I had dinner with my friend and a local lawyer last night (he has received his education in America). This guy stated some interesting tips regarding traffic police in Georgia. When stopped by traffic police, the police should waive you down with a proper baton (not just any old stick) pointing at the driver directly and indicating the exact spot where he wishes you to park. Once parked, the cop should walk over to the vehicle, introduce himself, state the region he�s covering for that particular day and state the violation you have committed. Should the cop fail to follow these procedures he has violated the Law. The driver can also demand to see a letter from his superior stating that the cop in question would be covering the particular region for the day which they never seem to be able to produce (this part I did not know, regardless the procedure sounds the same as Armenia).
He also told me that there are 2 main providers of cell phones in Georgia. First one is 82% owned by Turkcell and 18% by some European partner. The President�s daughter and his son in law are the second providers. Statistically there are 250,000 active subscribers of mobile holders out of a population of 4.5 million. If one considers cell phone usage would more than likely be in Tiblisi alone, with a population of 1.5 million, you can do the maths.
When I asked him about the economy in Georgia, he said it�s in its contraceptive stage. Interesting way of putting it, wouldn�t you say?
I spoke to other locals today and one young woman explained that she fasts 4 times a year being an Orthodox, with her fasting commencing this week for St Mary. She explained that 70% of the population are Georgians, 30% minority consisting of 9%Russians, 8% Armenians, 6-8% Azeri and the rest Greeks, Yezidi and others.
I noticed a Levon Travel today on Rustaveli Ave. (I was in a car) and I�ll try and get there at some stage. There are some magazines around which would help a tourist. First one is called Guide to Georgia (I picked it up for free at a Cafe called which is the equivalent of Artbridge in Yerevan), which lists sightseeing spots, a bit on culture, economic review, shopping and nightspots. Another is called Tiblisi Pastimes costs 3 Lari = $1.50 and lists exhibitions, cinema, theatre etc. Finally The Georgian Times www.geotimes.ge for a bit of news. I had a magnum ice cream and it tasted bloody good. I also tried out an internet caf� with pretty good connection and since I used it early in the morning the cost was 1 Lari an hour (50 cents).
The friend I�m staying with is being screwed big time for her last 2 weeks in Georgia. She has worked and lived in Georgia for the past two years. She absolutely loves it here and has had a great time with locals until now. She was in the process of buying a car, which fell through as the seller turned out to be a crook (he hadn�t renewed the transit number plate that he brought from Germany) and so lost a deposit of $500 USD, the friend she had trusted who was helping with the car purchase let her down (he didn�t explain the proper terms of the contract), her landlord is threatening to sue her as she terminated her contract early by 2 months. I feel bad for her as she�s now leaving this place with bad feelings and it�s a real shame that people are trying to take advantage of her goodness and most of all because she�s a foreigner.
As anywhere else in the world, there are also kind people. The woman my friend was renting a garage from, gave her a little key ring as a gift for her new car, which she doesn�t have anymore. She is also sending a small gift to an Armenian lady from their school years (they would be in their 50�s at least).
I watched the Hewitt/ Moya match, I gotta hand it to Moya he was 5-2 down in the second set yet still came through winning the Masters Series. Poor bugger (Hewitt), better luck next time mate.
He also told me that there are 2 main providers of cell phones in Georgia. First one is 82% owned by Turkcell and 18% by some European partner. The President�s daughter and his son in law are the second providers. Statistically there are 250,000 active subscribers of mobile holders out of a population of 4.5 million. If one considers cell phone usage would more than likely be in Tiblisi alone, with a population of 1.5 million, you can do the maths.
When I asked him about the economy in Georgia, he said it�s in its contraceptive stage. Interesting way of putting it, wouldn�t you say?
I spoke to other locals today and one young woman explained that she fasts 4 times a year being an Orthodox, with her fasting commencing this week for St Mary. She explained that 70% of the population are Georgians, 30% minority consisting of 9%Russians, 8% Armenians, 6-8% Azeri and the rest Greeks, Yezidi and others.
I noticed a Levon Travel today on Rustaveli Ave. (I was in a car) and I�ll try and get there at some stage. There are some magazines around which would help a tourist. First one is called Guide to Georgia (I picked it up for free at a Cafe called which is the equivalent of Artbridge in Yerevan), which lists sightseeing spots, a bit on culture, economic review, shopping and nightspots. Another is called Tiblisi Pastimes costs 3 Lari = $1.50 and lists exhibitions, cinema, theatre etc. Finally The Georgian Times www.geotimes.ge for a bit of news. I had a magnum ice cream and it tasted bloody good. I also tried out an internet caf� with pretty good connection and since I used it early in the morning the cost was 1 Lari an hour (50 cents).
The friend I�m staying with is being screwed big time for her last 2 weeks in Georgia. She has worked and lived in Georgia for the past two years. She absolutely loves it here and has had a great time with locals until now. She was in the process of buying a car, which fell through as the seller turned out to be a crook (he hadn�t renewed the transit number plate that he brought from Germany) and so lost a deposit of $500 USD, the friend she had trusted who was helping with the car purchase let her down (he didn�t explain the proper terms of the contract), her landlord is threatening to sue her as she terminated her contract early by 2 months. I feel bad for her as she�s now leaving this place with bad feelings and it�s a real shame that people are trying to take advantage of her goodness and most of all because she�s a foreigner.
As anywhere else in the world, there are also kind people. The woman my friend was renting a garage from, gave her a little key ring as a gift for her new car, which she doesn�t have anymore. She is also sending a small gift to an Armenian lady from their school years (they would be in their 50�s at least).
I watched the Hewitt/ Moya match, I gotta hand it to Moya he was 5-2 down in the second set yet still came through winning the Masters Series. Poor bugger (Hewitt), better luck next time mate.
posted by lena at 9:54 PM
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