Itinerary 24-Oct-09 Arrived in Tbilisi from Baku in the evening. Dinner with Angie and Mark. 25-Oct-09 Walking around the town, see the Dry Bridge Market, Rustaveli Area, the old town, watching the festival Tbilisoba, Abanotubani, the fortress. Dinner with Angie. 26-Oct-09 Tour to Davit Gareja and Mtskheta (Svetitskholveli Cathedral, Antioki Church (for nunnery), Jvari Church).
Summary I loved Georgia. Tbilisi’s old town is small but everything is packed there, fortress ruins up the mountain, cobble streets, old churches, parks, bridges, stylish cafes, not to forget the Hammam (Turkish bath) complex (Abanotubani). Outside Georgia, also beautiful. I only visited Davit Gareja and Mkheta, but on the way, the view was superb. Also, the food! Khinkali, the boiled dumpling, is my favourite.
My Best 5 Walking around Tbilisi old town Khinkali, Georgian dumpling Watching the festival Tbilisoba Trekking in Davit Gareja Mtskheta beautiful churches
Visa: at the airport, GEL 50 (has to exchange money first)
Money: Many ATM’s and Money Exchange, also in the airport. To apply for visa, have to exchange some money soon after arrival.
Map: Tourist Info in the Freedom Square provides map.
Accommodation - Hotel Charm, USD 100 for 3 nights in ground floor room (discount room/ staff room?). Good location in the Old city. Breakfast included, shared bathroom. Bella, the manager for 2 about 2 years, is an efficient lady, can arrange transportation to everywhere. The computer with internet can be used. Very small hotel (only 6 rooms), like homestay.
Transportation - Airport to city center, by bus GEL 0.4. Will go to Freedom Square. - Day trip to Davit Gareja (about 6 hours) GEL 100 by guide/driver Tariel Tabashidze (tariel_tabashidze@yahoo.com, +995-99648928), introduced by Bella at Hotel Charm. Davit Gareja is about 2 hours drive from Tbilisi. The hiking to the caves was a bit hard (especially with sandals), but the caves and the view were nice. Very near to Azerbaijan border. - Day trip to Mtskheta (about 2 hours) GEL 20 by the same driver above. I did it just after the Davit Gareja trip. But the trip in the morning is better, since the view from Jvari church is looking to the west. - Taxi from city to Airport GEL 20 by the same driver above. - Metro, GEL 0.5.
Eating - House of Khinkali, cross the street from Radisson Hotel. Very recommended by locals. There is English menu. - Shemoikhede Genatsvale (recommended by LP, on 25 Leselidze St.), the restaurant with the painting of 3 men and a dog outside. Khinkali GEL 0.45-1.00; Nakhtari beer 0.4 L GEL 1.80. There is English menu. - Dzveli Metekhi (recommended in LP, next to Old Metheki Hotel). Chicken with blueberry sauce was good. There is English menu. - Hotel Kopala (recommended in LP), the view from the rooftop was good.
Others - Bathing in Abanotubani. The sharing bath is only at Oberliani (GEL 2-3, towel GEL 1, massage/scrub GEL 10). The other Royal Bath (private room GEL 40) and Sulphur Bath (private room GEL 30) only provides private rooms. - Tbilisoba, the festival 24-25 October 2009. Many concerts and performances around Tbilisi (across the Metheki Bridge and Abanotubani). The closing concert was in Freedom Square.
Itinerary 27-Oct-09 Arrived in Yerevan. Walking around Yerevan (Shuka No.2 market, Cascade, Republic Square), visited Yerevan Brandy Factory. 28-Oct-09 Tour to Echmiadzin, Noravank, and Khor Vilap by Envoy Hostel. Watched a stage named “Cabaret”.
Summary Tourism is booming?! in Armenia, I guess with Armenian diasporas around the world. So many travel agencies in Yerevan. Also so many ATM’s. So traveling in Armenia is very easy. From May to September, many daily tours to outside Yerevan. In Yerevan, a very huge Cascade (beautiful stairs) is still under construction. Also in Republic Square, there is light, music, and water show every night.
My best 5: Tour with Envoy Hostel to Echmiadzin, Noravank, and Khor Vilap. Yerevan Cascade, a very huge stairs with many artistic statue, including the big cat, and nude boy. Yerevan Republic Square music, light, and water show. Shuka No.2 market Visit to Yerevan Brandy Factory as Churchill, Boris Yeltzin, and other leaders did.
Visa: at the airport, 21 days AMD 3000, 90 days AMD 15000, transit 3 days AMD 10000 (has to change money first).
Map: free from Tourist Info near Republic Square, or Envoy Hostel. There is no useful Tourist Info in the Airport. The “Tourist Info” in the airport only gave Advertisement brochures. Not even map is available. The map is taken from Mobile phone coverage map in nearby mobile phone booth.
Accommodation - Envoy Hostel (recommended in LP), AMD 7000 per night in shared 8 bed rooms. Very crowded and noisy even late midnight with local youngsters. There are 2 computers, for boys 2 shower rooms, 2 toilets only. Breakfast included. Good location within walking distance to Opera and Republic Square.
Transportation - Airport to city, use Minibus No.107, AMD 300, to Barekamutyun Metro (north end Metro station). From there, take Metro (AMD 50) to city center. - City to Airport, by Minibus No.108, AMD 200, from Abovian St./Moskovian St./Khanjian St. - For travel agency, Hyur Service (www.hyurservice.com) is recommended. Their email response was quick and good. They provide air ticket for Caspian Airlines cheaper than Tatev Travel (www.tatev.com), the authorized agent for Caspian Airlines. They also provide daily tours to sites outside Yerevan. - Tour by Envoy Hostel, Essential Armenia and Enlighted Armenia. The guide Gebhord, is young and effective and informative. AMD 12,000 for each day trip. I joined the Enlighted Armenia to Echmiadzin, Noravank, and Khor Vilap.
Eating: - Uzbekistan restaurant in LP was not existing anymore. The place became Beijing Restaurant 2. - Sandwich kebab was AMD 350 in sandwich stalls in city center.