It had poured most of the night and the day dawned not too bright with heavy to light drizzle spiking enthusiasm early in the morning. Ajay and I had planned to walk around in the Rike Park in the morning before going to the airport to pick up Hetal Shah, who was arriving from Surat via Sharjah. I had explained in the early part of the blog for this trip that my renewed Indian license seemed impossible to get prior to leaving due to the issue with its printing.
In the meantime, I had to book the car to drive in Georgia. I had to send the rental company a copy of the original driving license. Hetal stepped in with the copy of her DL. Accordingly, she had bought her ticket and made other arrangements for the travel. In the end, the printed renewed DL arrived, and I got it on the day of my travel to Baku. It was indeed a near miss and had it not been for Ajay and Hetal stepping up I would have been totally at sixes and sevens. In the end, the car in Baku was hired in Ajay's name and in Tbilisi in Hetal's name.
When we waited for the rain to reduce in intensity we had a fairly productive chat with Levan, the owner of Hotel Frida, who is an electrical engineer by profession. He had worked for a decade with the Georgian electricity authority. He keeps his skill sets honed by taking up consultancies for friends and acquaintances. He told us how professionals and semi-skilled workers are sought after; he told us that if he wanted someone to check his ACs, for instance, he would have to wait three to four weeks to find a suitable person for it. Such is the demand for people who had necessary skills; people who worked with their hands found jobs far more easily as the new gen did not want jobs that would be physically demanding.
Jobs were being created in the new age industries too, like IT. But the demand in the construction industry, health, food, etc is at an all-time high. His hotel has five rooms on three floors; he told us of the run around he was given by the authorities to get all permissions to renovate the old building more than ten years ago, as it was an old structure and in the old part of town. At the time, he had wanted to buy the building next door too. The owner didn't budge as he hoped to get a better price later. Now, there is a "For Sale" banner in front of the house. Buyers are vary of buying the property due to the hassles involved in renovation!
Levan told us how the transition from life in the Soviet Union to the independent era had affected people who had depended on state support for most of their lives; working for a living was not important at that time as it is now. He said that infrastructure has definitely improved since 1991 and highways and other infrastructure are being taken up on priority by the government. Farming, real estate, tourism and now IT are the mainstays of the country's economic support system.
When the rain had dwindled to a light drizzle we set out for the bus stand. We reached the airport within half an hour as traffic was light, it being a holiday. Hetal's flight landed on time, and we took the airport bus to get back to the hotel. The weather had cleared up almost completely. After settling down in the hotel we left for the half day agenda for the day.
We walked over the Peace Bridge and through the Rike Park to the ropeway station. Even though there were a large number of tourists the efficiently run cable car system quickly evacuated them. We didn't have long to wait before we paid 5 GEL each for a two-way ride on the ropeway. Only cash is accepted for the tickets. If one does not have a Travel Card, they give you one for 2 GEL.
The journey began in the Rike Park, a vibrant green oasis in the city. The sleek, glass-walled cabins of the cable car, each accommodating up to eight passengers, were busy. As we ascended, we watched the cityscape slowly unfold beneath us. The majestic Kura River snakes through the heart of Tbilisi, the golden sunlight reflecting off it. We admired the awesome Metekhi Church and the Freedom Monument, all dwarfed by the imposing Narikala Fortress perched on the hilltop.
When we reached the top, the city looked breathtakingly beautiful. Via a narrow pathway, ringed by hawkers and kiosks vending food to souvenirs, we reached the statue of the Mother of Georgia. A couple of hawkers stand with parakeets and hawks, waiting for the innocent visitor, who tries to pet them and take photos. They will make them hold the pet or perch them on your shoulder and take photos for you. You think it's all free and done in good taste to humor the visitor. When the 'show' is over they will fleece you of hefty sums of money.
The Mother of Georgia statue was erected on the top of the Sololaki Hill in 1958, the year Tbilisi celebrated its 1500th anniversary. The 20-meter aluminum statue of a woman in Georgian national dress symbolises the national character. In her left hand she holds a bowl of wine to greet those who come as friends, and in her right hand is a sword for those who come as enemies. As she faces a cliff one cannot see the frontal view of the statue from the top of the hill.
We had planned to visit the Narikala fortress, the Sulphur Baths the Leghvtakhevi Canyon and the Tabor Monastery of the Transfiguration. However, to our dismay, the fortress, built in the 4th century, is under extensive restoration and the path beyond it is completely blocked and that truncated our visit to the Sololaki Hill. We took the cable car ride back, once again captivated by the sights of the hill on the one side and the city and the river on the other. Letter we walked leisurely through the Rike Park admiring the beautiful gardens, trees and facilities.
After a long walk we took the Peace Bridge once again and got to Ecko, a person who had offered a boat ride on the Kura River the previous evening. We were taken to one of the boats with another family of six. The half hour boat ride, up and down the Kura River, was quite interesting with stunning views of the Peace Bridge, the Metekhi Church and the city founder's statue. I was disappointed that there wasn't a guide who explained the history and sights from the boat. That would be a terrific value add for tourists.
By 5 pm we reached the car rental office and was driven by Tamara, the partner of the company, to the parking lot near Rike Park. I had booked a Toyota Yaris, but the car we saw in the parking lot was not of the vintage I had expected. It had clocked almost 3 lakh kilometers, and the car didn't seem to be in good condition either. Anyway, I believe that a bad workman blames his tools. This car will be my companion for the next few days. After Ajay drove us to the hotel, we parked it in the hotel car park and paid the parking fee of 15 GEL for the overnight parking.
Shortly thereafter, we made haste to the Clock Tower, where every hour people gather to watch the angel ringing the hour. The added attraction at noon and 7 pm is a short puppet show at the Tower, called the Circle of Life. Throughout the entertaining show people stood with their mouths agape, in silence, and watched the spectacle. When it was over there were thunderous handclaps of appreciation - no annoying catcalls or whistling.
Later, we walked the short distance to the Pasanauri restaurant that had been recommended by Levan. We took three seats on the balcony overlooking the street, enjoying the sights of the street and the misty spray. The restaurant is famed for its authentic Georgian cuisine.
We ordered a mushroom and potato soup, a beef soup, bread, steamed beans in clay pot and a portion of roast chicken in white sauce. The food was superb, and we were stuffed by the time we left the restaurant. For what we ate, the price was low too. However, I found the waiters a bit too uppity. When I was leaving the restaurant I told the owner of the restaurant, a lady, that she should ask her waiters to smile a bit!
We walked slowly back to the hotel to let the heavy intake settle down. After packing the bags and basking in the glory of India's victory in the T20 Men's World Cup final against South Africa it was time to take rest, as we had a long ride ahead of us the next day.
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