15 day road trip in Georgia
After crossing Turkey-Georgia border, we took a taxis to Batumi a coastal town 20km from the border. At Batumi we started our Georgia 15 day roadtrip. Our final destination in Georgia would be Tibilisi where we would flyout.
Getting our Rental car
We booked our rental car from a Georgian car rental company called Car4Rent. The rental cost for a Renault Sandero was Euro581 for 15days, super collision waiver damage, one way charge (Batumi to Tibilisi). We thought the rental car would be one assigned from the Batumi rental outlet so we were surprised when we found that a driver brought the car from Tibilisi outlet all the way to Batumi for us.
The rental car was sent to our Batumi apartment. We inspected and signed off the documentation. It was a small automatic gear car which seemed just nice for us, but we later found out that its steering wheel was not powered! Powered steering wheel technology existing long before automatic gear technology so it never occured to me to the car had no power steering!
The car though was working was not “nice” to drive. The wheels suspensions were worn out so it was a bumpy ride for the next two weeks!
On hindsight we should pay more for a car from an International Brand rental company. We just got carried away by the good reviews posted by other car renters for Car4Rent not realising that the good reviews were skewed towards the better pricing.
Getting a local sim data card
We got a local data sim card from Magti (a local telcom). The sim card was super affordable. We paid a fee for the card 10Gel and 16Gel for 5G for a week. After a week we could top up for another 5G for 16Gel. There was a few Magti outlets in Batumi so the first thing after we got our rental car was to drive to an outlet to buy a data card. We chose an outlet in Old Batumi which fitted into our plan to explore the old town after getting the card.
Parking in the old town required a bit of patience to find an empty lot. After a short while we found one not too far from the Magti Outlet.
A Modern Gambling Coastal Town
The distances between various places we would like to explore in old Batumi were not very far apart. The original plan to drive to each site was abandoned as we realised parking would not be as nearby as we wished. So after Magti Outlet we left our car where it was and explored these places on foot.
Batumi was very cosmopolitan. Modern highrises were everywhere and many of the architectural design were very impressive and captivating. We realised that Batumi was a “gambling” paradise which accounted for the “wealth” that could be seen everywhere.
Piazza Square was very beautiful and clean. It was built in old Batumi in 2009 by Georgian architect Vazha Orbeladze. It was a fascinating square where colonial style buildings stood in sights of modern/futuristic highrises.
There were outdoor cafes to rest and have a drink. Weather was lovely. We walked from the square to the Ali & Nino Statues which was nearer to the seaside.
Ali & Nino Statues were two gigantic metal plates statues that moved apart and close together “meshing” into each other without crashing. It was fascinating to see them making their rounds.
Google map versus Tom Tom Map
It was a shock for us when we found that there was no Georgia Map on our Tom Tom GPS device. The map was available on the Tom Tom internet website but just could not be downloaded onto our GPS devices. All the preselected destinations could not be downloaded! Luckily Google map had Georgia so we were still able to navigate in Georgia as long as we had data!
Our stay in Batumi
We stayed in Orbi city in Batumi, booked on booking.com. It was a studio with a kitchenette and We paid 195Gel for two nights stay. Our unit was on the 44th floor!
The studio looked rather new and bright. We had a bit of complication when checking in. This studio was owned by an individual, he listed his unit on booking.com, similarly Orbi City managment also had other studios for rental. When we arrived at Orbi City we went to the queue that was for rental units managed by the Orbi Cit Management and could not find our booking! Luckily the studio owner found us soon!
The studio was a bit tight but it had every things we needed. It had a washing machine which we badly needed to wash our clothes. It would be nicer if the studio provided a dryer but since there was none we hung our clothes on the rack provided in the balcony.
After many weeks of eating turkish food we were only too glad to cook simple meals for breakfast and dinner in our “own styles”.
