Tblisi, GEORGIA

Arrived this morning on a 17-hour train ride from Baku, Azerbaijan. Not that far...but slow trains and a huge delay at the border. While I had wonderful sunny weather in Azerbaijan....its raining and windy in Georgia....I am not happy about this!

Over the last few years, Georgia went thru some major turmoil with clashes between police and protesters during which time many people were killed. Peace now prevails and its very calm and safe on the streets.

From what I have seen so far....Georgia has truly beautiful nature, but it seems to me it was also used (as Azerbaijan) as the dump area of the Soviet Union....and as with the rest of the entire ex USSR, the Soviets had no respect for people's lives and the land. The result - huge areas are industrial wasteland! Dump areas for old trains, old army tanks, old everything. But, as I said, there is incredible beauty here in Georgia, and that is what I will explore over the next two to three days. The mountains here are majestic, so is the culture, the people, and their age old traditions. The Georgians also have their own unique way of writing which is something of a mix between Indian, Burmese, and Thai...its full of curly characters.

I'm off to explore...rain or shine.