Tbilisi

I arrived in Tbilisi and took a bus from the airport to the city center. My first observation was that it is a very religious and hospitable country. Every few minutes while on the bus I would see passengers making three consecutive cross motions across their head and chest as we passed religious buildings.

Also, younger people and middle aged men would all jump up to offer their seat to any elderly people that entered the bus. Later on while taking a ​marshrutka​ I discovered the secret to getting a seat. Unless there are multiple free seats available you should never try to wriggle your way into a seat. When somebody in a seat leaves the bus they will point to a standing person and motion for them to take their seat. They will block the entrance to the seat until they get there. A few times men offered me a seat in this way. Otherwise I was going to stand, which is fine, I’m young enough to handle it.

I was rather underwhelmed by Tbilisi. I had heard it was a charming city but it seemed big and bustling to me. The roads are often six lanes deep and pedestrian crosswalks are underground tunnels. I once came across a roundabout with roads and ramps in the sky on multiple levels. It was nearly impossible to navigate the underground tunnels and end up on the desired side. I’ve never seen such complicated highways in The States so I certainly didn’t expect that in Georgia.

Hostels

My favorite hostel I stayed at in Tbilisi was Taj Hostel. The dorm rooms had outlets by each bed and it was very clean. There is a kitchen and free coffee and tea is available. I also stayed at @MyHostel which despite being rather dirty, had very kind staff. I arrived there at 7AM and nobody was around so I pulled out my sleeping bag to sleep in the lobby. Check in wasn’t until 10 AM so I certainly didn’t mind doing this. Later a Russian man came out of the dorm room and was appalled to see me sleeping on the floor. He woke up the staff and they immediately gave me a bed. They apologized and said I should have woken them up even though I was the one at fault for showing up early. That’s Georgian hospitality for you though.

The Attractions

I did enjoy going to the Botanical Garden. It costs 3 Lari for entrance and there are many trails to hike that give a lovely view of the city. ​This​ area is visibly pleasing with the Bridge of Peace that lights up at night and Narikala Fortress located on a hilltop. There is a trail near the sulphur baths that leads to a waterfall. One day I took a long walk to the Tbilisi Reservoir and enjoyed the tranquility of the lake.

​Transportation

Marshrutka​ transport was a bit confusing. The Georgia transport app was malfunctioning and Google doesn’t know all of the routes and pick-up locations. I’d advise asking a local where to catch a long distance bus. There isn’t a centralized station within Tbilisi and it all seemed quite random. However, the metro system in Tbilisi was very straightforward and inexpensive.

 

SIM Card

Tbilisi has free WiFi in much of the city though I would recommend getting a SIM card if you plan on going to any villages. I was able to occasionally find service on mountain tops with my ​Magti​ data package. For only 10 Lari I got 4 GB of service, what a deal!