luckily, the advice turned out to be right!
After being greeted by a stereotypical communist housewife of a lady I was shown to an empty bed in a room which had 4 single beds, a small dorm. The apartment looked very homely, comfortable and with all the necessary amenities. It was definitely a good choice...it even had laundry services and internet access...but no breakfast included, so it looked like I would be forced to eat catchupuri for a bit longer...
After unpacking a few things and saying hi to my Italian room-mates, I set out to explore the Georgian capital...
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To know the road ahead, ask those coming back
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