After the itinerary was finalized to include Batumi, at the very last minute, I was anxious to ensure that I had enough time there to savor a city that has rave reviews all through the years and from different types of travelers. When we came down to the reception at 7 am a packed breakfast of boiled eggs, tomatoes, cucumber, bread and cheese was waiting for us.
We started the day's journey, all excited to spend a day in Batumi. There were many diversions on the road to Batumi due to ongoing highway works. On the way, we had the packed breakfast and thanked the hotel staff for being so considerate. As we neared Batumi city, the traffic became heavier and vehicles ground to a crawl. I thought it to be the normal office hour rush. As we got to Batumi, after more than 30 minutes extra on the road than anticipated, I knew that it was the rush of tourists.
I spoke to Orbi City D Block reception wanting to know when the accommodation would be available. When I was told that it would be ready only by 2 pm, I looked for a free car park not far from the attractions. Many car parks were full, and I steered into quite a few before I found one close to the Marriot Hotel.
We had about four hours to explore the city before reporting at the booked accommodation. The major attractions that we covered on foot, in sweltering heat, punctuated by imbibing copious quantity of water and a couple of ice creams were:
The Japanese Garden is set up stretching over 1020 sq.m. near the university building. The garden features a miniature lake, decorative bridge and plants typical of the Eastern culture.
The Nuri Lake was originally a swamp, in the 19th century. It is a natural lake that uses groundwater. The city's garden was transformed into a children's park in 1933. The park and lakeshores were renovated. The canal was connected to the Black Sea.
According to legend, a child called Nuri was drowned in the lake. The mother used to go to the lake every day and call out to her - Nuri, Geli - in the hope that the child would return. In 1947, the first ship "Pioneer" was launched in the Lake and hence, it is also known as the Pioneer Garden. People use the lake for kayaking and boating.
Near the Nuri Lake is the May 6 Park, also called "Central Park of Batumi", which is the best place for leisure. The park has small children's entertainment areas and a small zoo with ponies and deer. It now occupies more than 165,000 square meters.
During the Soviet Union, a Dolphinarium was built in the park in 1975, the largest in the world. Dolphin is the symbol of Batumi. It became a hit with locals and tourists alike. However, in the 1990s the attraction fells on bad times due the breakup of the Soviet Union. After 20 years the dolphinarium was reopened with 7 dolphins, thanks to the combined efforts of the Batumi City Hall and Cartu, the charity fund. The population has since doubled and is also home to the bottlenose dolphins.
The Batumi Boulevard signifies the continuous development of the area and gives it historical meaning. It became Batumi's visiting card, where everyone found something of interest to indulge in. The Boulevard is the most visited sightseeing attraction in Batumi.
The Batumi Boulevard is an integrated seven-kilometer seaside promenade, a popular beach 4 historic alleys and more than 40,000 trees, planted in the area at different times of its development. There are cafes, restaurants, kiosks and souvenir shops, besides entertainment centres supporting the Boulevard.
The Colonnades in the Batumi Boulevard area has been embellishing it since 1934. It is indeed one of the most interesting signs in the city. But its original raison d'etre is lost on the present-day visitors. The idea for the Colonnades was borrowed from the Italian city of Sorrento. Originally, the colonnades were the gateway to the sea, but in time the coastline receded and the Colonnades do not exactly fringe the waterline. The beautiful park that surrounds the Colonnades enhance the beauty of the Colonnades.
'Romeo and Juliet' is possibly the most well-known tragic lover's tale. Georgia has its own, though. The story of Ali and Nino was first told in the 1937 Austrian novel by the same name. Ali, an Azerbaijani Muslim, and Nino, a Georgian princess, fall in love amidst the WW1 setting. When they are finally able to get together, Ali gets killed in a bomb attack on his home. The novel is an Azerbaijani national classic.
The story inspired the huge, automated statue of the lovers that stand by Batumi's seashore, at one end of the Batumi Boulevard, since 2010. The giant metal work is also known as the 'Statue of Love' where the two figures move towards each other, eventually merging as the metal segments pass between each other, without actually touching each other. The illuminated show in the night is said to be enjoyable.
The Chacha Tower in Batumi is almost an exact replica of the Clock Tower in Izmir, Turkey, with a major change, though. The 25-meter clock tower in Batumi has four fountains, where Georgian Chacha - a grape distillate - comes out of the fountains instead of water. The eye-catching clock tower was built in 2012 and hosts a tourism information center. The fountains have been nonfunctional since 2015.
The 139 meter tall Alphabetic Tower symbolises the uniqueness of Georgian alphabet and the people. The huge tower combines the design of the DNA double helix pattern that rise up the tower holding 33 alphabets of the Georgian language. Each of the alphabet is a 4 metre tall aluminum structure. At the centre of the tower is an exposed elevator leading to the very top of the building, in the crown of the structure, where the colossal silver ball, that can be seen from miles away, is located. This is yet another failed project near the Batumi seashore. The tower is currently on lease to a Spanish company for the next twenty years to operate a restaurant.
Another stunning structure in Batumi is the Batumi Tower Ferris Wheel. It is considered to be the first skyscraper with a Ferris Wheel built into the facade. The tower was to serve as the Technological University and was completed in 2012. The Ferris Wheel hangs 330 feet above the ground and has eight air-conditioned cabins that can accommodate 40 persons. The cabins were supposed to offer unparalleled views of the city.
The 280 feet mast with a sail on top of the tower was a challenge to designers and architects due to the seismic zone in which it was built and the windage. The building was never used for what it was built and was finally sold to private interests in 2015 for conversion to a hotel. Even to this day the building stands empty and mute.
The Batumi seaport is the largest in the country for general cargo, containers and ferry services. It is one of the major transit points for refined products from Kazakhstan and Azerbaijan. The five terminals of the Batumi seaport are equipped with the latest generation cranes that facilitate fast and timely handling of cargo and containers and ensure quick turnaround of vessels.
The Batumi Europe Square, also called the Era Square, is surrounded by buildings with the signature of 19th and 20th century architecture. In the Square stands tall the Statue of Medea with the golden fleece, the symbol of the glory and cultural development of old Colchis, on its outstretched hand. Standing in front of the statue, the story of Jason and the Golden Fleece, that I had read in my younger days, came alive in front of my eyes.
The buildings and the lively attractions in the Square link the city's heritage past and the colorful present. The Europe Square is indeed one of the main focal attractions in the city. There is something here for everyone, cafes and restaurants for the young and old, the Dancing Fountains for children, shops and souvenir kiosks for the shopping tourist.
By the time we had been on foot to all the aforesaid attractions it was getting to 2 pm and we were soaked in sweat. Fortunately, a kilo of fresh cherries we bought in one of the lanes leading from the Batumi Piazza kept the hunger at bay. We decided to leave the rest of the sightseeing for the evening after checking into the hotel.
When we reached Orbi City D Block we saw no place to park the car. It was one huge sea of cars and people. After driving around a fair bit we found a slot. We reached the reception of the D Block and was told that we have to go to Room 2473 of the A Block.
When we reached the said room, we were in for a shock. A family group was being handled by the lady and gent in the room. Once that was done in about 10 minutes, I handed over my booking.com confirmation to the gent, who sought my passport too. While we waited, anticipating the allotment of a room, the two were talking in conspiratorial tones and their giggles and conversation continued for quite some time. When I enquired if everything was alright, they said that they were checking my booking.
After a while they wanted to know when I had completed the booking. Then came the bombshell; they said that the price had gone up since my booking and the new price would be 50 GEL higher than what booking.com had confirmed. Moreover, as we were talking, I received an email from booking.com about the "successful modification" of my booking, which I had never asked for. The two nincompoops insisted of my paying the higher tariff if we wanted to stay there or else cancel the booking at my cost. I did neither and walked out of the place.
The next shock came when I found another apartment in the near vicinity. I confirmed the booking on the booking.com site. Having faced the experience in Orbi City I tried to call the apartment and my calls were refused multiple times. I also received a weird message on WhatsApp asking for my photo. That was the last straw.
I cancelled that booking too and decided to head back to Kutaisi. Fortunately, the Hotel Old Town was available, and I confirmed the accommodation using booking.com. The advantage of returning to Kutaisi is that I would have that much less to drive the next day to Tbilisi. In fact, I would have just about 225 km for tomorrow from Kutaisi and we would be able to leave leisurely too. The sad part is that we had left quite a few attractions to be visited later in the evening in Batumi.
We reached Kutaisi by about 6 pm and lugged all the bags to the room. We took our time to pack the bags so that we would not have much to do in Tbilisi. After that was done, I went to a store and got myself a 2.5-liter bottle of Kayaki beer! After imbibing quite a bit of it we went down to the Siam Restaurant, next door to the hotel, and feasted on Vegetable Spring Rolls and Thai Green Curry, starting the end of the three-night halt in Kutaisi.
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