Tbilisi in late summer

Still here in Tbilisi and will remain so for another couple of weeks. Met up with Steve, my old boss from Kazakhstan who is over here to spread his empire and open another office under the Veritas Brown/Cushman & Wakefield banner. I am going to assist though in what capacity I'm not sure; hence the reason for the extended stay. Meanwhile I am making the most of the late summer weather and have explored pretty much most locations, certainly in the central area. I am staying in a hostel just off Rustaveli Avenue; a mainly tree lined avenue which forms the main road through the city centre. The architecture along this avenue is generally striking, very attractive and European in feel and design. There is a lot of building activity taking place in and around the city. This appears to be on the back of considerable international 'investment' in recent years, mainly from Washington. Georgia really does appear to be open for business; no visas are required for many nationalities and apparently, it is the third easiest place in the world to start a business (behind New Zealand and A.N. Other) which is surprising given that it is ex Soviet Union where paper and stamps are needed in volumes and continue to be so in the Stans. There are a lot of Americans here, although the bulk of the tourists comprise Israelis and Polish.

The city offers the usual high street brands familiar in the UK including Next, Mothercare and Bata. For anyone visiting Tbilisi I have found the best patisserie/coffee shop and bookstore. Located on Rustaveli Avenue (well set back) beneath the Canadian Consulate (God's Country so it must be good!) stands Prospero's which also features an attractive outdoor courtyard. This is my morning pilgrimage and it's great. It's also a good meeting place and I have enjoyed several conversations with Americans over a French Press coffee. One in particular with a young lady called Camilla, a recently qualified Architect from DC who was so typically enthusiastic as most Americans are; a real delight. As I was taken for a German in Turkey, here I am taken for an American by the locals.

My time here has not simply been spent increasing my caffeine intake. I have been researching which route I should take next, definitely a process of elimination. Geographically I have hit something of an impass since I am unable to proceed through Iran. A great shame this, not simply because of the convenience and directness of route, but because I have heard nothing but positive and glowing tributes as to how beautiful the country is and how friendly and welcoming the people are. I have met several Iranians since arriving in Tbilisi, one couple are staying at my hostel, and they are charming, ready to extend a cordial invitation to stay with them if I ever got the chance to enter the country. The other factor apart from geography is cost. I'm afraid I don't have the luxury of too much time or bottomless pockets so this becomes a consideration.

I have looked into heading through the Stans, cycling up to Almaty, then flying to Delhi since by the time I hit Almaty, I think the winter would have kicked in, making crossing the Himalayas unlikely. The cost to get into Azerbaijan is $174, where I have to be to collect the various Stans visas. I estimate the cost on top of this (and it is certainly possible to get these visas) would be in excess of $500. Then an air flight on top plus living expenses etc. The other practical problem is that most likely I would only get a 5 day visa for Turkmenistan. It would be necessary for me to cycle across a desert of 476kms in that time to the Uzbek border and I'm not overly confident that these geriatric legs could do the job. It may sound that I am putting obstacles in the way, and I know it can be done as many others have done it. So my conclusion is that on leaving Tbilisi, I shall fly to Dubai and stay for a week, hopefully obtain my Indian visa and then fly on to Delhi. From Delhi I start pedaling hard and plan to cycle to Kolcutta along the north route into the tea plantation areas, plus of course visiting places like Varanasi. From there its into SE Asia proper where I will be able to gauge at first hand how best to access these countries; it appears that Bangkok will be the principal hub to collect a number of visas, but non should be difficult to obtain. Myanmar, Laos, Cambodia, Vietnam and China are all on the list.I then have a choice when I get to the South China Sea as to whether I keep turning left and heading north through China to South Korea and Japan, or take a right and drop into Australia but that decision is for later.So that is the game plan in outline, so by doing what I am doing to get to India, I am in effect only missing out on Iran and Pakistan (a big chunk I know).

So Dubai here we come!