Hi,
Any one been to Tbilisi (Georgia) recently? Thinking of going at the end of July - any comments or suggestions appreciated. Also a suggestion for one other destination in Georgia to visit. I presume most people speak Russian (as well as the local Georgian) - necessary to learn a little or is English wide-spread?
Main interest are red wine and unhealthy food. I also like pretty females with gold teeth.
Thanks
Tbilisi Georgia
only some young people / people in hospitality industry or international business speak English, so English is spoken sporadically, so you may find yourself more comfortable if you can use some Russian, of course - but I do doubt yiu will manage to get you Russian within a month to a level to be able to establish simple communication, it is not that easy language at all..
Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk
Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk
-
- Making Khmer girls cry since 2003
- Reactions: 130
- Posts: 21358
- Joined: Thu Dec 11, 2003 10:15 pm
I was underwhelmed. I heard it had a lovely old town but I found it to be run down and unattractive.RBD wrote:Hi,
Any one been to Tbilisi (Georgia) recently? Thinking of going at the end of July - any comments or suggestions appreciated. Also a suggestion for one other destination in Georgia to visit. I presume most people speak Russian (as well as the local Georgian) - necessary to learn a little or is English wide-spread?
Main interest are red wine and unhealthy food. I also like pretty females with gold teeth.
Thanks
That National Museum and National Gallery are nice enough.
Follow my lame Twitter feed: @gavin_mac
Last year we did a driving tour, a circuit from Batumi via a very bad road to Akhalsikhe, (with a side trips to Vardzia Terraces and Paravan Lake), thence to Borjomi, Kutaisi and back to Batumi. Enjoyed it a lot. The hotels were good, the food and the wine were excellent and good value. Batumi is a big seaside resort, Akhalsikhe is a quiet, scenic town, Borjomi is a busy, touristy spa town. In between lots of scenic driving and a big variety of scenery. Easy to drive but the roads have a lot of potholes (not the major highways). The trains are also good, and unbelievably cheap. People are conservative but friendly. Probably helpful to learn a bit of Georgian.
-
- I live above an internet cafe
- Reactions: 0
- Posts: 142
- Joined: Mon Oct 12, 2015 9:57 am
Georgia is fantastic.
The English level is high enough - although helps if you know a few basics in Russian.
Tblisi old-own is pretty (but surrounded by the usual Soviet-era concrete)
For destinations - head north up into the mountains and go to Kazbegi, the famous shot of the church with the mountains behind is a lovely in real life as in the photos.
Or go east to wine country, and go wine tasting. $10 x 2 got my friend and i what felt like liters of the local red and white, all the fried cheesy bread you could eat and a carafe of arak as well - and stumbling to bed by 4pm.
Great country, lovely people - have a blast!
The English level is high enough - although helps if you know a few basics in Russian.
Tblisi old-own is pretty (but surrounded by the usual Soviet-era concrete)
For destinations - head north up into the mountains and go to Kazbegi, the famous shot of the church with the mountains behind is a lovely in real life as in the photos.
Or go east to wine country, and go wine tasting. $10 x 2 got my friend and i what felt like liters of the local red and white, all the fried cheesy bread you could eat and a carafe of arak as well - and stumbling to bed by 4pm.
Great country, lovely people - have a blast!
- Miguelito
- Ordinary Schmo
- Reactions: 219
- Posts: 7053
- Joined: Tue Jan 13, 2015 11:19 pm
- Location: Penh's Hill
I thought Tbilisi was a very nice, if small, city. It's the most international city in the Caucuses, as all of the international organizations in the region need to operate out of there, as Azeris can't go to Armenia (because of the Azerbaijani government), and Armenians don't want to the go to Azerbaijan either.
Some Russian would certainly help - if you could get through Lesson 1 of Pimsleur Russian you'd have enough to negotiate a taxi and get by.
The best food are the kinkali, which are large bursting soup dumplings, and the khachapuri, which is the bread and cheese. Each region as their own variant, but the best is the Agarian khatchapuri. It's probably 3000 calories, but so good, especially after a night of drinking. Batumi is the "beach" resort neat the Turkish border - it's ok, but certainly not what you may be picturing for a beach town (this is Agaria however, so you get the best khatchapuri). The hills and wine tastings will be more pleasant, I think. A great souvenir are the horns that you drink wine out of - you can't put the glass down, so need to constantly drink!
Some Russian would certainly help - if you could get through Lesson 1 of Pimsleur Russian you'd have enough to negotiate a taxi and get by.
The best food are the kinkali, which are large bursting soup dumplings, and the khachapuri, which is the bread and cheese. Each region as their own variant, but the best is the Agarian khatchapuri. It's probably 3000 calories, but so good, especially after a night of drinking. Batumi is the "beach" resort neat the Turkish border - it's ok, but certainly not what you may be picturing for a beach town (this is Agaria however, so you get the best khatchapuri). The hills and wine tastings will be more pleasant, I think. A great souvenir are the horns that you drink wine out of - you can't put the glass down, so need to constantly drink!
Nobody has mentioned de wimmin. You can't go to a country and not sample that local produce.
What are de wimmin like?
What are de wimmin like?
RobW wrote:Nobody has mentioned de wimmin. You can't go to a country and not sample that local produce.
What are de wimmin like?
Wow - and I thought no-one would have been there. Thanks for above - very helpful (esp the photos - but where are the gold teeth?). I started learning Russian about 20 years ago when living in Baku but gave up after realising that no one wanted to talk to me anyway. Could probably hack the (very) basics again. Ja gavaru nemnogu pa ruskie, or something like that.
One final question - any suggestions for hotel (mid-range)/area to stay in in Tbilisi?
Thanks.
One final question - any suggestions for hotel (mid-range)/area to stay in in Tbilisi?
Thanks.
- Miguelito
- Ordinary Schmo
- Reactions: 219
- Posts: 7053
- Joined: Tue Jan 13, 2015 11:19 pm
- Location: Penh's Hill
Stay at the Marriot on the main square.RBD wrote:Wow - and I thought no-one would have been there. Thanks for above - very helpful (esp the photos - but where are the gold teeth?). I started learning Russian about 20 years ago when living in Baku but gave up after realising that no one wanted to talk to me anyway. Could probably hack the (very) basics again. Ja gavaru nemnogu pa ruskie, or something like that.
One final question - any suggestions for hotel (mid-range)/area to stay in in Tbilisi?
Thanks.
-
- Similar Topics
- Replies
- Views
- Last post
-
- 2 Replies
- 220 Views
-
Last post by Phnom Penh Trader
Sun Mar 19, 2023 8:17 pm