Waiting around in Tbilisi as the days tick on by. Please give me a visa
Friday 12th August Eight days have now passed since I first came to Tbilisi. Time is ticking away and it feels like I’m no closer now to getting my Azerbaijan visa than I was five days ago when I re-sent the application. With no word from the tour company after two days, I decided to […]
Georgia: See, is good, drink. Me: too dangerous. I get hit, I die. Big problem. End of trip
I left Batumi with my stove kind of fixed by a Georgian man whom didn’t release a smile in the entire forty minutes I was stood in his shop. He didn’t charge me though which was nice. I had some maps of Georgia now and so I was confident when I finally left the city, […]
An update from Tbilisi, Georgia
Well I’ve been in Tbilisi, Georgia for five days now nibbling on my nails and generally sat on the edge of my seat continuously pressing refresh on my inbox to see if I have any news regarding my Azerbaijan visa application. It’s tense and I’m going ever so slightly crazy as the days tick by. […]
A new country at last! Enter Georgia. I finally got my potatoes
I’m now in Batumi and have been for four days now. I always seem to get stuck in cities you see. I’m going to leave today and it’s a rather short 400 km ride to the capital Tbilisi where I’m hoping (fingers crossed) to get my Chinese visa. Time will tell. I spent a lovely […]
Still the Black Sea. Being gifted my own Galatasaray shirt and a free haircut – Turkish style
From Inebolu, I still had a fair way to go until Sinop was reached and with it, the start of a much more forgiving road. I was on my way by seven and was greeted with a beautiful stretch of road that was, most importantly flat. This is a joy to behold, particularly at half […]
Continuing East – Turkey leaving me astounded
I won’t lie. The last few days have been some of the toughest Iv’e encountered thus far and that includes cycling through central Spain in 40 + degrees and cycling over the Alps. You see it’s not that I’m cycling in extreme temperatures nor over mountainous. It’s the simple fact that, when you combine just […]
Heading east along the Black Sea. There’s always a cup of çay around the corner
It’s a very strange feeling you know – this cycle touring. I liken it almost to finishing a good book. Once I have completed a section of the trip and taken a break, It’s very difficult to begin the next section, or book as it were. So it was that after almost ten days enjoying […]
A guest post by Maria. Istanbul
“You’re still going!?“ was the question a lot of people asked me after the attacks on Atatürk Airport. I must admit that although I wasn’t buying into the panic, the news coverage didn’t do much to up my levels of feeling safe either. “The statistics are in my favor,” I told them, “maybe even more […]
Almost getting struck by lightning and somehow surviving the madness of entering Istanbul
As I cycled out into the Turkish area, I had my first encounter with a mosque which was quite thrilling really. Christian Europe had been replaced by a predominantly Muslim country – the first of many I hope. Onwards through Turkey! Lets go and cycle to Istanbul I had about 10km’s to go until I […]
Through Bulgaria. I finally escaped the dogs of Romania!
This seems like a lifetime ago but I may as well get it written up. I finished my last post by revealing that I had found the most perfect spot to camp – overlooking the Danube with the whole of Romania lay out in front of me like a giant chessboard. I had called […]