For much of the 20th century Georgia was part of the Soviet Union, but like all its other former component parts, Georgia broke free ( or should I say, “ free again” – it had a short lived period of independence after the Ottomans and before the Soviets ). Since 1991 it’s been ( trying to ) chart its own course but the Russian influence is still evident- lots of Russian business here, Russian tourists and Russian language ( still widely spoken by older Georgians ).

Our entry point was the Black Sea coastal city of Batumi ( scene of much foreign meddling in Georgian affairs ) which has just exploded in size – an almost Las Vegas feel in parts with gambling a very big business here. Beyond that, some other more historic sights, as well as a fascinating old town, great restaurant scene, long coastal boulevard and the most interesting contemporary  sculpture we’ve seen anywhere ( see below ).

Batumi was, of course, our first introduction to Georgian driving, something we had heard much about and been warned of. It’s true, they are absolutely shocking drivers and we would spend much of our time here watching out for our own safety. We were not surprised at all during our stay in Batumi to witness a pedestrian get hit ( and likely killled ) – the sound of the impact was just  nauseating. They drive extraordinarily fast and very recklessly.

From Batumi we headed east towards the capital, Tbilisi, but made several very interesting stops along the way; Kutaisi ( reportedly one of the longest continuously inhabited cities in the world ), Tsukaltubo ( an old Soviet spa town favoured by none other than Stalin himself), Gori ( Stalin’s birthplace and site of the impressive Stalin museum ), and Mshteke, one of the more interesting small towns in Georgia. We enjoyed the wild camping options along the way, bumped into several other overlanders and, most notably, crossed paths again with Andy and Serena ( #rightfoottravel ) who we had camped with in Hachinoe in Japan way back in May, 2024. They had since driven west across Russia and the Stan’s, on to Georgia, while we of course had continued east across the US and Europe. Small world !

Many travellers had talked up Tbilisi as a great spot for a few days and after the visit we’d absolutely agree – really enjoyed the history, the vibe, the contrast of historic and modern and just taking in its very many sights ! Managing to camp right downtown made for great accessibility ( if perhaps a bit more noise at night than was ideal 😳).

Considered briefly visiting Armenia ( just an hour away ) but passed in the end deciding to take in more of Georgia- a route which took us back west towards Turkey, allowing visits to the famous rock monastery of Vardzia and finally the impressive fortress at Akhaltsikhe.

From Akhaltsikhe we’d expected a very smooth crossing back into Turkey – were we in for a shock, one of the most frightening border crossings we’d experienced, anywhere. On leaving Georgia they separated us ( driver with car, passenger through another area, during which time we lost contact with each other ). The Georgians decided they did not like my vehicle registration docs ( in their defence they do look incredibly hokey ) and delayed me while Googling “British Columbia Vehicle Registration image” just to confirm that what I had was actually legit ! Friendly, but nervewracking. Then, the Turk’s followed suit ( the fact that they already had images of my registration on file from our previous visit did not seem to matter ). The Customs lady spoke practically no English and I found myself separated from Lois again, with no Georgian data left to drive my translation app and this remote  border post being well out of range of Turkish cell towers.  Exasperating! Oh, that, and the Customs officer repeating over and over that I had a “Problem……problem…..( stares into my eyes now )…..BIG problem !”. Ultimately she allowed me to speak into her personal phone translation app whereupon I ultimately managed to convince her to Google “British Columbia vehicle registration image” at which point she finally relented and passed me through. Absolute mental torture – all because of the flimsy documents we get in BC ( unlike any of the more official looking European documents these folks are familiar with ). We are beginning to dread crossing borders it has happened now so often. A little more on our ongoing vehicle registration challenges, below in this week’s “In Case You Wondered” segment.

So, while Georgia ( save for the crazy drivers ) was great, the “farewell” experience was no fun at all, taking some of the gloss of what was otherwise a very interesting place. With the exception of the road to Ushguli we did manage to see all the attractions in Georgia that we’d planned to ( the advantage of it being a very small country ) . Sadly, there were landslide risks and heavy snowfall forecast on the Ushguli route and, as appealing as it was to drive that famous road it wasn’t a place we wanted to get stuck. On our list should we return.

Till next week….

In Case You Wondered:

Q: Any unusual surprises that come up which you did not anticipate or plan for while overlanding ?

A: There have been a few little ones but by the far the biggest, and certainly most unanticipated one relates to our vehicle ownership documents – and it’s VERY specific to our province ( British Columbia ) in Canada.

Vehicle registration in BC is indefinite ( once registered a vehicle remains legally registered to that owner until sold, when ownership is transferred – there is no annual ‘renewal’ common in many other jurisdictions). Because BC vehicle registration and insurance details BOTH appear on the same document, when you take your vehicle abroad one allows the insurance component to lapse since in BC the insurance only covers North America. Here’s where it gets tricky – to the uninitiated it can appear that the all important REGISTRATION has lapsed, when in fact it has not. It never does. Customs officials invariably go looking for a registration expiry date, (sometimes pointing to the expired insurance ) – it’s this lack of an “expiry” date has caused consternation in some places and always requires an explanation. Making matters worse, the provincial vehicle registration authority in BC is known as “ICBC”, short for the “Insurance Corporation of British Columbia” (they offer insurance services as well as registration). In many countries, prospective insurers (seeking to confirm firstly that our vehicle is currently registered in our home country ) hand our vehicle documents back saying “This is insurance, I need your registration”. It’s become a standing joke. Only it’s not at all funny. It’s become so ridiculous that, before we left Canada this time, I actually paid over $300 to insure the vehicle ( minimum liability only ) JUST TO GET ( what looks like to foreign customs people ) A “VALID” REGISTRATION DATE !!!! Insurance, which, in Europe, is totally useless. It’s truly the theatre of the absurd. More than once we have wished our provincial government could have just chosen a more logical name like Motor Transport Authority, or Department of Motor Transport, or Department of Motor Vehicles (common elsewhere) and clearly separated registration from insurance ( as the most nations do ) to make our life easier !

These two recurring issues, compounded by the fact that our BC ownership documents do not look particularly “official” compared to many other nations, forced me to ask ICBC for something more “official looking” on their letterhead to back up my claims that I am indeed the rightful owner, it is currently registered, and that in BC registrations really do not expire ( see document below ). It helps, but we still get some wary looks ! Of all the things we planned for when we started overlanding, this was NOT one of them !