Batumi seems to be at the be a key stage for surface travellers. On the West coast of Georgia on the Black sea, near the border with Turkey, it’s a major crossroads for lorries, and buses connecting Europe to Central Asia, India and Asia. Continue reading
I decided to do the one-day hike in the Borjomi Natural Reserve. A 13 km trail that seemed nice and easy according to the map the Visitor Centre was distributing. Continue reading
Well, had I known before I wouldn’t have wasted all that time and money in Paris!
While the consulate in Paris was requesting a Visa support which I had to pay EUR 40, the Batumi consulate of Azerbaijan does not request it. And it issues visas in 2 or 3 days…
It took me at least 10 days and numerous journeys across Paris on my bicycle…
Let this be known!
Today I went to visit the Gelati church outside Kutaisi.
On the minibus I noticed this remarkable level crossing. I walked back to it from the church, and eventually walked along the track all the way back to Kutaisi.
The track was apparently still in use, and there was a man to operate the level crossing…
Train fans, here’s a selection of the pictures I took.
Ayant travaillé dans le secteur du transport et des voyages, j’utilise un jargon, des abréviations, et des formulations qui ne sont pas toujours faciles à comprendre pour tout le monde. Parce que je les utilise aussi régulièrement dans mon blog, comme dans la vie courante, voici un petit lexique pour vous aider à décoder… Continue reading
On this sunny and hot Saturday, I had planned to visit the Narikala Fortress, and possibly continue to the Mtatsminda Park and TV tower, but an unexpected encounter led me to a totally different local experience… Continue reading
Première petite galère à mon arrivée en Géorgie. J’avais un couchsurfing de prévu. Mon hôte m’avais dit qu’il ne pouvait me recevoir qu’une nuit, mais je pouvais facilement improviser une fois sur place. Continue reading
I continue exploring local hit or folk popular music. This morning at the barber shop, the TV was on the local top 40 music station NR1.
Here’s an example of a succesfull hit from a local singer…
A peine une centaine de kilomètre de la Bulgarie, et le décor change radicalement.
Deux cultures, deux langues, deux peuples radicalement différents. Ces différences marquent plus quand on voyage en bus qu’en avion. L’aéroport, le vol marquent une telle frontière qu’on est préparé à attérir dans un monde différent. Avec le bus, chaque kilomètre compte. On ne parcours pas une distance folle et le contraste à l’arrivée est d’autant plus frappant.
Nisikli Travel runs three daily buses from Varna to Istanbul. I was boarding one of them in Burgas at 1300. It takes 7 hours to get to IST. The company Metro also operates the same route. Metro leaves from the Burgas train station, but Nisikli leaves from another place a 10-minute walk away from the station. This is what is a little annoying when you buy the ticket on the Nisikli website. They tell you the routes by city names, but there is no mention as where exactly the bus station is. So good luck finding it, and hope pray it’s not at the other end of the city from your origin/destination. Continue reading