Some Snippets from Letters Written While in Georgia

04-January-2016

I am writing this while in the car traveling from Tbilisi to Kaheti region. It's negative four degree Celsius (-4°C) here, it snowed yesterday so everything is covered with snow...

05-January-2016

It's snowing again, negative nine degree Celsius (-9°C). 

Would you believe I climbed a solid rock mountain for an hour despite the weather - snowing and windy? Because the medieval cave monastery in Vardzia was dug out of that rock mountain. Crazy and dangerous, I know. 

I came from down there.. I'm the Queen of the World!

Thank you for the good boots. Aside from having a good grip, they're made for walking and climbing. I told roomie that in our second life, if there really is, we should do it in our 20s. LOL.

We've been climbing Monasteries on Armenian and Georgian mountains for the last 10 days. I wonder why all Monasteries were built  on the top of the mountain... maybe because it made them feel closer to heaven / God. 

We  headed to some castle in Akhaltsikhe and the snow got thicker. 

At Home With The Georgians 2

At Home With The Georgians.. Or Not. (continuation)

Day 1 of 2016, we explored outside Tbilisi with this other hotel guest (OHT) who joined us the prev night.

Fast forward to evening of Jan 1 2016 in Tbilisi, we've gone to McDonald's in Rustaveli avenue and had our dinner there. One old homeless man sat next table to us whom started showing us his drawings. The locals stared at him bluntly. So we started giving him some of our food till the McDo's manager (I assumed) came and muttered something to him. 

We proceeded to watch a musical program (it's like a concert of some artists or band) in Rose Revolution Square somewhere near Rustaveli avenue. When we arrived I saw a special wall of messages where people wrote their messages, so I took my pen out of my bag and started writing "I ❤️ NAIF", can you spot it where?

While walking near the stage, a band playing an upbeat song so Roomie and I started jumping dancing to the beat and mixed up with the crowd. At one point, we were given chocolates by the locals as bribe to make us stop hopping because they're on their 'Happy Holidays' mood. Though they were singing in Georgian language, we still enjoyed hanging up with the locals who were in a very party mood. In the middle of the concert, a guy and a girl were called up and came on the stage. The guy knelt down and presented a ring to the girl and congratulations were in order - sweet!.  It felt great doing something different, having fun with strangers in a strange land. 

• There were a bunch of teeners there who were pranking us throwing us 'firecrackers' after they saw how scared I was of firecrackers. They always got me every time. I always panicked, ran and screamed to death (don't blame me, the experience from previous night was very traumatising).

Late night after the concert, we walked to this old building somewhere in Rustaveli, where pubs/bar are located in a dark underground of the building which got me scared (apparently, everything scares me).

• It looked like an old theatre building. The pubs/bars  weren't opened that time because it was still early (it was around 11pm). I was told the nightlife begins there at 12am. I have noticed the Gulf flags there and was told some of the bars are owned by Gulf nationals (unconfirmed).

Anyway, we left the area and started walking towards Freedom Square metro station. On our way there, we passed by two men arguing with one another, one is middle aged and drunk (Mr Drunk) and they got a little physical. While we were almost near the entrance of the Metro station, someone stepped on my right boot behind me and when I looked back it was Mr Drunk so I just ignored to avoid trouble.

Tbilisi Metro platform

When we were in the platform, we saw the bunch of teeners who continued pranking us throwing 'firecrackers'. So I walked away and hid behind the pillar. And then suddenly Mr Drunk started harassing OHT, dragging OHT's baseball cap from his head and covering his whole face over and over, which again scared the hell out of me. 

Thankfully, a mother with a girl, stood between them and pulled OHT away from him while saying something to him. And an old lady called the attention of the security. Then she, the mother, came to us and apologised saying they (Georgians) are not really tourist-drunk harassers people. We thanked her for her concerns and niceness.

So we stayed far away from Mr Drunk and when we saw he was going in a compartment, we immediately entered in another compartment. To our surprise, he followed us. And just like a movie scene, we silently moved fast to the other end/next compartment while he was trying to get near us. Luckily, the compartment got crowded and he got blocked by the crowds. When we reached the next station (where we were heading), we hurried briskly towards exit. We ran from the platform to the up escalator. When we were on the up escalator catching our breaths thinking the chase has ended, I looked back and got horrified to see Mr Drunk passing through others on the up escalator looking at us as if he wanted to beat us.  I told roomie and OHT that Mr Drunk is behind us, when they saw him, we started running again. 

• Just so you know, Tbilisi has deeper metro station than Dubai, it has an escalator length of 120 meters.

Roomie and I on the down escalator to the platform of Tbilisi Metro station. This was taken on our way to McDonald's before things got suspenseful, LOL

Glad we're young and sober so we reached the ground and hotel, which is a minute walk from the station, panting but safely. 

It was tremendously an experience - in the truest sense of the word! It was really a big step out of my comfort zone. 

Thank you Georgians! 

At Home With The Georgians..

Or not.

This post has been delayed for almost 2 months. I don't have the appetite to blab. Anyway, just like my prev post, I'll talk about my experience being at home with the Georgians... Or not.

It was at the wee hours of 26th December when we arrived in Tbilisi

• We were given a bottle of dry red wine at the Immigration. I can say after being in Dubai for a decade, getting a wine from the Immigration officer right after stamping the entry stamp on your passport is a culture shock. So yeah that was cool. 
• We were picked up by Envoy Tbilisi driver at the airport, that's when I started doing a charade or informal system of sign language.

We had to stay for few hours at Envoy Hostel Tbilisi while waiting for our driver to take us to Yerevan.

• The Envoy staff at the reception that time was very accommodating and helpful so we were happy. 
• We had our first meal and tasted authentic Georgian cuisine at Machakhela-Samikitno, a 24-hour resto in the old town of Tbilisi. You know where the "I❤️TBILISI" is located. Since then we kept coming back to the same resto even if asking the waitresses about the food was a struggle.  

  

  Machakhela-Samikitno resto and yummy Georgian cuisine

On the night of 30th December, we returned to Tbilisi from Armenia. We stayed in a different hotel as there is no available room at Envoy Tbilisi.

• Talking to the hotel receptionist at that time was a struggle, we need to do the whole informal sign language again (Ahhh, I miss Armenia). 

The same night, we went to a small grocery store nearby to buy water, instant noodles and bread because it was a bit late and we still dunno the area/place yet. 

• While we were checking what to buy, one guy who appeared to be drunk made a comment on us "Are you even Christians?" I just ignored what I've heard because for me arguing with a drunk man makes you drunker. LOL

Fast forward to the new year's eve. I have noticed the following:

Fireworks Display at Freedom Square

• It seems okay to drink alcohol in the street when it's new year or maybe only because there's a program for NY countdown at the Freedom Square or because alcoholic beverages are available everywhere. Whatever is the reason, it is obviously okay to get drunk (Of course, what do I expect it's a land of wine, aight?!)
• Most Georgians are very naughty, throwing fire crackers at people regardless of age for fun. I was a victim of it, I still have the bruises behind my leg until now and was painful for a week because someone threw one at me. I'm okay, though.
• Right after the new year's eve program and fireworks, street cleaners are already there at the Freedom Square sweeping the street of  Rustaveli, cleaning everyone's mess. That was really a big WOW.  

After the countdown, we went to the 24-hour resto mentioned above. Then at the bar areas, it started  snow. Which was a plus point for experiencing real snow falling on my head.

first snow of 2016 at the capital

• We entered one bar, we were turned away because we're three (a guest in the same hotel who's also from Dubai joined us). We were just told that they only allowed either 2 persons or 4 persons.  It's hard to ask further explanation of there's a communication barrier.
• Despite the rejection, we still found a bar with friendly staff and customers.
• For a taxi, they don't use meter. We always had to bargain and argue a little with taxi drivers because of communication barrier.

Nevertheless, we still had fun ending 2015 and starting 2016 with a bang and snow..

And the snow becomes thicker

To be continued...

Keeping Up with the Armenians

26-30 December 2015

Roomie and I with the Armenian oldies in Tavush Province

I was all over Armenia for 4 nights and 5 days, and I am telling you that if Armenia (the country)  is beautiful, Armenians (the people) are more! 

I could say a lot about the country's scenic views and post a lot of those touristy places (though I already did, check my Instagram) here but I prefer to talk about my travel experience.

Armenians are beautiful people inside out, in every sense of the word. Very friendly, very warm, very accommodating, very hospitable and I could go on and on how beautiful Armenia and its people are.

I never had a single bad experience during my 5 days stay. Even if they cannot communicate with you in English, they will do all their best to help you out.

Let's start with our private driver who had taken us around Armenia. He served as our tour guide cum interpreter also. He was very helpful, he suggested where and what to eat. If the toilet in some certain place is okay to use or not, he would find us a better toilet. And he never took advantage of us. He was even the one who bought us coffee every time we stopped by at petrol station.

I have observed that in Armenia, whenever they are refilling fuel/gasoline/petrol, it is a must to switch off the engine and driver/passengers should leave the car till refueling is done. This should be done all over the world because it never happened in the UAE or in the Philippines.

First night in Yerevan, we asked our hostel reception where can we eat local food. He suggested a resto which I forgot the name because it is in Armenian language and shown us how to go there. In some point we got lost so we approached a woman walking a big ass dog about the resto showing her the paper where the name of the resto was written. She could understand us but she seemed uncertain and couldn't explain it in English so she just pointed us this and that. We resumed walking till Roomie  turned left. To my surprise someone tapped me on my shoulder when I looked back it was the woman with a dog, she was pointing at the other direction and she didn't stop tapping my shoulder till I called Roomie. So again we proceeded to the right, and finally we saw the resto. When we were about to enter the resto, I got surprised again, the woman with a dog was behind me. I was very touched because she took time to make sure we reached the right place.

If you are planning to stay in a hostel in Yerevan, I recommend Envoy Hostel and Tours, Yerevan. You won't have a problem speaking to them because the hostel reception people - all of them -  speak English and they have a nice tour package. They even arranged the best private car/driver to pick us up from Tbilisi to Yerevan whom we ended up requesting the same car/driver to take us around during our stay in Armenia. So if you gonna book your stay in Envoy Yerevan and you want a private car/driver, request for Mr Mosh. Having him is like hitting a jackpot - you have a driver, you have a guide, you have an interpreter and you have a friend.

And another night, we went inside a place where we thought was Starbucks (because the logo was there). Turned out it was a resto not the Starbucks, so I went out again to check whether there is a next door where Starbucks is located. I called Roomie to come out and told her that's the only door and no Starbucks. Some local guys were passing by and one of them heard me and said "Sorry, there is no Starbucks in Armenia. The closest Starbucks here is probably in Georgia." Hah! We found out that they are only authorized to serve Starbucks coffee that's why the logo is there.

Then one night again we were searching for a nice resto for dinner so we were crossing streets a lot, checking out resto menus. Some local guys approached us and asked us if they could help us because he noticed us kept crossing the streets as if we were lost or looking for something. So we told him we were searching a place to eat and then he asked us what type of food we want and suggested us places and gave us directions.

The staff of the cafe (Carpe Diem) next to Envoy Hostel where we had our breakfast once were very friendly. We were amazed by the setup of the cafe - they have the old rotary phone, gramophone and old fashioned wood burning stove. They even demonstrated to us how the old fashioned wood burning stove works and invited us to hang out with them after cafe's closing time as they and their friends hang out there, drink and play music. Too bad it was our last night there in Yerevan and we have had to pack and get ready to go back to Tbilisi.

With beautiful Armenian teeners in Yerevan

In every place we visited in Armenia, all the people were nice and friendly. I felt very safe there esp when we go out at night in Yerevan to hunt for food, I didn't feel I was in a foreign place. A simple Parev (Hello!) to them will make them smile and soften them more. Great people! Oh and their food - very tasty, served in big servings and very affordable.

I have observed that if you are lost, need some direction and want someone who speaks English, try asking the young blood/kids/teenagers. Well, you can approach any locals there because even if they don't speak English, they will still show you the way.

5 Days in God's Own Country (Kerala, India)

India. When we say India, we think about Taj Mahal, Gandhi, snake charmers, elephants... we could go on and on but God's Own Country? It's something new!

In Dubai, the place in India you keep hearing about is Kerala because most of the Indians here are from that place. Kerala is located in the southwestern edge of the Indian subcontinent and it's worth exploring.

Happy that I had the chance to visit this place for 5 days because 

"The deeper you go into the country, the further back in time. The REAL India, the way it is, not the way perhaps like to be or pretend to be."

Day 1:  The building in where I stayed and the views around it.

Day 2:  Somewhere in Ernakulam

 Day 3:  Fort Kochi and its Chinese fishing net; Portuguese-Dutch Palace in Mattancherry

Day 4:  Impressive views in Munnar - waterfalls, tea plantation, eucalyptus tree, mountains, lake and all things green. A step closer to nature.

 Day 5: Wonderla Amusement park in Kochi - all the thrillers, water or land based rides and everything's fun! 

 and me stepping closer to nature saying Namaste Hindustan! ;-)

The UAE Roads Less Traveled

My sister and her family (her in laws and their friends) decided to have a road trip last Eid holidays (16^th of October). We headed to the eastern part of the UAE where the roads (less travelled) and stone mountains never end. So I was just sitting my flat butt for almost ten hours, probably the longest road trip of my life, while our vehicle following the other vehicle driving aimlessly. The only time I got out of it was when we need to go inside a resto and eat lunch. Oh and the one I had my picture taken at god-knows-where.

Well, I had a chance at the “Friday market” but I was completely stuck assisting my sister changing the diaper his infant son (oh yea he was with us), that’s the downside of having an infant/baby/toddler/kid when you are travelling, you don’t get to enjoy on your own and no one wants or is available to take your photo, LOL, because they are too busy with the baby!

Besides, I didn’t know that we were heading nowhere, really. I was like waiting for them to stop at a certain spot and had some photos taken. Until I realized we weren’t going to that certain spot whatever. Was too late. I regret that I didn’t take photo of that awesome tunnel that we went through in Fujairah(?), it was built there under those endless stone mountains. It’s narrow (2 lanes) and kinda long. I was really amazed, I wasn’t expecting that tunnel there. We took the other roads going back home, so I just took pictures as much as I could..

Around the Globe in ONE night

How is that possible?

Remember, Dubai is known for making impossible things possible... so, voilà !

Since I didn’t get to travel on Eid holidays (wasted 5 days, I know..), I revisited the Global Village after 7 years. Went there at night of October 15. Changes are not so much but I got to experience riding an Indian rickshaw. I know my rickshaw driver was happy having me us his passenger, he didn’t need to put so much effort pedaling as my weight won’t add much to whatever he was “carrying”. I feel sorry for those with 4 or more heavy passengers... *sighs* C’est la vie.

Anyway, China and India pavilions still look fab and grand as they were before.. 

Le Me in rickshaw. Then the India and China pavilions.

And Egypt pavilion? The pyramids are stunning. While Afghanistan pavilion is beyond expectation (sorry no "decent" photo of it). Turkey pavilion made me miss Istanbul. I ended up buying and eating grilled kestane (chestnut) and süt mısır (milk corn)... it was actually the food stand outside the pavilion that made me miss Istanbul, LOL.

The façade of the Global Village. Then the Turkey & Egypt pavilions.

I got to see the display of fireworks at the Global Village. Oh and Italy, France, etc pavilions are nice too but I didn’t get to take photos that much. My phone wasn’t working that time and the one I was using for taking photos wasn't reliable at all plus the fact that I was with my sister fambam and her in-laws, in short, I was with an infant and some oldies so you know it was really quick visit..  

That's all for now... Later ;)

Dubai and Beyond...

Just wanna share photos I have snapped using my Samsung phone during the past 4 months (June-September) in Dubai and beyond...

DUBAI

Dubai, apparently, cannot stop constructing new skyscrapers

Dubai skyscrapers

Dubai looks London-y here

the future is already here... 

Holy mother of all skyscrapers, Burj Khalifa (world's tallest tower)

Dubai after sunset (that's the magnificent Ibn Battuta Gate Hotel)

Meanwhile, in other Emirates... 

SHARJAH

the grass is greener in Sharjah 

a beautiful mosque somewhere in Sharjah

AJMAN

Ajman before sunset

a roundabout before Ajman corniche/beach

 ABU DHABI

Al Ain before sunset

If you wanna see more, check out my Instagram but be warned, I did A LOT of "selfie" there (sorry I had to.. LOL)...

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