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Armenia and Georgia

not-bono-ever said:
I trudge all day long when i go somewhere new- one of the most interesting things in Tbilis was the state of some of the buildings - its an earthquake hotspot- and some of the older , grander structures, are seriously malformed.
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I reckon the best way to discover a city is to get lost in it :) You have to do the sights of course but I love getting off at random metro stations, tram stops etc.
 
I'm back! God, they are both beautiful countries with very friendly people. Stayed in Tbilisi and visited Mtshketa, the cave city at Uplistsikhe and took a trip through the mountains to Kazbegi/Stepantsminda. The scenery was breathtaking. The trip to Gergheti in a Lada Niva was memorable...
Ate lots of meat skewers, khinkhali and khachapuri. The wine is delicious.
Travelled to Armenia by marshrutka. I loved Yerevan, the architecture was superb. Visited Garni, Geghard and various sites around Lake Sevan.
 
indeed. should anyone get up that way and have time, I ould thoroughly reccomend a trip into Abkhazia- not expensive in the big scheme of thinsg and for history buffs, it is particularly interesting
 
not-bono-ever said:
indeed. should anyone get up that way and have time, I ould thoroughly reccomend a trip into Abkhazia- not expensive in the big scheme of thinsg and for history buffs, it is particularly interesting
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Is it possible to enter Abkhazia or South Ossetia from Georgia? I'd heard it was difficult since the annexation by Russia.
 
easy if you get pre approval from the Abkhaz authorities beforehand by email, then you sort your visa in Sukum for a couple of USD. South Ossetia has obvs Russia visa requirement, so that is a nightmare in itself . Zero chance IIRC of crossing from Georgia whatever it is still a bit fruity at the border.
 
spartacus mills said:
Is it possible to enter Abkhazia or South Ossetia from Georgia? I'd heard it was difficult since the annexation by Russia.
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Surprisingly easy. Just don't cross at a border checkpoint or when a UN 4x4 is coming ;)

We did go to Abkhazia by accident the first time; second time we stoped and spoke to some soldiers who made us tea and wrote an 'entry stamp' in our passports in biro....

There are hundreds of tracks and small roads that take you in- it's really not a proper 'border'

Clear would never advocate doing anything illegal and not going to an embassy and getting all the paperwork. But....

Edit: don't know about South Ossetia- didn't try
 
not-bono-ever said:
easy if you get pre approval from the Abkhaz authorities beforehand by email, then you sort your visa in Sukum for a couple of USD. South Ossetia has obvs Russia visa requirement, so that is a nightmare in itself . Zero chance IIRC of crossing from Georgia whatever it is still a bit fruity at the border.
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we literally drove down a track with houses on it north of the town with the funny name and the bridge.
 
Ah, just looked at the map and reminded me re South Ossetia. It has a line of mountains in the way so you can't get to it from the Georgian military highway (which was our route up to stepsaminda) so we didn'5 investigate it
 
Manter said:
Surprisingly easy. Just don't cross at a border checkpoint or when a UN 4x4 is coming ;)

We did go to Abkhazia by accident the first time; second time we stoped and spoke to some soldiers who made us tea and wrote an 'entry stamp' in our passports in biro....

There are hundreds of tracks and small roads that take you in- it's really not a proper 'border'

Clear would never advocate doing anything illegal and not going to an embassy and getting all the paperwork. But....

Edit: don't know about South Ossetia- didn't try
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you get a lovely mulicoloured visa from the foreign ministry but they take it back when you leave .
 
not-bono-ever said:
you get a lovely mulicoloured visa from the foreign ministry but they take it back when you leave .
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I hate it when they do that! The Syrians took my golan heights permit back- I was very cross. It was so long ago now I didn't even have a phone camera at the time. In fact I may not have had a mobile phone at all....!
 
There is an Abkhazia thread- be warned tho, there is still a,lot of destruction in the border area, swathes of burned out Georgian owned houses. there was a bit of a bloodbath as well. though not well reported, when the Chechniyans assisted. very dark history.
 
The history of that area is very dark. It's part of the fascination in some ways, sort of.... the idealisation of Stalin, with that dreadful museum and the statues you stumble across, the svaneti tribe rites and traditions, the endless history of conflict and poetry.... it's a fascinating complicated place. I love it but I think if I lived there I would probably go mad and end up living in a cave.
 
I've been getting a lot of ads for trips to Abkhazia at the moment, its not somewhere thats really been on my radar before, but it looks like the place I'd like.
 
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