I came from a tropical country and to experience snow is one of those things I fervently desire which is ironic since aside from the Philippines, I’ve lived in Saudi Arabia and now in the United Arab Emirates, both known for having extreme hot weather. There are countries in Asia that experience snow but will need a visa and sometimes obtaining one could be a challenge.
Imagine my delight when my friend told me a Filipino holding a residence visa from United Arab Emirates will not need a visa going to Georgia. Who would have thought that in order to see snow, I would have to be grateful for the sand dunes first?
When the winter weather rolls in, we decided to pack our overnight bags to temporarily say goodbye to our second home and say hello to Georgia’s snow covered mountains.
We left U.A.E. one Thursday evening and arrived at Shota Rustaveli Tbilisi International Airport at 3:00 am, Friday the next day. The cold seeped inside the jet bridge and I paused for a while to put on a coat on top of my jacket, gloves and scarf but an agent demanded I continued on. I should have listened because once inside the airport, I removed most of it again since the heaters were on. Having been around airports half my life, and with it being my first time at a European airport, I was a little disappointed.
Of course I wasn’t expecting it to be up to par with Dubai or Singapore but since the country is recently developing as a tourist destination, I expected it to make me stop and stare in awe. I also have this habit of taking a photo around a new airport with the “Welcome to _______” sign or poster, a souvenir comparable to a memento magnet. But there aren’t any around Shota Airport and frankly I was terrified of the airport agents who seems to be hell bent on making everyone leave the airport as soon as possible.
Taxis and private vehicles offering to drive us to our hotel lined up as soon as we had our money exchanged to Georgian Lari (GEL). This was our first mishap. Our ride charged us 150 GEL (1 GEL = $ 0.41) but when we arrived at our hotel, the concierge informed us that they only charge 50 GEL from pick up at the airport. But, I chose to see the silver lining in the situation since being driven around in a Lexus Sedan with the windows rolled down watching Tbilisi, Georgia’s capital wasn’t that bad and I had an experience of the rich and famous, no matter how briefly.
Before making a turn towards our hotel, we saw this brightly-lit, glass building along Kakheti Highway. Our driver asked us what we think it was. I answered it is an amphitheater. It is the most logical guess because of its dome shape. The driver laughed, it seems my answer is the most farfetched one any of his passengers gave. He said it is the Ministry of Internal Affairs and after finding out the answer I saw how it is fitting. I could totally imagine Loki from The Avengers movie or Khan from Star Trek in one of those glass prison cells.
Prior to arriving, we already know we have to go to the mountains to see snow. The concierge arranged for our day tour and charged us 450 GEL for a van plus a driver. I exchanged a look with my friend and breathed a sigh of relief. We were almost duped again since our ride from the airport offered to drive us to Gudauri for 550 GEL.
Despite having only 2 hours of sleep, we woke up at 7:00 am excited and well rested. It helped that there is no time difference and we did not suffer from any jet lag. We bundled up since the temperature in Tbilisi is already at 6°C, while Gudauri’s at the time of our visit was -1°C and our bodies are not used to the cold. Being able to rest for a while and having natural lighting, we went crazy taking photos of the hotel’s lobby. Our driver/guide from the hotel came to us and almost dragged us all to the van to begin the tour.
On the way, we asked him to stop by on the way so we could exchange our money to the local currency. While looking for a bank, we managed to get a glimpse of Georgia’s railway system. Similar to its airport, I was surprised by its run-down appearance. Some of the lights weren’t working; the stair handrails rusty and some graffiti covered the walls.
We passed by a bakery and since we haven’t had any breakfast yet, my brother asked for some change to buy bread. The vendor wrapped the bread which we later found out is called shotis puri, in a piece of newspaper and due to the challenging language barrier, held one finger to show how much we owed him. The warm bread provided temporary comfort to my cold fingers. I wanted to pat it to my cheeks as well but my brother had other ideas. He tore a small piece and chewed thoughtfully, comparing it to the Arab’s kuboos, crunchy crust but soft and doughy crumb.
Driving our way to Gudauri, I was amazed seeing prominent landmarks I researched about beforehand. I squeal in delight every time I recognize it from the pictures and since our driver is not that conversant in English, I acted as our tour guide. We saw the Bridge of Peace which is made of steel and glass. It is remarkable during day time but was more awesome when we saw it come night fall, lit by thousands of led lights. The statue Mother of Georgia also loomed in the distance and we could not wait for the next day to see it up close.
As soon as we are out of Tbilisi, the scenery turned rustic. We still haven’t caught a glimpse of snow and we were getting a bit antsy for being in the road for a long time. Luckily, we arrived at our first stop, the Jinvali Water Reservoir with a viewing platform where we stood for a photo.
Even after covering up, I still have underestimated the cold. Fortunately for me there was a peddler selling thick gloves and I managed to save my fingers from frost bite. Our driver told us that the reservoir provided the water supply for Tbilisi. The sky was gloomy and most of the floras surrounding the dam were withered from the cold. But one could easily imagine how green the scenery will become on summer or spring time. Still, the eerie tranquility of the place in the early morning ensconced in fog made us appreciate this man made structure in the middle of nature.
Next on our stop was the Ananuri Fortress overlooking the Aragvi River.
The climb was treacherous since we are not used to trudge slippery steps damp because of the cold weather. Along the climb up, there were merchants selling souvenirs which were a bit pricey so we opted not to buy and photo opportunities to wear the traditional Georgian costume. When we reached the top, we asked our driver regarding the castle and he showed us an underground chamber where some people used to hide when the castle was under attack and the spots where soldiers stand guard. At least this is what we got from his explanation. There were also one or two tombstones which we did not know were headstones if it weren’t for another guide who knew how to speak English and reprimanded my brother for standing in one.
After some photos and a quick restroom break, we resumed travelling. We already knew the travel time from Tbilisi to Gudauri is two hours, what we did not expect was that it will only take two hours if the driver was a frustrated motorist auditioning to be part of the Fast and Furious franchise in a zigzag road no less! So when he said we were already at Gudauri, every one of us clapped and cheered because we managed to arrive in one piece.
We stopped at Restaurant Gagieti and sampled the Georgian cuisine and the Borjomi carbonated mineral water. With all the local food we tried, I liked the Qababi, grilled meat with chopped onion like the Middle Eastern’s kebabs and the Khinkali, meat stuffed in dough similar to the Asian’s dumplings.
After the filling lunch, we went straight to the Gudauri ski resort where we satiated our desire to play with the fine, powdery cold snow. The ticket costs 18 GEL per head and it included two-way trips to the four routes of the cable cars.
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For day two, our itinerary consisted of taking in the sights of Tbilisi and buying souvenirs. We started at Rustaveli Square and made our way downtown since the places of interest are clustered in this plaza. We stopped at a local store to buy some magnets as souvenirs and as we were leaving, the Georgian lady proudly said “Salamat!”, the Tagalog translation of Thank You, showing us she knows how to warmly treat her Filipino customers.
We continued walking trying to find our way to the cable cars (what can I say? We are fond of riding these hanging boxes) and chance upon the Kashveti Church where we heard an old Georgian lady singing some songs we could not understand. But when she saw us, she started singing Abba’s “Money, Money, Money”. We gave her some Lari and soon after belted the “Jingle Bells” with some made up lyrics much to our amusement.
After the church, we came across the Tbilisi History Museum. One of the curators saw us standing outside and taking pictures. He invited us in and told us that admission is free but we are not allowed to take pictures inside. We did not take much time inside the museum since there aren’t a lot of artifacts on display. It was mostly paintings by local artist which were way beyond our spending range and enormous handicrafts we would not be able to fit in our luggage.
We managed to reach Rike Park, where we could ride the cable car all the way to Narikala Fortress and the statue of Mother Georgia. From the moment our cable car ascended to the time we reached the top, I could not decide which side I would look at since the 360° view of Tbilisi is gorgeous. Urban meets rural. Minimal number of high rise buildings, trees intermingled with modern infrastructures, brick pathways, smoke coming out from chimneys on top of clay roofs, people leisurely walking, sitting outside drinking coffee and enjoying the warm sun and the cold breeze.
My mood was dampened a bit because while we were walking along Narikala Fortress, we were stopped by two guys urging us, or more like coerced us to take a photo with their pet monkey and parrot. I tried to refuse since I condone the use of animals in this manner and I am not naïve to think that they will not charge us anything for the photo. We asked them how much since they are adamant. They ignored our question, grabbed my camera and deposited the monkey in my brother’s arm and the parrot in mine. I tried to smile and stand still for the photo because I was terrified the chirpy parrot will gouge my eyes if I suddenly moved. After paying the 20 GEL per head which is ridiculously expensive, we charged to experience this incident and the taxi drivers we chanced upon who took advantage of us as tourists and did not let it affect our perception of the Georgian people.
We reached Mother Georgia and saw it was not suitable for a perfect photo spot since she was overlooking Georgia standing with her back on us. I expected it to be like the Christ the Redeemer statue in Brazil where I could stand and have the statue as a backdrop. After some few photos on one of the view deck below the statue, we head back to Rustaveli Square to buy the most important souvenir and the reason why we went to Georgia besides the snow covered mountain: Georgian wine.
When we already have everything we needed to buy, we went back to the hotel, grabbed our luggage and head back to the airport, ready to go back to our temporary home in the U.A.E. During the flight back, it made me realized Georgia isn’t what I imagined it to be. Perhaps I romanticized my first trip to Europe, I expected more and assumed I would not experience the usual pitfalls of being a tourist. But looking back at photos, remembering the cold snow against my skin and the taste of Sauvignon, I could see myself returning to gorgeous Georgia again once the winter weather rolls in.
An Overseas Filipino Worker since 2008, Yvette is back in the Middle East after a brief stint in a first world country in South East Asia. She is a binge watcher and is part of numerous fandoms. She writes to keep her sanity (read her rantings on Wattpad @yvette_dc) and is happiest when she's in a bookstore. If given the resources, she would see the world.