Services for utilities are great in Tiblisi. Residents actually receive a bill (left under the door) for monthly electricity usage, a phone call is received from the phone company as a reminder to pay the phone bill (imagine Armentel providing that service) and an email sent for internet service. In Yerevan on the first of every month, I need to remember to pay the internet bill, around the 12th pay the phone bill and on the 15th the electricity bill, which isn�t bad but would be a lot easier if those services were provided (privatization). When we first arrived to the flat in Tiblisi both the power and phone lines were disconnected since my friend had been away over a month. Once the bills were paid, within hours the services were resumed, same procedure as in Yerevan. On a side note I found the internet in Tiblisi to be slower. Oh and taxis are everywhere cruising the streets looking for passengers, unlike in Yerevan where the taxis are stationed like at a taxi stand or one must call a taxi company.

Residents in Tiblisi have the luxury of receiving all day water except from 2am to 6am when it is cut off. You know what this means, don�t you? Having a shower with RUNNING water. Now don�t get me wrong, I am not complaining with my water system in Yerevan but jeez it felt good having a normal shower with running water. Needless to say I�ve been having long showers. FYI, in Yerevan I receive water from 7am to 9am and sometimes in the evenings from 7 to 7.30pm.

On the flipside, electricity is a huge problem in Tiblisi. I am told in winter it is disconnected altogether and so unless you have other means to heat like gas or a generator, you freeze to death. In Yerevan, there is no issue with electricity. (I would rather have the water problem).

Today we went for a walk in town and saw the second McDonald on Mardjanishvilli Street in the Plekhanova region, which is one of the old parts of Tiblisi. Again the architecture is great, however the buildings are not maintained and either need a good clean up or a coat of paint. Anyway I had an address of a home stay on Mardjanishvilli Street that I wanted to check out and compare it to that of Yerevan. As soon as the ladies selling fruits and veggies saw us, they pointed us to the alley where the home stay was. There were two 6 year olds playing in the courtyard, said hello in English and lead us to Nazi�s apartment. The room is very nice and I wanted to compare it with the home stay in Yerevan. In my opinion, the one in Yerevan is in better condition, a room with a view as one tourist put it to me.

After that we went to Vagzali Bazroba, a huge outdoor market by the train station where one could find anything and everything. Most of the products are Turkish and therefore cheap.

We caught a marshrutka back to the flat and on the way crossed the Mtkvari River, which runs through the city, pity it�s a dirty river, but at least there are plenty of trees and really nice parks everywhere. Yerevan needs parks desperately, we have a few, off Baghramian, near the new Cathedral up in Monument but we could do with more.

Now regarding safety, I find myself clutching my bag tightly and looking back over my shoulder, am I paranoid? NO. My friend was attacked at knifepoint while she was jogging with another friend at midday. I have absolutely no safety issues in Armenia, whatever time of day.

One last thing for this log, I visited one of the Marriott Hotels (the second one is being built) and met one of the Managers who�s German. The lobby is really nice; I could not find any brochures anywhere as to what sights a tourist should visit.