When talking about friends, how could I miss out the swell time we had in a faraway place called Telavi, Georgia.
Telavi was a place we hadn’t planned on visiting in the first place. My plan was to visit the Tusheti National Park of Georgia, but we weren’t allowed to drive our hired car up the Tusheti Road. (So sez the car-hire company. Insurance doesn’t cover it apparently). The Tusheti Road is nicknamed by some as the most treacherous road in the world! – Don’t believe me? Google it. Because of this, we had to hire a local car with an experienced driver, and find a place to park our hired car for two days, at the base, and Telavi happens to be just the place, as it is the main city of the area and had a sizeable number of guesthouses to choose from.
And Hotel Green House was the place we chose to put up a night. We did the booking just a day, or two before we were to arrive, and boy, were we surprised.
Anu and the guesthouse manager (owner maybe), downing a shot of chacha, a Georgian liquor made from grape seeds. I tried some, just for the taste coz, bloody hell, I had to drive right after this… What a waste, hehe – Hotel Green House, Telavi, Georgia
On the day that we were supposed to arrive at Telavi from Kazbegi (aka Stepantsminda), I Googled and saw two routes, one a long route going back to almost the capital Tbilisi, which was where we originally started, or a shorter route going thru Tianeti and Akhmeta, but strangely, the shorter route took a longer time. Being the adventurous family that we are, we decided to take the shorter route, since we’ve driven on the longer route before. And what a helluva adventure that was!
The route started fine, with a nice road branching off from the main road, going up the mountains from Ananuri, with very few cars…
A church on the road between Ananuri and Tianeti. Google Maps sez it’s the Mother of God Church
And then starts the adventure…
The road to Akhmeta, right after leaving Tianeti. And it gets scarier after this. We only saw construction trucks and two bikers for almost the entire journey. From the dusty crusher run road in the picture above, it turned into a dirt road going thru a thick forest with no one in sight. The road was darting in between trees, and it was late in the evening, getting dark, with a slight drizzle. The actual dirt road didn’t exactly match the Google Maps route. Hell, it was like getting lost in the Beast’s forest, from the Beauty and the Beast story! (Anu refused to snap any photos of the scary road…)
Luckily, we emerged intact onto Akhmeta. We called in advance to the guesthouse to inform them that we’d be late, and asked for directions and they just asked us not to worry a thing about it, coz there was a family party going on and there’d be people around, and we were welcomed to join in.
Sure, why not? Hehe
Party to celebrate the 30th (if I remember correctly) wedding anniversary of one of the family members… There was food in abundance and free flowing wine… (Telavi, is after all, the wine capital of Georgia, where many households make their own wine!) From right: yours truly and Anu; a couple from Belarus who were repeat guests in the guesthouse; the hotel manager’s son (middle); the manager’s son-in-law David; the manager himself; and David’s dad and mom who were the ones having the anniversary. Mari (the manager’s daughter and David’s wife) was the one taking the photo
Happy Anniversary Tariel and Silva! (I hope I got the names correct)
Mari and her family were the nicest host we’ve ever come across in our holidays. We felt right at home, although there was a slight language gap. (Mari and husband could only speak some English, and they, and the Belarussian lady were the only grown-ups who knew English). We stayed only one night, but they let us park our car inside their house compound for 2 days, without charge, refused even when we wanted to pay (actually looked offended). They gave us breakfast free, they gave the kids food and fruits, again free. Our kids, Mari’s children and the Belarussian girls hung out like they’ve known one another for a long time. (This was where Justin learnt about adjara.net which is what he now uses to watch free movies!) On the day after we came down from Tusheti, and were about to leave for Tbilisi, Jayden fell down and cut his forehead. Mari and David brought us to the local hospital to have it stitched up, and didn’t ask for anything in exchange. Mari and family, if you do read this, I just wanna say, it was a privilege to have known you guys, and I hope you continue to sow happiness and joy to the people you meet, and that you get the same happiness and kindness in return. God bless you!
From left: Mari; Mari’s mom; and the mother and daughter from Belarus (the mother is Facebook friends with Anu… I think her name is Alesya…)
The bigger picture. From left – Mari’s mama (mama means father in Georgian); Anu; Mari’s deda (deda means mother …it’s easy, it’s just the opposite of English!); the daughter and mother from Belarus; yours truly; and the other half of the Belarussian family. This was actually the second time the Belarussian family visited the guesthouse. The loved Georgia and Telavi so much, that they decided to solemnize their wedding (or was it to renew their wedding vows?) in Telavi. They did it in a little church in Akhmeta
Jayden on a swing, with the auntie of the house, Hotel Green House, Telavi
To me, Green House is aptly named, there’re so many fruits in the compound! Here, Anu with some kiwi fruits
Plucking apples in Hotel Green House, Telavi
Some sort of nut… I think they’re hazelnuts (they sure taste like ‘em)
And here're some photos of the city...
The Giant Plane Tree, Telavi, Georgia
Mari and Jayden, at the Giant Plane Tree, Telavi – Notice that bandage on Jayden’s forehead? This was after Mari and David brought us to a local hospital to have it stitched up after Jayden fell while running on the road outside the guesthouse
Batonis Tsikhe fortress, at the centre of Telavi city. Telavi is the capital of the Kakheti Region of Georgia
Alaverdi Monastery, near Akhmeta, Kakheti Region, Georgia – It’s on the road between Telavi and Kvemo Alvani, where our Tusheti driver stopped en route to Tusheti
Alright, gotta go, got lots of work to catch up on. Green House invited us to celebrate our 30th wedding anniversary with them. Hmmmm… maybe a good idea, but it’s still many years to go, let’s see ummm… 2036, …I’d be 66 years old!
Telavi was a place we hadn’t planned on visiting in the first place. My plan was to visit the Tusheti National Park of Georgia, but we weren’t allowed to drive our hired car up the Tusheti Road. (So sez the car-hire company. Insurance doesn’t cover it apparently). The Tusheti Road is nicknamed by some as the most treacherous road in the world! – Don’t believe me? Google it. Because of this, we had to hire a local car with an experienced driver, and find a place to park our hired car for two days, at the base, and Telavi happens to be just the place, as it is the main city of the area and had a sizeable number of guesthouses to choose from.
And Hotel Green House was the place we chose to put up a night. We did the booking just a day, or two before we were to arrive, and boy, were we surprised.
Anu and the guesthouse manager (owner maybe), downing a shot of chacha, a Georgian liquor made from grape seeds. I tried some, just for the taste coz, bloody hell, I had to drive right after this… What a waste, hehe – Hotel Green House, Telavi, Georgia
On the day that we were supposed to arrive at Telavi from Kazbegi (aka Stepantsminda), I Googled and saw two routes, one a long route going back to almost the capital Tbilisi, which was where we originally started, or a shorter route going thru Tianeti and Akhmeta, but strangely, the shorter route took a longer time. Being the adventurous family that we are, we decided to take the shorter route, since we’ve driven on the longer route before. And what a helluva adventure that was!
The route started fine, with a nice road branching off from the main road, going up the mountains from Ananuri, with very few cars…
A church on the road between Ananuri and Tianeti. Google Maps sez it’s the Mother of God Church
And then starts the adventure…
The road to Akhmeta, right after leaving Tianeti. And it gets scarier after this. We only saw construction trucks and two bikers for almost the entire journey. From the dusty crusher run road in the picture above, it turned into a dirt road going thru a thick forest with no one in sight. The road was darting in between trees, and it was late in the evening, getting dark, with a slight drizzle. The actual dirt road didn’t exactly match the Google Maps route. Hell, it was like getting lost in the Beast’s forest, from the Beauty and the Beast story! (Anu refused to snap any photos of the scary road…)
Luckily, we emerged intact onto Akhmeta. We called in advance to the guesthouse to inform them that we’d be late, and asked for directions and they just asked us not to worry a thing about it, coz there was a family party going on and there’d be people around, and we were welcomed to join in.
Sure, why not? Hehe
Party to celebrate the 30th (if I remember correctly) wedding anniversary of one of the family members… There was food in abundance and free flowing wine… (Telavi, is after all, the wine capital of Georgia, where many households make their own wine!) From right: yours truly and Anu; a couple from Belarus who were repeat guests in the guesthouse; the hotel manager’s son (middle); the manager’s son-in-law David; the manager himself; and David’s dad and mom who were the ones having the anniversary. Mari (the manager’s daughter and David’s wife) was the one taking the photo
Happy Anniversary Tariel and Silva! (I hope I got the names correct)
Mari and her family were the nicest host we’ve ever come across in our holidays. We felt right at home, although there was a slight language gap. (Mari and husband could only speak some English, and they, and the Belarussian lady were the only grown-ups who knew English). We stayed only one night, but they let us park our car inside their house compound for 2 days, without charge, refused even when we wanted to pay (actually looked offended). They gave us breakfast free, they gave the kids food and fruits, again free. Our kids, Mari’s children and the Belarussian girls hung out like they’ve known one another for a long time. (This was where Justin learnt about adjara.net which is what he now uses to watch free movies!) On the day after we came down from Tusheti, and were about to leave for Tbilisi, Jayden fell down and cut his forehead. Mari and David brought us to the local hospital to have it stitched up, and didn’t ask for anything in exchange. Mari and family, if you do read this, I just wanna say, it was a privilege to have known you guys, and I hope you continue to sow happiness and joy to the people you meet, and that you get the same happiness and kindness in return. God bless you!
From left: Mari; Mari’s mom; and the mother and daughter from Belarus (the mother is Facebook friends with Anu… I think her name is Alesya…)
The bigger picture. From left – Mari’s mama (mama means father in Georgian); Anu; Mari’s deda (deda means mother …it’s easy, it’s just the opposite of English!); the daughter and mother from Belarus; yours truly; and the other half of the Belarussian family. This was actually the second time the Belarussian family visited the guesthouse. The loved Georgia and Telavi so much, that they decided to solemnize their wedding (or was it to renew their wedding vows?) in Telavi. They did it in a little church in Akhmeta
Jayden on a swing, with the auntie of the house, Hotel Green House, Telavi
To me, Green House is aptly named, there’re so many fruits in the compound! Here, Anu with some kiwi fruits
Plucking apples in Hotel Green House, Telavi
Some sort of nut… I think they’re hazelnuts (they sure taste like ‘em)
And here're some photos of the city...
The Giant Plane Tree, Telavi, Georgia
Mari and Jayden, at the Giant Plane Tree, Telavi – Notice that bandage on Jayden’s forehead? This was after Mari and David brought us to a local hospital to have it stitched up after Jayden fell while running on the road outside the guesthouse
Batonis Tsikhe fortress, at the centre of Telavi city. Telavi is the capital of the Kakheti Region of Georgia
Alaverdi Monastery, near Akhmeta, Kakheti Region, Georgia – It’s on the road between Telavi and Kvemo Alvani, where our Tusheti driver stopped en route to Tusheti
Alright, gotta go, got lots of work to catch up on. Green House invited us to celebrate our 30th wedding anniversary with them. Hmmmm… maybe a good idea, but it’s still many years to go, let’s see ummm… 2036, …I’d be 66 years old!
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