Great Journey 🏍 Day 349
False start.
Yes, we really tried. But Kutaisi (we don't want to take the whole of Georgia into some kind of clan custody) is not on. And although we usually try to see and document the good sides of our trip, today we have to let off a little steam.
🥊 On the street, people shout loudly at each other, even to the point of physical assault.
🤷♂️ We book a tour with an English-speaking guide. He only speaks Russian. Fine, I'll just read from my guidebook.
Okay, Kutaisi really can't be blamed for the rain. The point only half counts, but it doesn't make our mood any better.
😟 People don't laugh, they can't even smile. (Later I remember that this is also unusual in Russia. Hm. Yet a smile always works. We think)
🧒 We don't see any children or families, neither in restaurants nor on the street. Playgrounds are deserted. For days.
⛈️ We want to go to the gorges that are nearby. Unfortunately, because of all the rain during the night, the roads there are closed. Mountain slide danger.
🕍 Okay, let's go see the synagogue in the Jewish quarter. Unfortunately, it's closed. So no synagogue today.
So we book another tour to the caves nearby, ask the price beforehand. We start and in the middle of the tour the price doubles. We want to clarify the situation, but the tour organiser doesn't listen to us at first, then shouts at us, and in the end even insults us via WhatsApp.
"Kutaisi - City of Smile"
🏼♂️ Somehow not our city.
We reboot. Drink lots of soul-healing vanilla shake and iced coffee. Give ourselves and Georgia a second chance in a different place.
Because our travel-gratification-moments are these: Nature, People & Food. And food, as they have already proven, is something they can do very well. We'll soon be looking at nature and people, well, we won't lose hope there either. And we won't lose the habit of smiling. That would be a laugh!
PS: we have already moved on and are now more than satisfied.
#GeorgiaZeigWhatDukannst #kutaisi
