For the second trip to Georgia I have picked Kutaisi as my base. Even though it is the third biggest city in the country it has a relaxed small town vibes.
After I have checked into Tbilisi for few days to see what changed I was more than convinced I don't need to mess around for too long over there. As I have mentioned in previous articles, the city changed so much, I could barely recognize it after three years. But let's jump right into the story of Kutaisi shall we...
As I have been looking for suitable hostel for semi long term stay, I had to check few of them and I must say the scene is poor. Some places are freshly opening just now and the owners didn't learned all the tricks necessary. Other places are well established names and are simply overpriced sh*t.
I will not name places this time as I don't have a favorite one. Needles to say eight euros in above yurt per night we're not bad at all. If you plan on staying in Kutaisi for longer than a week, a private accommodation might be a place to go. My off season mentality and timing also didn't make those places more lively. Even though I have met plenty of travelers from all around the world. Namely Japan, Ukraine, Estonia and England. Some being purely tourists others expats and digital nomads.
Since Tbilisi is now as good as a Moscow's quarter, Kutaisi becomes attractive alternative. After all you have everything a city needs and yet it is not the busy metropolis. That can surely be a big plus for somebody looking for a low key destination. I am hanging somewhere in the middle and hence I am still processing if Kutaisi could be something for me...
My main reason to be in the Imereti region was to discover some real estate opportunities and blend into the local atmosphere and lifestyle. It is a strange mix between the new and the old, namely the soviet past. I can imagine most post-soviet countries carry a similar load. It is like a curtain hanging over the window and you can't see through it clearly. There is a strange vibe in the air. Like somebody is watching. That has immense effect on local people's mentality and behavior. I am not sure if I like it. I am not sure what part of it is the soviet past and what part is the Georgian culture. But most Georgians being very welcoming an open to foreigners I think is the former.
What are the things to do in Kutaisi you might ask? Well they ain't plenty. Depending on what tourist guide you'll stumble upon it will probably mention about ten things. If somebody comes up with a longer list of things to do, they are probably blown away by the fact that they visited a public toilet... As everywhere you can walk around and about. Visit parks, statues and restaurants. Walking through Kutaisi can be both nice and ugly. The traffic i terrible, plus forget that anybody will stop so you can cross the road. You have to literary trust your karma and step right in front of a moving car to see if his brakes have been on his yearly check.
That being said, after few days you'll find your way and the city becomes quite walkable. I do recommend you to use taxi a lot though. From the main bus station to the city center it is about 7 kilometers and the airport itself is about 20 km behind the city.
I needed to network a lot so my main attraction was the Irish pub and a local vegetable market, where you can probably get married if you try hard enough :) :) :)
What adventures came from my networking - I will leave for another blog, but let me say this - where would the world be without Irish pubs. Really, sometimes few drinks with random strangers give you more insight and knowledge than hours of prudent research...