Day 31: 22nd June, 2012 - Tbilisi to Yerevan, Gerogia

Gori Town, Georgia

Today I have completed one month of my travel.  I was sitting in a small mashuka at 8.45 am and was going to Gori, another town. The ticket cost 4 lari. Vazh had told me to take a metro from the station square and get down after 3 stops to dada be. There was a big bus stand there and a person guided me to the right Mashka going to Gori. Last night’s sleep had not been that good. People were talking loudly on the street till early morning.

Birth place of Joseph Stalin, Gori , Georgia

Birth Place of Stalin, Gori , Georgia

Birth place of Stalin, Gori, Georgia

Joseph Stalin Museum , Gori, Georgia

I did not know the importance of Gori till I reached there and saw the Stalin museum. It took me one hour to reach Gori. The route was through green grassy land and a small hill. There were vegetable fields also. I drank a cup of tea before starting walking. Stalin was born in Gori and was a Georgian. The museum had Stalin’s large statue. This was probably because he was so closely connected to Gori. In the museum, all his belongings and photographs right from his childhood were kept.  The woman who was telling me all this was very surprised that I did not know all this. Outside the museum was the well preserved house of Stalin where he was born. This house is covered from outside by heavy construction. A big park was built around it. I met a young policeman who knew English. We chatted for some time. People in Gori were friendlier than Tbilisi where they were harsh and rough.  Here people were responding. When I told this to the woman in the museum she said it was because of the small and big city difference. I walked back to the city bus stand and   sat in a restaurant for lunch. I asked for a glass of beer and Khachapuri which is basically a stuffed cheese Prantha. It was large and I could only eat half so I got the other half packed. I could not find any internet shop and decided to go back to Tbilisi. I found a bus going to Tbilisi and I was the only passenger.

Fort in Gori, Georgia

 I returned to Tbilisi earlier than what I had planned. I got the metro card encashed for 2.30 lari as I would not be using it now. The waiting room in the Station was air cooled.  I sat there for an hour and then came to the accommodation. I bought Cherry and apricot for the old lady. She was very happy to get this present.  The Englishman and his Japanese girlfriend had returned. I sat on a stool while the old lady cooked me some spaghetti. At 7.30, I bade goodbye to everyone. The old lady kissed my hands.  I wiped her tears and abade a final goodbye.  Tthe sick ladywho was once English Teacher  raised her arm from the sofa to signal her goodbye.When I touched her hand, she started crying.  I wished her a speedy recovery and went out. The Japanese boys who were living with me companied me and bud their goodbyes. I left quickly to prevent creating an emotional scene. I did not even look back. I was overwhelmed with emotions though. This was the one side of humans that touched me always. People from different nationalities coming together and becoming so close with so little interactions. Vazh had not come back from his work.

 I came back to the waiting area of the station. My train to Yerevan, Armenia was at 10.16 pm. The train would be coming from Batumi sea resort of Georgia at 9.40 p.m. There was no indication on which platform would the train arrive in. I decided to use the hit and trail method. First I went down to Platform no 1 but there was another train standing there. I went to platform number 2 where I saw some people waiting. After a while I saw them going up to platform number 4 and I followed them. The train had arrived. My compartment was at the end of the train and there were only 5 compartments for Yerevan. The compartment was empty except a father and her daughter. They knew English and I chatted with them. Lucy, the 14 year girl plays lawn tennis for Armenia juniors and her father was the force behind. They shifted to another empty cabin after some time.
Later, some officer collected my passport and returned it after having it stamped in half an hour. At 11-30pm Armenian immigration officer came and asked me to come inside a building where my passport and visa checked and then stamped. I came back to my cabin and asked for a blanket from the conductor. Tired, I slept.