so georgia. where do i even fucking start man.
ok so i landed in tbilisi and honestly? i was not ready. the airport is tiny af like its a bus station with a runway. i walked out and this old dude just comes up and goes “where u from? welcome!” and gives me a glass of wine. at 9am. georgian hospitality is INSANE. like they will just adopt u on the street. i was there for 3 days and had like 5 dinner invites from strangers. this one babushka tried to feed me until i literally couldnt move. she kept saying “eat eat” and i was like “pls i cant” but she didn’t give a shit. i ate so much khachapuri i think i became 30% bread.
anyway back to the chaos.
tbilisi old town is… idk how to describe it. its like someone took a medieval village and just let it decay in the most beautiful way possible. balconies everywhere. like EVERWHERE. hanging off buildings looking like theyll fall any second. random narrow streets that go nowhere. u turn a corner and theres a random waterfall in the middle of the city??? yeah that happens. and the sulfur baths district? u walk down this street and it just smells like eggs. rotten eggs. but like in a cozy way? i dont even know how that works.
oh wait i forgot to mention the dogs. tbilisi has SO MANY stray dogs but theyre not strays theyre like… city dogs. they have their own community. they wear ear tags. they just chill. i saw one sleeping in the middle of a crosswalk and cars went AROUND him. georgia respects its dogs man.
the sulfur baths are wild. u go into this underground complex and pay like $15 idk exact maybe $20 and u sit in these hot ass rooms that smell like satans farts but somehow its amazing. then some big lad named dima or something scrubs u down with this rough glove and all your dead skin just… rolls off. ngl it was gross but i felt brand new after. like a snake shedding its skin.
FOOD. oh my god the food.
khinkali are these giant soup dumplings that u eat with your hands. u gotta bite the top to suck the broth out OR ELSE IT EXPLODES. i learned this the hard way. burnt my tongue and had juice all over my shirt. worth it tho. one khinkali is like a whole meal. i ate 4 and felt like i was gonna die. local told me the record is like 50 or something. absolute animals.
and khachapuri adjaruli. u know that shit that goes viral? the bread boat with cheese and egg and butter? yeah its real and its so fucking good it should be illegal. i had one in this tiny basement restaurant and the lady making it looked at me like “u think u can finish this?” i couldnt. i tried. i failed. no regrets.
wine culture is insane. like georgians invented wine apparently. 8000 years ago they were making wine in clay pots buried in the ground. they call it qvevri. i went to this winery in kakheti and the dude was like “we dont age wine in barrels we age it in the earth” and i was like “ok viking burial but make it drinkable” and he didnt laugh but i thought it was funny. the wine is DEF different than what ur used to. some of its orange. like actual orange color. and theres always toasting. EVERY TIME U DRINK. u cant just sip. theres a toast for everything. to peace, to family, to the people who arent here, to the grapes, to the glass itself. i had like 15 toasts before i even finished my first glass.
georgian people are something else man. i met this guy named gio who offered me a ride to the mountains and i said yes cuz stranger danger isnt a thing here apparently. we drove 4 hours to svaneti with his cousin and they kept stopping to pick wild berries and drink homemade chacha (which is basically rocket fuel). chacha is like grappa but stronger and more… aggressive. it will kill u if u let it. i had a sip and my soul left my body for a sec.
SVANETI THO. holy shit.
the caucasus mountains are unreal. like unreal. u see photos and think “nah thats filtered” but its not. its green EVERYWHERE and the villages have these ancient stone towers that look like game of thrones shit. ushguli village is one of the highest settlements in europe and i could barely breathe walking up the hill but the VIEW. omg the view. glaciers coming down between green hills. cows just wandering around. absolute chaos but like… peaceful chaos? idk.
i stayed in this homestay where the family just let me eat with them. they didnt speak english. i didnt speak georgian. we communicated through gestures and shared food and it was the best dinner of my life. they kept pouring wine and i kept drinking because i couldnt say no. i went to bed at like 8pm drunk as fuck in this tiny room with a view of the mountains and i swear i cried a little. not even embarassed.
oh yea the metro in tbilisi is also kinda cool. it goes DEEP underground. like soviet deep. the escalator ride takes 3 minutes. u just stand there going down into the earth. feels like a bunker. and the stations have these chandeliers and soviet mosaics. its dingy and grand at the same time. hard to explain.
honestly i cant even remember half the prices. like everything is CHEAP compared to europe or whatever. a meal is like $5-10. a beer is $1.50. wine is cheaper than water in some places. i bought a bottle for like $3 and it was good. like ACTUALLY good not “good for cheap” good. georgia is a budget dream and i will die on this hill.
the only thing that sucked? the driving. OH MY GOD THE DRIVING. like marshrutkas (minibuses) are how locals get around and its a religious experience. u just flag it down and hope for the best. drivers overtake on blind corners. theres no rules. its pure chaos. i had a driver take a call and eat a khachapuri while driving on a mountain road and i was clinging to my seat like a cat in a bath. but i made it. so theres that.
also georgian language is impossible. just look at this: გამარჯობა. thats “hello”. i couldnt pronounce it no matter how hard i tried. everyone just switched to english or russian or mime. very patient people.
rant over. sorry.
anyway. georgia is wild. go there. eat everything. drink the wine. almost die on a marshrutka. get adopted by a babushka. u wont regret it.
gotta go now my khinkali is here.
Real travel thoughts. No polish.