Georgia – Trackchasing Country #67

 

LIKE TO KNOW MORE ABOUT GEORGIA – TRACKCHASING COUNTRY #67?

 

 

As a service to my readers I always provide a top line background of each country I visit.  If you’d like to learn a little more about Georgia the country check out the “background” information I prepared for you.  It appears right behind the “background” tab of this post.  I have condensed this section so you can get a good “feel” for this most unique Eastern European location.  Most of the material comes from Wikipedia.

 

THE KEYS TO THE TRIP

 

 

There will be enough “rocks in your shoe”……. “Wednesday – Day 1”.

 

I find it utterly amazing that what seems like a straightforward trip doesn’t come on as planned more than 95% of time.  How can that be? ……. “Thursday – Day 2”.

 

When was the last time your vacation called for this arrangement?…. . “Friday – Day 3”.

 

 

After I purchased my metro ticket my plan was simple.  I would try to get lost. “Saturday – Day 4”.

 

You can’t ever get enough culture……….. “Saturday – Day 4”.

 

 

The actual racing was icing on the cake……….. “Sunday – Day 5”.

 

 

Who does what I did with the locals after the race or “Building my street cred” …….. “Sunday – Day 5”.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

ADVANCE PREPARATION

 

THE RACE

 

Now was a great time to visit Georgia.

My international research staff at Randy Lewis Racing must be pretty good at what they do.  Georgia will be my 67^th trackchasing country.  That record speaks for itself.

 

 

From what I could tell the Rustavi Motorsports Park “re-opened” in 2012.  It was one of the last race circuits build in the “old” Russia.  It opened in 1978 with the first racing taking place in 1979.  However, from 1989-2009 the track fell into disrepair.  In 2009 the facility was bought at auction and refurbished to its like new condition today.  That made coming to Georgia at this time a perfect plan.

 

 

 

THE VISA

No visa needed.

From what I could tell I wouldn’t need a visa to visit Georgia.  Visas can be both time consuming to get and expensive.  Some former Russia controlled countries have strict visa requirements and some do not.  I’ll be connecting in both the Netherlands and Ukraine.  Luckily, they don’t have visa requirements either.

 

 

Another close visa call.

However, I came close to having a passport problem.  Can’t these trips ever be simple?  Often times a country requires that a passport have at least six months remaining on its expiration date.  My passport was granted in 2004 and is good for ten years from that date.

 

 

When I was boarding the plane in Los Angeles bound for Amsterdam the KLM agent began counting on his fingers.  He concluded I had six months…..and eight days remaining before my passport expired.  “You’re lucky,” he told me.  I had not seen anything indicating that I would need more than six months remaining on my current passport for the countries I planned to visit.  Nevertheless, he threw a scare into me.  When I return from this trip I will have six months and THREE days remaining on my passport.  Maybe it’s time to get a new passport!

 

Being without a passport is not easy for me.

I travel internationally about every 6-8 weeks on average.  Sometimes, if you include Canada I travel to foreign countries more often.  This makes it very difficult to have a convenient time to be without my passport for renewal or an upcoming visa application or whatever.  I did learn when I was applying for our visas to India that an individual could get a “two-year” passport in addition to the regular 10-year U.S. passport.  This allows a frequent traveler have a “spare” while one is being sent off for renewal.  I’m going to have to consider that idea.

 

 

 

TIME ZONES

It will be easy to compute the time back home.

Just nine days ago we returned from our trip to India.  India is 12 ½ hours ahead of the Pacific time zone used in Los Angeles.  It didn’t take me long to get used to the time in India because we didn’t need to get up early every day.

 

 

However, upon returning home from India I’ve had a hard time getting to sleep at my normal bedtime of around 11 p.m.  I feel like staying up later and that means sleeping later.  One morning I slept until 10:30 a.m.!  I haven’t worried about it too much.  The time in Georgia (the country of course) will be 12 hours ahead of the Pacific time zone.  I’ll work harder at getting accustomed to our California time zone when I get home from this trip.

 

Sometimes I don’t know how I do it.

Can you imagine that?  I spend 10 days going to India, which is 12 ½ hours ahead of home.  Then I stay home for a bit more than a week and I’m back on the road headed to a place that is 12 hours ahead of Los Angeles and just 30 minutes behind India!  Sometimes I don’t know how I do it.

BOOTS ON THE GROUND

Without local contacts this is much more difficult to do.

I’ve had so many people from around the world help me with my international trackchasing.  Although I thank them every chance I get I can’t thank them enough.  Georgia would be another location where the racing folks on the ground were a huge help.

 

 

I learned a long time ago, in the corporate world, that effective and prompt communication is invaluable.  Many years ago, I developed an introduction letter that tells folks at racetracks, and racing fans in general, what my trackchasing hobby is all about.  I soon found the response to this introduction letter to create quite an interest from people I had never met.

 

 

I’m not going to mention any countries by name for fear of leaving some out.  However, at times, the help I have received from people I have never met previously has bordered on the unbelievable.  Yes, it’s difficult to comprehend that people could be so generous to a total stranger.

 

 

What a great staff at Rustavi.

In advance of my trip to Georgia I sent along an introduction letter to the Rustavi International Motorpark.  My first communication was with Mevlud Meladze, the Director of Racing at Rustavi.  He and I began corresponding three months before this trip would begin.  Then Eldar Marcheko, the track’s Director of Marketing got involved.  The track had seen my website and was ready to welcome the “World’s #1 Trackchaser” to Rustavi.  Later in the planning process and at the track I would meet Ms. Khatuna Julakidze.  What a “go-getter” and outstanding representative of the track she was.

THE TRANSPORTATION

 

Los Angeles to Amsterdam, Netherlands to Kiev, Ukraine to Tbilisi, Georgia and back through Amsterdam on my way to Los Angeles.

 

I am currently without a primary airline sponsor.  Since late 2006 I’ve had the support of the airlines.  I expect to be announcing a brand new airline sponsorship shortly.  However, until I do getting to Georgia and India and next month’s faraway foreign country is on my own dime.

 

Just the facts and nothing but the facts.

To be clear I’m not like those “Dreaded East Coast Trackchasers”.  I don’t have four things they have.  First, I don’t have a job and haven’t had one for almost 12 years.  I don’t have a family inheritance to fall back on like some of the DECTs.  I also don’t have a wife who is working so that I can sponge off her income.  Finally, I don’t have to drag along someone I might not even like all that well in order to make the trip affordable.  I must do all of this on my meager savings accumulated through diligent financial planning from the time I first began working.  The funny thing about this paragraph is that it is 100% factual.  Not a single thing has been exaggerated.

 

 

 

CURRENCY

Do you know the official currency of Georgia?

It’s the Georgian Lari (GEL).  One lari is divided into 100 tetra.  As we speak my iPhone currency app tells me I can get about 1.67 lari for each U.S. dollar.  How many Georgian lari as I bringing to Georgia?  Zero!

 

 

I do have some U.S. dollars.  I brought along some Euros too.  I even had a few Canadian dollars in my briefcase because….I always have a few Canadian dollars tucked away in case I come across a Tim Horton’s.

 

 

I’m landing at 12:05 a.m. (past midnight!).  Will currency shops still be open in the Tbilisi airport at that hour?  I don’t know.  Whatever, I am trained to “figure it out” as I go.

 

 

 

WEATHER

 

The weather will be good enough.

You might expect a country that borders Russia to be pretty cold this time of year.  However, the weather forecast doesn’t look too bad.  For the four days before I arrived temps were in the high 60s (Fahrenheit of course).  For the time I will be on the ground in Georgia I expect temps to be hovering around the low 60s maybe even topping out in the high 50s.  That’s not terrible.  Actually it’s good walking around weather as I explore a country I probably never thought I would see.  Finally, no heavy rain is expected which is appreciated.

 

OVERNIGHT ACCOMMODATIONS

 

The perfect sized trip.

I’ll be needing accommodation for four nights in Georgia.  I’ll also spend one “evening” on an airplane.  Are Georgia hotels expensive?  I’m not sure.  I have a full hotel sponsorship for this trip!  One of the first things Mr. Meladze offered was free accommodation for my trip.  How wonderful was that!

 

 

What exactly is a sponsorship away?  The answer to that question, for me, is pretty simple.  If someone gives you cash or product for free or at a deeply discounted rate then that’s a sponsorship.  I have had a lot of trackchasing sponsorship.

 

 

Currently, I have rental car, hotel and airport parking sponsorships.  In another couple of weeks I will return to having an airline sponsorship.  Sometimes tracks will host me on a complimentary basis.  Sometimes my hotel sponsors will provide free meals.  That means that six (airline, rental car, hotel, food, airport parking and race tickets) of my trackchasing expense categories are either fully or partially sponsored.

 

Have you been thinking about how you can support my trackchasing effort?

That leaves just one expense category, fuel, unsponsored.  I’m sure there is some reader out there who wants to “jump on board” with the World’s #1 Trackchaser”.  There’s “space” available for those willing to help with my gasoline bill.  Just leave a message on the website!

 

 

THE RENTAL CAR

One of the very best trip ideas.

I won’t need a rental car.  The Rustavi International Motorpark is giving me a private driver.  That’s right.  These folks at Rustavi are very generous and friendly.

 

 

I suspect I may end up in a taxi or two as I explore the capital city of Tbilisi.  I’ll have two full days of touring.  I’ve studied TripAdvisor comments for touring Georgia.  I’ve got some ideas on what to see, do and eat.  This will be a big part of the fun. 

 

 

NAVIGATION

Nada.

With no rental car, and a private driver, navigation in the form of GPS won’t be needed.

 

 

 

THE TRAVELING COMPANION

I guess you could call us international jet-setters.

On our last international trackchasing visit to India, Carol and I reached the 100-country mark for trackchasing countries.  She’s seen racing in 34 and I’ve seen the green flag drop in 66 countries.  That’s a combined total of 100 countries for just the two of us.  I’m very proud of that number.

 

 

Carol and I have been to lots of other countries where we haven’t seen any racing.  On this trip I will add Ukraine to the list of countries I have visited.  Currently, the United Nations lists 193 “official” countries.  I took a look at that list.  From memory, I’ve been to the countries listed below but not for racing.  Carol has been to all of these countries with me except Senegal.  Almost all of these visits were taken during the more than 25 cruises we have taken.

 

Antigua and Barbuda

Bahamas, The

Fiji

Haiti

Liechtenstein

Panama

Saint Lucia

Senegal

Trinidad and Tobago

Venezuela

Vietnam

Somebody has to tend to the ‘goings on’ at home.

With Carol just having returned home from India she earned a pass on visiting Georgia.  She was in Russia just 10 months ago and Lithuania a few months after that.  She’s been in this part of the world recently.  Carol is a self-confessed “homebody”.  I feel fortunate to have had her join me on so many trips during our brief 41 years of wedded matrimony.

 

 

 

THE SUMMARY

My “world map” is filling up fast.

Georgia will be the 33^rd European country where I have trackchased.  As I look down this list of trackchasing countries I can’t help but recall all the great people we’ve met.  On top of that are the sights we’ve seen and the great food we’ve eaten.  I love Europe.

 

Andorra

Austria

Belgium

Bulgaria

Croatia

Czech Republic

Denmark

Estonia

Finland

Germany

Greece

Hungary

Iceland

Ireland

Italy

Latvia

Lithuania

Luxembourg

Malta

Monaco

Netherlands

Norway

Poland

Portugal

Romania

Russia

Slovakia

Spain

Sweden

Switzerland

United Kingdom

Pre-Georgia

Not lucky…but perseverant.

This was a fairly simple trip to plan and execute up to the point of arriving into Georgia.  I hunted around on Kayak for a good airfare.  I tried to buy a ticket on United Airlines.  However, they couldn’t “confirm” the fare because I would be using one of their partner airlines.  While I waited to hear back from them I found an airfare more than $200 cheaper than what United was offering.  Was I lucky?  No, I was simply rewarded for my perseverance.

 

Wednesday – Day 1 – (San Clemente to Los Angeles to Amsterdam, Netherlands)

With a kiss and a hug I was soon backing out of the driveway.

Carol was giving me a kiss just before I backed out of the driveway at 9 a.m. this morning.  After a brief stop at the Lexus dealer to have my new iPhone “paired” with the Carol Lewis and mFunds sponsored Lexus RX 350 I was headed toward LAX.

 

 

Thank goodness for my trackchasing sponsors.

It didn’t take long to get up to my Los Angeles World Airport parking garage.  LA World has been a huge sponsor of my airline parking for several years now.  This year I will travel overnight and away from home for more than 180 nights.  Parking at the Los Angeles International Airport is expensive.  An average rate might be $15 per day.  Do the math at $15 per day and more than 180 days of airport parking.  Thank you LA World!

 

Comfort and convenience.

When I’m traveling on an international trip I frequently can’t use my TSA Pre-Check airline program.  That means I have to stand in line like all of the “regular” people who haven’t planned ahead.  Today the wait to get through security took 20-25 minutes.  I’m glad I don’t have to do things like “regular” people much of the time!

 

 

I obviously travel a lot.  Having “Pre-Check” is the best money I ever spent ($100 for a 5 year membership).  Pre-Check is like many of the travel conveniences I employ.  By themselves they might not seem like much but when added together with all of the other system conveniences they make what I do much more comfortable and enjoyable.

 

 

When I return to the U.S. from this trip I will use the “flip side” of my Pre-Check program.  That’s called “Global Entry”.  While others may be waiting in line for a very long time I will clear U.S. customs in less than 60 seconds.

 

KLM Airlines.

On this trip I’m flying on KLM Airlines.  They are sort of the United or American Airlines of Europe.  I rarely and almost never fly KLM.  Nevertheless, I will be earning Delta Airlines miles with my KLM flights.  Some day I will redeem those miles for another trip.

 

 

KLM did allow me to check in on line the day before this trip began.  That process came with a significant convenience.  I could change the seat they had already assigned me on the 10-hour flight to Amsterdam.  They had given me an aisle seat in coach.  Normally, that wouldn’t be a bad seat.  It would certainly be better than a middle seat in coach but the legroom would not be good.

 

 

However, I took the opportunity to change my seat to an exit row middle seat.  The positive outcome from this decision was to have all the legroom I could possibly use.  The wall ahead of me was a good six feet away.  The downside was that my carryon bag would have to be stowed “above”.  That’s not so convenient when I want to use the contents of my bag (computer, reading materials, snacks, etc.).  Overall, the extra legroom won out.  I was surprised how narrow the seats were.  My hip bones (not counting my body fat!) pretty much went “wall to wall” in this seat.  What I will do to get legroom!  Additionally, I was able to check one bag all the way through to my final destination at no charge.

 

It was Christmas when it wasn’t Christmas.

Finally, Carol surprised me with a special gift all brightly wrapped.  She wanted me to consider this as a “Christmas” gift.  However, it wasn’t Christmas and I told her I couldn’t in good conscience do that.  I was willing to accept her gift today but would be anticipating extra gifts at Christmas time.  Folks, you have to draw the line somewhere.

 

 

A trip or two ago, my Bose noise-cancelling headphones malfunctioned.  I couldn’t figure out how to fix them myself.  That’s not unusual.  That meant I went “headphoneless” to India and back.  Bose headphones are the very best.  They block out noise on airplanes better than anything I have seen or heard.  What was Carol’s present?  A new set of Bose headphones!  You’ve got to love that little trackchaser.

 

 

The Bose gift would go perfectly with my brand new Apple iPhone GOLD 5s phone.  That was delivered to my house between our return from India and this trip to Georgia.  At J.J.’s insistence, I downloaded a couple of movies on my phone.  You might not think watching a movie on a cellphone would be a good experience.  It is.  A four-inch screen isn’t so small when it’s only 12-18” from your face.  On my trip to Europe I enjoyed the movie, “The Impossible”.  It was about the tragic title wave that hit Thailand a few years ago.  That event ruined some people’s vacations.

 

Why mention all of this when I’m just going to a another racetrack?

I mention much of the above for one main reason.  With proper planning and thought a trip or a life experience can be “enhanced”.  Isn’t it better to walk around when a rock ISN’T in your shoe?  I’m all about making things as comfortable and enjoyable as humanly possible.  There will be enough “rocks in your shoe” during life regardless of how much you plan.  You might as well control what you can when you can.  Make sense?

 

 

 

Thursday – Day 2 – (Amsterdam, Netherlands to Kiev, Ukraine)

 

This trip was all about getting from point A to point B to point C..

 

NETHERLANDS

My first stop on this grand international journey would be in Amsterdam, Netherlands.  I’m a big fan of Amsterdam.  Many years ago, Carol and I visited the city.  I was intent on showing her their famous “Red light” district.  We walked for what seemed like hours in the dark before we found it!  I remember also touring the Heineken beer manufacturing plant on that trip.

 

 

There would be no touring of Amsterdam on this visit.  I was only connecting in their huge airport, Schiphol.  This place is big and modern.  It reminds me of a very large shopping center.  I spent some time in a special resting section of the airport.  Here they had a series of some thirty or more recliner like chairs.  They weren’t all that comfortable but after flying for ten hours they seemed to be the best alternative for relaxing.

 

How much is that?

Prices in this part of Europe are very expensive.  Food and drink looked to be about twice the cost of what I would find in the U.S.  Clothing and just about everything else I looked at was expensive too.

 

How many times must I remove my belt?

The folks who run the Amsterdam airport seem to take airport security rather seriously.  I had flown into Amsterdam, after having cleared airport security in Los Angeles.  That wasn’t good enough for these people.  When it came time to board my Ukraine International Airlines flight to Kiev, Ukraine we had to go through a full blown security check at the gate to the plane.

 

 

Ukraine international Airlines.

This was my first ever flight on UIA, an airline that began when Ukraine declared their independence from Russia some 21 years ago.  During the airlines’ tenure they have flown about 20 million passengers.

 

 

It took forever to board the flight.  I guess that’s what “at the gate” security gets you.  All printed material on the plane was first in the Cyrillic alphabet used by Ukraine and other countries in this part of the world.  There was also an English translation for those not familiar with the Ukrainian language.  We were served a pre-packaged “Sandwich with beef ham and cucumber pickled”.  It was heavy on bread and light on ham with two pickles.  Beer was an extra charge of either two or four euros.  I stuck with orange juice from my exit row seat with plenty of legroom.

 

 

I would be landing in Ukraine (not “the” Ukraine as I often say) for the very first time on my way to Tbilisi, Georgia.  I was looking forward to that brief stop.  On the way back I’ll fly directly to Amsterdam from Georgia on my way to Los Angeles.

 

 

UKRAINE

I find it utterly amazing that what seems like a straightforward trip doesn’t come on as planned more than 95% of time.  How can that be?

 

 

After I landed in Amsterdam I noticed a KLM flight leaving for Kiev, Ukraine in just 90 minutes.  If I could get on that plane I would be able to spend my layover in Ukraine and not the Netherlands.  That seemed preferable considering I had never been to Ukraine.  However, because my bag was checked for the NEXT flight to Kiev I would have to wait four hours in Amsterdam rather than Kiev.

 

A shiny new airport.

When I landed in Kiev, Ukraine a brand new, not very busy airport terminal greeted me.  Terminal D was constructed in a perfectly straight line.  It featured shiny marble floors, grey and silver colors and constant P.A. announcements regarding upcoming flights.  I like airports like Incheon in South Korea.  It’s huge, modern and they don’t make announcements!

 

 

For as far I as could see inside the terminal there were only two duty free stores and a spartan like café with a very limited menu.  It was in sharp contrast to the Amsterdam terminals that looked like they had attempted to recreate the Mall of America (Minneapolis).

 

 

There was very little English being spoken in the airport.  That’s not all that difficult to understand considering this is Ukraine!  Nevertheless, as an English only speaker, I didn’t have much information to work with.

 

Go for it!

There was no real announcement that the plane was boarding.  However, when one or two people begins to move into the line, any line, everyone else quickly follows.  Europeans have never been very respectful of queues (lines) and they weren’t in Ukraine either.  I managed to push and shove my way to about tenth place in a line of more than seventy people.  I had cleared the boarding pass check and now waited patiently for everyone to set foot on the plane.  First, they took a wheelchair patient down the jet way to get him settled.  I’m used to that form of protocol.  However, in about ten minutes the wheelchair passenger was coming back UP the jet way.  Although there was no English spoken I could tell this plane was going into a delay.  We all trudged back up the ramp and returned to the terminal.

 

Delayed.

To make a long story minorly shorter the plane ended up being delayed by more than an hour.  This would change my planned arrival into Georgia from 12:05 a.m. (0005) to somewhere around 1:30 am. (0130).  That was troublesome on several levels.  By the time I got my checked bag, cleared Georgian customs and got to my hotel it would likely be pushing 3 a.m. (0300).

 

 

To top it off the racetrack was sending a driver for me.  I doubted the driver would speak much English.  What if he didn’t get the word that my flight was delayed and left the airport?  Yes, this situation was ripe for being troublesome.  I sent an email to Khatuna my contact in Georgia.  Maybe she could give a heads up to the driver.  All I could do was show up, get my bag, get admitted to the country and see if I could find my driver.

 

 

For the first time on this trip my fellow passengers and I had to ride a bus from the airplane terminal to the airplane.  That bus ride took well over ten minutes.  Europe is pretty much the only location where buses are used to transport people all over the airfield.  I don’t like it because they don’t move the bus until it’s over capacity by 50%.  This also negates the advantages I use to position myself toward the front of the line.

 

Utah or Ukraine it really doesn’t matter.

While I waited I used my iPhone for information and entertainment.  I handled a rain gutter problem with Carol via text.  Earlier in the day I had used my “tethering” capability where my iPhone acts as my computer’s modem to “electronically sign” documents for a home equity loan.  When I’m travelling in Utah or Ukraine I can keep up with business just as is I was in my office in San Clemente.  I love technology when it makes my life easier and more fulfilled which is exactly what “T” is supposed to do.

 

 

 

 

Friday – Day 3 – (Kiev, Ukraine to Tbilisi, Georgia)

GEORGIA

I had arrived.

My trip was moving right along!  I left San Clemente early on Wednesday morning.  Now it was early on FRIDAY morning and I was just pulling into the country of Georgia.  Folks, these places are not “just around the corner” from each other in many many ways.

 

 

How early was it when I arrived into Georgia?  After taking just 2-3 minutes to clear Georgian customs (no visa required!) I glanced at my iPhone watch.  It was 2:06 a.m.!  I still needed to claim my checked bag and, hopefully find my driver.  He was expecting me to land at 12:05 a.m.  Would he still be there?

 

 

It wasn’t long before I saw my checked bag coming along on the conveyor belt.  Carol has tied a red ribbon around one of the handles so I can always see when my bag has arrived.  Just as a safeguard I had packed two days worth of clothing in my computer bag.  You just never know.

 

 

The folks I’ve been in contact with from the Rustavi International Motorpark not only had volunteered to find and pay for my hotel they also insisted they provide a private driver for me.  Since I was arriving so late I had volunteered and even requested to get my own taxi.  They wouldn’t hear of it.  They would have a driver pick me up.

 

Let’s stop and think for a  moment.

Now folks let’s just stop and think for a moment.  When was the last time you met someone “on-line”, that wasn’t recommended by anyone you knew and trusted, and made a decision to fly more than 15,000 miles round-trip to visit them?  Those friends you met on line would then arrange for your hotel and send a driver for you in the middle of the night.  When was the last time your vacation called for this arrangement?  People in today’s world just don’t do THAT.  I do.  Think this was the first time?  Then you haven’t read my Bulgaria report have you?

 

 

Just outside of the airport’s baggage claim were a series of mostly men waiting to pick up the late-arriving travelers.  One man seemed special to me.  He was holding a black and white pre-printed sign that read:

 

Rustavi International Motorpark

 

Randy Lewis

 

Folks, there’s a certain comfort in being recognized and rewarded as I travel the world.  Georgia was more than a long-way from home.  However, I was being welcomed as if I had known these people for a long time.

 

 

Let’s meet Michael.

Soon I met “Michael”.  Michael was using the name “Michael” for guys like me who couldn’t understand or pronounce his real name.  He was a big guy.  Bigger than me.  He had a firm handshake.  Everyone should have a firm handshake.

 

 

After our introduction I told Michael we had to stop at the airport currency exchange.  Although Michael didn’t speak that much English he understood.  In just a minute or two I had exchanged $80 U.S. for 133 (and a couple of coins) Georgian lari.  That’s an exchange rate of one U.S. dollar for 1.66 lari.

 

 

With that requirement taken care of Michael grabbed one of my bags and I the other.  We strode out into the middle of the night.  With the more humdrum part (it’s not always humdrum and if I had been stranded in Ukraine late at night without a hotel because of flight problems it would NOT have been humdrum) it was time to enjoy my four days in Georgia.

 

 

Michael was driving a huge white Toyota Land Rover.  It looked as if the KGB might be providing a car like this one.  However, I think I’m getting my political affiliations mixed up….but not by much.

 

 

Michael powered up the Land Rover and off we went on the mostly deserted, smooth and wide roads from the airport to downtown Tbilisi.  What got my attention more than anything was how fast Michael drove.  It didn’t seem like we needed to be going 130 K.P.H. but we were.

 

 

Michael was my first contact in Georgia.

It was time for me to get to know Michael.  The only question that could be number one, at the speed’s we were going, was “Are you one of the race drivers?”.  No, he was not.  My eyeballs got a little bit bigger.

 

 

Although we could not have a normal conversation because Michael did not speak a lot of English and I didn’t speak any Georgian we still were able to communicate.  From being a job interviewer in my corporate life I am trained to judge people quickly based upon their various demeanors.  This is a great skill to have in my personal life as well.

 

 

I could tell Michael was a good guy.  I like to ask specific and sometimes pointed questions of people I meet.  Carol always thinks I’m going too far but is more than willing to listen to the answers my questions provoke.

 

 

I said to Michael, “Georgia is not friends with Russia are they?”  A smile came over his face.  Shaking his head, “No,” was the reply.  “Georgia not friends with Russia” he said.  Then he thought about his comment and revised it by saying, “Georgia people like Russian people but it’s President Saakashvili (Georgia president) and President Putin (Russian president) who are CRAZY!”  Folks, that’s pretty much how it is everywhere.  People like other people it’s just that people don’t always like other people’s governments.

 

The changing of hotels.

Based upon previous communications I thought I would be staying at a hotel in Rustavi, a town about 15 miles from Georgia’s capital city of Tbilisi.  Rustavi is also home to the racetrack I will be visiting.  However, the plan had changed.  I had mentioned to my track contacts that I would want to tour Tbilisi and more of Georgia on both Friday and Saturday.  Then I would reserve Sunday for the racing.  I think, with that plan in mind, they decided to house me in Tbilisi instead.  I don’t know that for sure I am only guessing.

 

 

Michael told me how much taxi rates would be to get around the city.  He told me a little about Tbilisi and how to get to the beautiful “old town” section of Tbilisi from the hotel.  Soon, at nearly 3 a.m., we were pulling up in front of my funky little boutique hotel.  I love staying in boutique hotels but they can be hard to find and often times expensive.

 

 

The hotel sign read, Hotel Irmeni.  O.K. I’m bullshitting you on this one.  I didn’t know WHAT the hotel’s name was because all of the writing was in the Cyrillic alphabet.  However, later in the trip, I grabbed a business card so in case I needed to tell a taxi driver where I was staying I could simply give him the hotel’s business card.

 

Everywhere I went Georgia people were friendly.

The hotel clerk was most friendly, and importantly, spoke English well.  Since Michael didn’t speak much English, and I was arriving at a hotel that I wasn’t expecting to arrive at, I wanted to make sure we were at the right place.  This necessitated a nearly 3 a.m. phone call to Khatuna the most English speaking person I had met from the Rustavi International Motorpark.  Khatuna confirmed with Michael I was at the right place.  Khatuna….I’m sorry we called you at 3 a.m.!  Please accept my apologies.

 

 

With that my driver bid me farewell.  I tried to tip him for his efforts but he would have none of it.  I was a guest in Georgia.  The hotel clerk then told me about some of the hotel’s amenities.  Wi-Fi was included and free.  I would be checking into room 102.  Breakfast was included too.  It was nearly 3 a.m.  Was breakfast going to run from 6-9 a.m. as it does in lots of places?  I always think that early.  I don’t eat breakfast at 6 a.m. at home.  At this hotel breakfast would be much later.  Thank goodness!  Breakfast would be served on the third floor of the hotel from 8 a.m., which is a little bit later than normal until 12 NOON, which is a lot later than normal.

 

 

No, not just around the corner.

I left the house at 9 a.m. on Wednesday morning.  It will be easy to tell what time it is back home.  With Georgia being 12 hours ahead of San Clemente I will simply have to change a.m. to p.m. or vice versa.  It had taken 30 hours almost on the dot to get from my driveway to the Hotel Irmeni’s front desk.  However, I had made it!  Now it was time to get some sleep and then on with visiting Georgia, the country.

 

 

My hotel room had tall ceilings of about 12-feet.  Crown moldings and a chandelier hanging over my bed told me I was not staying in some chain motel.  The bathroom had an eight light wooden French door leading to the entry.  The room was on the first floor and had a room key weighing about a pound.  When I left the hotel I gave the key to the reception clerk for safekeeping.  That’s how it is commonly done in Europe.

 

 

I managed to get out of bed by about 10 a.m.  Using my iPhone TruPhone app I placed a call to Khatuna, my English speaking Rustavi contact.  She was a pleasant and friendly sounding woman.  She was thrilled I had arrived safely in Georgia and so was I.  We discussed some of the trip’s details.  Racing would begin on Sunday at 1 p.m.  Someone would pick me up at 10:30 a.m.  That meant I had all day Friday and Saturday to see as much of Tbilisi and the surrounding areas as I could.

 

 

My first official Georgian event.

My first official “event” would be breakfast!  By the time I arrived only one other customer was still eating.  What would they serve?  I was surprised to see one of the hot entrees was spaghetti!  I love spaghetti especially plain spaghetti noodles.  I added some cold cuts, pineapple juice, some delicious and fresh breads and a chocolate cream puff to my morning delights.  It don’t get much better than this.

 

 

Temperatures would be in the low 60s.  That was perfect for my lightweight army fatigue jacket acquired with Carol in Germany on the way to last spring’s trackchasing trip to Lithuania.  I had great walking shoes and set out on foot to see what I could see.  I was hoping to hire a guide tomorrow to see the sights.

 

This is the fun part.

It was interesting to see everyone in a formerly Russia controlled state going about their daily lives.  When I make these adventures I almost never see any other American tourists.  I didn’t today either.  This used to surprise me.  Americans don’t come to places like this or many of the other locations I visit.  If they do they are on a guided tour.  Although Carol and I have done group tours (Russia and China) and enjoyed them very much I prefer private and self-directed touring.  In my mind you see so much more and on your own timing.

 

There would be lots to discover.

After wandering around for a few minutes I discovered the city’s cable car system.  This new aerial tramway had re-opened in June, 2012.  Much of the surrounding area was still being developed.  A one-way trip cost 1 GEL and I needed a plastic card, which could be used to load funds for the metro, for 2 GEL.  Total price for the round-trip was 4 GEL or about $2.40 U.S.

 

 

The journey would take me across the Mtkvari river, over the recently renovated rooftops and buildings of the Old Town, and up to Narikala in just under 2 minutes.  From here I had a great view of old town, the city and the famous Bridge of Peace.  This was a great way to get a good first view of all the places I might like to visit.  Don’t miss the photos of this unique pedestrian bridge.

 

 

Until I returned from my ride I was not aware of a tragic accident in 1990 with the Tbilisi aerial tramway.  In that accident a cable broke killing more than 20 people and injuring fifteen more.

 

 

From my cable car ride I returned to Rike Park, which is also home to the “Bridge of Peace”.  This has to be one of the most beautiful pedestrian bridges I have ever seen.  The bridge is 150 meters long.  It connects the “old” Tbilisi with the “new”.  The bridge is nearly brand new having opened in 2010.

 

 

From Wikipedia, “The bridge a design of which reminds of a marine animal has a curvy steel and glass canopy top, which shimmers with an interactive light display at night, generated by thousands of white LEDs. The roof is fitted with 1,208 custom LED fixtures.  The glass panels, which run along the whole length of the walkway, are embedded with linear low-power LED arrays.

 

The lighting, which is live from 90 minutes before sunset until 90 minutes after sunrise, features four different lighting programs that run on the canopy every hour. At times, the bridge lights up in waves from one side of the river to the other. At other times, the pattern begins with a band of light at either end, continuing from either direction until the light meets in the middle, and fading to black before starting over. The third program starts by lighting the outer fixtures on the roofline, then briefly illuminates the entire canopy before going entirely dark. The fourth program makes the roof twinkle like stars as different groups of fixtures light and dim across the entire bridge length.

 

Within the bridge walkway, the low-power linear LED arrays embedded in the glass railings are triggered by 240 motion sensors as the pedestrians pass, giving an impression that the bridge lights come on for each person setting foot on the bridge. Additionally, a message in Morse code that renders the periodic table of elements goes across two parapets every hour.

 

The bridge is nicknamed the “Always Ultra” bridge for its resemblance to a ladies’ maxi-pad!”

 

Off in the distance I could see a structure that reminded me of the Sydney (Australia) opera house. I love seeing cultural entertainment events in foreign countries.  I was up for an opera or whatever might be playing in a building like this.

 

Not a concert hall!

When I finally reached this building with towering steel mushrooms as it’s roofline I found out this was not a concert venue of any kind.  It was the Tbilisi Public Service Hall.  When I entered the building I had no earthly idea what was going on.  The place was modern and a beehive of activity.  I walked over to one of the information desks and asked, “This might be a silly question but what are all of these people doing here”.  The clerk was most pleasant and told me that this was where people came to set up businesses, get their various licenses and the like.  It was something to see.  I was able to take one picture inside although I feared picture taking might not be allowed.

 

 

Walking the neighborhoods.

From here I walked the neighborhoods and watched the people.  This is one of my most fun things to do when I am in foreign cities.  Everyone wears dark clothing in Europe and has for years.  My army green jacket, which isn’t that colorful in the overall scheme of things, stood out as if I were wearing neon green in this culture.  That’s O.K. with me.  I’m a tourist!

 

 

 

I had read about Georgia’s culinary delights.  The leading candidate was a dish called “khinkali”.  Khinkali is a Georgia dumpling not that far from the Chinese family of dim sum and pot stickers.  I enjoy these nearly every time I eat in a Chinese restaurant, which is at least twice a month.

 

 

Again Wikipedia does a better job of describing Khinkali than I can:

 

“Khinkali  is a Georgian dumpling.  Khinkali is filled with various fillings, mostly with spiced meat (usually beef and pork in Georgia, beef in Azerbaijan and other Muslim-majority areas, and sometimes lamb), herbs (usually coriander), and onions. Mushrooms, potatoes, or cheese may be used in place of meat.

Khinkali is eaten plain, or with coarse black pepper. The meat filling is uncooked when the Khinkali is assembled, so when cooked the juices of the meat are trapped inside the dumpling. The khinkali is typically consumed first by sucking the juices while taking the first bite, in order to prevent the dumpling from bursting. The top, where the pleats meet, is tough, and is not supposed to be eaten, but discarded to the plate so that those eating can count how many they have consumed. In Georgia, this top is called the “kudi”  or “kuchi”, (Georgian: belly button).”

 

 

Where’s the khinkali?

I was soon off to find a restaurant that served khinkali.  With nearly every commercial sign being in the Cyrillic alphabet that was easier said than done.  The first place I selected was a hair salon!  Next up was a street eatery that didn’t serve khinkali.  I was not going to give up and soon found a local place with a sign (in English) outside stating they served what I was looking for.

 

 

It was nearly 3 p.m. when I entered the restaurant.  On the lower level, which featured 5-6 tables I was the only patron.  My server quickly came up with a menu in both Georgian and English.  That was most helpful.

 

 

I ordered three khinkali filled with “meat and herbs”.  I tried to confirm with my waitress that the meat was either beef or pork.  I was trying to avoid lamb.  She didn’t understand.  There is not very much English spoken or understood in Georgia.  Finally, at the risk of destroying my personal credibility I made a series of “moo” sounds.  “Moo” my server said and smiled.  Then she shook her head in the affirmative that my khinkali would be filled with beef.

 

 

My order of three khinkali was rejected.  The minimum order was five.  O.K. five it was.  I also had to try a serving of cornbread that was cheese-filled.  I was all set after ordering a Georgian draft beer.

 

 

I really enjoyed the khinkali.  When I get back home I will scout out a place in Los Angeles that serves it.  While I’m here in Georgia I’ll try some more khinkali for comparison purposes.

 

 

Time to see what I could see.

Following lunch I had a mile and a half walk back to the hotel.   I was in no rush.  I would see what I could see.  There were a good number of street vendors selling fruits, veggies and flowers.  Just seeing the architecture in and around old town was fun.  There were a few of the old Soviet style residential buildings that existed back in the communist days.  I would love to see what those looked like inside.

 

 

Take a look at the photos to see everything I saw on my walk back to the hotel.  One of the advantages of doing a trip like this solo is that you can eat, sleep or whatever on your own timing.  There’s no one else’s needs to be considered.  By very early evening I was getting tired from the jet lag….so I went to bed.  Tomorrow, Saturday, would be a big day of touring.

 

 

 

 

Saturday – Day 4 – Tbilisi, Georgia

In search of the differences not the similarities.

My day began with breakfast at the hotel.  The selections were a bit different than yesterday.  That’s always a good thing.  I went with sausages (close to being hot dogs), potatoes, fried eggs and the very fresh Georgian bread I’ve seen in all the bakeries.

 

 

After breakfast I stopped at the front desk.  I was in need of some touring advice.  A guide with a car for the day would be $100 U.S.  I figured I could create my own touring itinerary and execute it with taxis.  Taxis are inexpensive in Tbilisi.

 

 

Touring is really important to me in trackchasing.  When I come to a foreign country I was to see things that I can’t see at home.  I may go to a sporting event just like I would back in the U.S.  However, I can guarantee you it really won’t be exactly how it’s done back home.  I’ll be on the lookout for the similarities but more importantly the differences.

 

 

I’ve got to be honest.  Very few of my fellow competitors trackchase outside of the U.S.  For those few who do they report doing very little beyond coming to the country and visiting the racetrack.  Some would say cost prevents them from doing much more.  I say that if you can afford to get yourself here then you can afford another day or two or more to see the country.

 

What type of formal entertainment could I find?

I was looking for some form of theatrical entertainment.  A concert or an opera or a circus!  Anything indoors would be a nice activity to enjoy.  However, the young male (husky) desk clerk didn’t see any of those choices in the local newspaper he was referencing.  He did see a rugby match though.  Rugby it would be.

 

Rugby!

This was going to be a rugby match between Georgia and Canada.  It was to begin at 1630 (4:3o p.m.).  He didn’t have any idea if this was a big match or not but it was being held in a stadium.  I had visited England once for a rugby match and it wasn’t much more than a group of guys, admittedly crazy guys, getting together on a Sunday afternoon for a bit of sport.  It was very low key.  I didn’t fully know what to expect but I would be there at 1630.

 

 

Just before I departed the hotel had a curve ball to throw my way.  I was told the heat wasn’t working well in my building.  That was true although it was bearable.  I would need to change rooms.  That required a few minutes of packing.  I was being relocated to the building next door.  This building was equally as quaint as the main building although my room was a bit smaller.  The change, although a little time consuming, would be just fine.  Off I went in search of the sights.

 

First stop.

My first stop was within walking distance.  I was headed to the Holy Trinity Catholic church of Tbilisi.  This church is the third tallest Eastern Orthodox Cathedral in the world.  That’s a lot of qualifiers but it was one large and tall church.  I was amazed to find out it was constructed between 1995 and 2004.  The construction site was once a large cemetery.  It was estimated the cemetery was home to 90,000 graves.  Since no re-burials were organized, and after bones and gravestones appeared scattered all over the construction site protests temporarily halted the construction of the cathedral. However, building work soon resumed.   Don’t miss the pictures on this one.  I was able to get several good photos from the outside and a little video of mass on the inside.

 

I was trying to get lost.

From there it was onto the metro (subway).  I’ve ridden the metro in places all over the world.  It would be somewhat more challenging today because most of the directional signs were using the Cyrillic alphabet.  My research told me there were just two “lines” in the Tbilisi metro.  They intersected each other.

 

 

After I purchased my metro ticket my plan was simple.  I would try to get lost.  Why would I want to get lost?  I’ve found that I see so many more things when I’m lost.

 

Just watch the people.

The trick to figuring out how to do things in a foreign country is simple.  Just watch other people.  They’re almost all local people and they do whatever it is they are doing every day.  They’re at home.  They are familiar with their surroundings.  If I can mimic most of there activities then I won’t have much trouble.

 

 

I knew that I could use my “plastic card” acquired at yesterday’s aerial tramway visit to “load” with credits.  I could see people using their cards to enter the metro system.  I had two choices to add credits to my card.  First, there was a kiosk that had a short line where people added metro credits to their card without additional human intervention.  With the Cyrillic alphabet being used that seemed a bit too complicated for me.  I wimped out and went to a ticket window.  There a woman sold me four rides for 4 GEL.  That’s about 60 cents U.S. per one-way ride.  Not bad.

 

 

My boarding location, Avlabari, was located on the red line (the other line is the green line and a blue line is under construction).  My stop was toward one end of the red line.  I could ride the metro 11 stops to the opposite end of the line.  That’s what I would do.  I had read where the metro runs above ground some of the time.  This would be a nice way to see other parts of Tbilisi.  However, on the red line at least, the metro runs above ground very little and there’s nothing of interest to see.

 

 

It was Saturday.  I figured the train would be empty.  Wrong!  It was standing room only.  I did see something I had rarely seen in all of my previous metro rides.  At nearly every stop someone would get on the train and speak to the crowd in Georgian.  Essentially they were asking for donations for one cause or the other.  For the most part, but not in all cases, the locals ignored these requests.  When we reached a stop the solicitor would get off the car I was in and hurriedly join the car in front of us.  I watched this tag team effort in amazement.

 

Time to get off the train.

The last stop on the line was “Akhmetelis Theatre”.  I was thinking that might be a good place to get off.  I had seen what I could see by riding the train 11 stops (which above ground wasn’t much).  Now maybe I could visit a theatre of sorts that might have something interesting going on.  That was my theory anyway.

 

 

However, when I got off the train I discovered I was in an old part of the newer part of Tbilisi.  This area had no link to the beautiful old town section.  It was similar to what you might find in the generally rundown area of a major U.S. city.  There wasn’t much to see so I didn’t stay long.  Folks, I’m sure you’ve discovered long ago that there are photos that go with all of this documentation.

 

 

So where would a public toilet be found?

By this time of the day I was looking for a restroom.  The term “restroom” seems so gentile compared to the word “toilet” used in much of the world.  In Canada these locations are called “washrooms”.  Since there were no signs leading the way I asked a policemen.  By the way, I never felt in danger anywhere I went in Tbilisi.  However, the police presence, both armed and not, was everywhere.

 

 

The policeman led me do a “rustic” unmarked area.  This was the toilet area.  It was old, dark and dank.  No, I mean OLD, DARK AND DANK.  The first door to a toilet that I tried to open led me to a woman who had forgotten to lock the door.  I have no idea (maybe I do) what she had to say in Georgian.  It didn’t sound good.  The next door I tried yielded a generally clean “squat pot”.  If you don’t know what that is Google it.  We first stumbled on to these forms of toilets many years ago in China.  I would have thought that by now they would be on the way out.  However, I see them in my travels from time to time.  They’re not much for the “consumer” but I’m sure they’re easy to maintain.

 

This stop sounded interesting.

My next metro stop would be “Liberty Square”.  I chose this stop for two reasons.  First, it was just one stop from the place I got on.  I figured I could walk home if I had too from there.  Secondly I chose the Liberty Square point because I  figured it might have some history around Georgia’s many attempts at independence from Russia.

 

 

I was in luck.  This stop yielded a much different area of Tbilisi for me to see.  This area reminded me of a slice of Manhattan or Paris.  The buildings were huge and majestic with lots of stone and marble fronts.  There were museums, government buildings and residences.

 

 

My theory of getting lost was working well.  Yesterday, I had spent much of my time in old town.  Then earlier today I was in more of a rundown urban situation and now an upscale historical area.  You can see so much when you’re lost if you’re willing to take the chance.

 

Museum of Soviet occupation.

Leaving the subway I saw a sign in English that pointed me in the direction of the “Museum of Soviet Occupation”.  That sounded interesting.  However, I never did find it.  Asking for directions on the street is very difficult.  People don’t speak much English.  However, I saw lots of other things that made the stop worthwhile.

 

 

One monument read that this was the place where several peaceful demonstrators had been “gunned down” by Soviet regime on March 9, 1956.  Estimates of casualties ranged from tens to several hundreds.

 

Khinkali again?

By now it was getting to be lunchtime.  I was in search of “khinkali” the famous Georgian specialty.  I had khinkali yesterday for the first time.  I wanted to eat it at another location for “comparison purposes”.  Folks, eating in these foreign places is as enjoyable as anything I might see or do.

 

 

What did I discover?  The khinkali eaten today was nearly identical to what I had been served yesterday.  However, today I ventured into khinkali stuffed with only mushrooms (not so good) and those stuffed with potatoes (very good).  I also had the beef and herbs variety.  All was doused with black pepper as had been recommended during my research.  However, like yesterday, I did eat the stems, which is not recommended.  In point of fact the stems are really just pasta too.  There never seem to be any reason to leave good pasta behind.

 

 

What in the world were they doing?

About this time, as I walked around, I noticed a large group of men standing together.  From a distance it looked as if a man was strapped to a cross ala Jesus.  As I got closer I saw something that was very strange.  The man wasn’t on a cross but was doing a “dead man’s” hang from a chin-up bar.  Never before in the nearly 80 countries I have visited had I seen such a thing.

 

 

I got a little closer and studied the situation.  Of course, there was no English language or signs to guide me.  However, from what I can tell, young men were wagering with a “bookie” on how long they could hang onto the chin-up bar.  One man held a stopwatch.  Another man held the money.  I don’t know how long they had to hang from the bar to win the bet.  Don’t miss the pictures.

 

You can’t never get enough culture.

My research told me there are about 20 live performance theatres in Tbilisi.  I was lucky enough to stumble across the Rustaveli State Dramatic Theatre on Rustaveli Avenue.  Despite all signage being in Georgian language I could read the numbers.  The numbers looked like dates to me.  There seemed to be something playing almost every day of the month.

 

 

Today was the 9^th of the month.  It looked like there would be an event, however I didn’t know what.  It seemed like the program would begin tonight at 1900 (7 p.m.).  I ventured into where it looked like they were selling tickets.  With the language barrier this was going to be difficult.  There were about five women ahead of me in line waiting to buy their tickets.  I asked if anyone spoke English.  The young woman (maybe 25) just ahead of me did.  She was Georgian but worked at the U.S. Embassy in Georgia.  This was a stroke of luck….or was it because I took the initiative to ask.  Initiative brings good luck!

 

 

She answered all of my questions.  Yes, there was a play at 7 p.m. tonight.  No, they didn’t take credit cards and the play would be done in Georgian.  After I returned home for the evening I would learn the play that I paid 12 GEL (about $8 U.S.) was titled “The Solider, Love, Bodyguard and the President”.  I would also later learn my ticket was at the top of the 6-12 GEL price range.  That’s because I told my newfound helper, at these prices, I wanted the best seat in the house.  She consummated my transaction and I ended up with a center seat in the first balcony.  More on the play later…but now it’s time for rugby!

 

 

Just plain fun.

Tonight’s play would begin at 7 p.m.  The rugby match was to start at 4:30 p.m.  I would have time for both.  My hotel desk clerk had written down the stadium’s name in both English and Georgian.  I hailed a taxi for the first time.

 

 

Taxis in Georgia, of the three I rode in, look like civilian cars but do have a “Taxi” light on the roof.  If the light is turned on the driver is seeking a fare.  If it’s not then they already have a paying passenger and won’t stop.  Taxis are plentiful.  I never waited more than a minute or two to get one.  They don’t used meters.  You negotiate the fare before you get in the taxi.  Since the drivers are older Georgian men and don’t speak much English the negotiation takes place with the fingers.  Each of my fares of a similar distance was 5 GEL (about $3 U.S.).  Only once did I talk the driver down from 6 GEL to five.  The others started with a 5 GEL offer and because I only had 5 GEL bills I simply went with the offered price.  Anywhere else taxis rides of this duration would have been 3-4 times this price or more.  Off we went to the rugby stadium.

 

I didn’t know what to expect.

I had zero idea of what to expect from what I was about to see.  When I did find out what was happening it was much more than I might have dreamed about.  There was a good deal of traffic getting into the stadium, which I still hadn’t seen yet.  That was a good sign.  It meant this was going to be a big event.

 

 

Soon I could see the stadium.  It was huge.  I would come to find out this was the “Dinamo Arena”.  The arena seated 54,549 and was built in 1976.  Of all the major league baseball stadia in the U.S. only one, Dodger Stadium – 55,000, has a greater seating capacity!  Dinamo Arena is the largest stadium in Georgia.

 

 

When the stadium was first built it had a seating capacity of 74,354.  The record attendance was 110,000 in 1979 when Dinamo Tbilisi defeated Liverpool FC 3-0.  That must have been wild.  The stadium was refurbished in 2006 to become all “all-seater” stadium with the reduced capacity of 54,549.

 

How would I get a ticket?

I consider myself an expert at getting tickets to an event.  If you’ve read many of my past reports you would likely agree.  This afternoon fans were standing outside the stadium just as they do in the U.S.  However, with the language barrier there was not going to be any scalper ticket buying.  I approached the ticket window and held up a single finger.  How much would the ticket be for an international rugby competition featuring 14^th ranked Georgia vs. 16^th ranked Canada?  One Georgian Lari!  That’s about 60 cents U.S.  There was no reserved seating, I could sit anywhere I wanted.

 

 

Souvenirs included Georgia flags (I bought one and subsequently lost it later in the evening) and children’s toys etc.  Refreshments seemed to be limited to nuts sold by independent vendors as well as beer and soda sold inside the stadium.  Some roving vendors sold popcorn and savory snacks.  I can only imagine what foreigners think when they come to a stadium in the U.S. and see all of the food and souvenir offerings.  Some fans were dressed up in the Georgian finery in support of their team.

 

What is rugby like?

I haven’t seen much rugby.  I could make a couple of generalizations though.  It seems as if each player is bigger than the next.  Think of getting together the biggest and roughest group of NFL tight ends to play a sport.  These guys were huge!  Then have them play essentially a football game with no padding whatsoever.  You have to be crazy to play rugby.  You have to be big and crazy.

 

 

I don’t know the rules of rugby.  It seems a lot like American football.  You can’t pass the ball forward.  The strategy seems to be reward lateralling the ball.  If someone is coming up to tackle you then the player can punt the ball forward.  At that point everyone runs to where the ball will be caught to kill that guy.  If the ball hits the ground during a lateral that’s a “no-no”.  From these simple observations it is “game on”.

 

 

A half is 40 minutes.  During the first half Canada led Georgia 12-9.  All points were scored on “field goals” that were worth three points each.  I left at halftime.  It was getting cold, a strong mist of rain had moved in (although my seat was under a roof) and I had a play to attend at 7 p.m.  Georgia would come back to win the game 19-15.

 

There was more to amaze.

I was amazed at two more things.  The police presence was huge.  Police ringed the stadium in the first row of seats.  There had to be 400-500 police in this area and just about as many police and security people roaming the stadium.  Have they had “issues” in the past?

 

 

Toward the end of the second half a Georgian tackler pretty much tore the head off of a Canadian runner.  This sparked the biggest melee on the field I have ever seen.  Each team has 15 players on the field.  If you can imagine 30 6’7” 260-pounders all trying to kill each other at one time then you have the scene.  This went on for well over two minutes.  It made any hockey fight seem like two kindergarteners pushing and shoving.

 

 

Seeing a rugby match in Georgia met all of my Trackchasing Tourist Attraction criteria and more.  I’m so glad I pursued the idea.  Don’t miss the photos of the stadium experience.

 

From rugby to the state theatre but not before a stop at Wendy’s!

Following the rugby match I easily found a cab over towards the theatre.  With my play beginning at 7 p.m. I had time for a light dinner beforehand.  Earlier in the day I had seen my first American fast food outlet in Georgia.  It was a Wendy’s.  I commonly see McDonalds, Burger King, KFC and Pizza Hut when I travel internationally.  However, outside of the U.S. and Canada I had never ever seen a Wendy’s in a foreign country.  I had to try it.

 

Can we talk?

Let me make one thing more than perfectly clear.  I think anyone who routinely eats at an American fast food location when traveling internationally ought to have stayed home.  The reason people travel is to see and experience different things compared to what is offered back home.  If you come all the way to a place like Georgia, or any foreign country, and then try to do and see all the things you do back home why leave home?

 

 

I recommend eating at American restaurant chains in foreign countries for only one reason.  It is NOT to satisfy your appetite but your curiosity!  Does the restaurant have something on the menu that is unique to the country you are visiting?  Have you ever tried the restaurant while traveling internationally?

 

 

Wendy’s qualified on the latter Randy Lewis Racing requirement.  I had never tried eating in a Wendy’s outside of the U.S……and Canada.  By the way I don’t consider Canada (except Quebec) a foreign country.  Some do.  I don’t.  Canada and the U.S. are so similar.  Heck New York and Wyoming are about ten times more different than most of the U.S. and Canada.

 

 

How was my Wendy’s dining experience?  So-so.  The food wasn’t that great but the service was.  I order a double cheeseburger combo meal, which included fries and a can of Coke Zero.  I didn’t see any country specific items on the menu.  Can you imagine if Wendy’s was serving khinkali?  I think I do recall a Wendy’s in Canada serving poutine.

 

 

I was able to purchase my meal with a credit card.  That’s not always the case in a foreign country.  The bill came to 13.45 GEL or about $8 U.S.  That’s about what it would cost back home.  My server spoke English well and was most friendly.  Somehow my purchase qualified for two tokens to “games” on the second floor.  This looked to be a children’s location.  I gave my tokens to a young girl who was ordering dinner with her family standing next to me in line.  At first the girl refused my gift.  But, when her father gave her the O.K. she eagerly accepted.  Her father, an obvious Georgian gave me a hardy, “Thank you”.

 

 

The Wendy’s restaurant offered free Wi-Fi.  Again it was interesting to see people using the latest laptops and iPads to get their information.  Technology has made our world a whole lot smaller……a whole lot!

 

 

In some ways that’s not so good.  Many years ago chains took over the U.S.  That meant when you drove down the main drag of Birmingham, Alabama you didn’t know if you were in Birmingham or Buffalo or Bellingham.  Will technology do the same type of “homogenizing” with different countries?  I hope not but fear it will.

 

 

From Wendy’s (where I mistakenly left my small Georgian flag purchased at the rugby match) I made the short walk down to the Rustaveli State Dramatic Theatre.  Rustaveli Avenue appears to be the main drag in the upscale newer part of Tbilisi.

 

I have a huge interest in theatre.

I had purchased my theatre ticket this afternoon before the rugby match.  I had no idea what type of theatrical production I would be seeing.  It didn’t matter in the least to me.  I wasn’t here to see a play.  I was here to experience “theatre” in a land more than 8,000 miles from where I live.

 

 

I will tell you I have seen some of the most beautiful theatres in the world.  Our own Pantages Theatre in Los Angeles can rival just about anything.  However, the Rustaveli Theatre was gorgeous.  The theatre is the largest in all of Georgia and was built all the way back in 1879.  The government of Georgia owns it.

 

 

My seat was situated in the first balcony center stage.  It had to be just about the best seat in the house.  In my private “box” were nine chairs three seats across in three rows.  I was seated in the first row overlooking the mezzanine seats.  Please don’t miss the photos of this place.

 

Architecture A+, production not so much.

The theatre was magnificent.  However, the play might have been the worst play I have ever seen.  Granted the dialog was in Georgian and I didn’t understand a word.  Nevertheless, I couldn’t make heads or tails of anything they were doing!

 

 

Only after I left the theatre did I understand there were two different one act plays.  This is the description of the play I saw:

 

“Valiko and Angels” tell us the story of a soldier who married to angel Fiel. Angels visit disabled old soldier, willing to take Fiel back to heavens. Meanwhile chief angel is telling Valiko a joke about bear and hunter. Will the soldier understand what angel means by that?”

 

 

Folks, I had ZERO inkling of what was going on in this thing.  That contrasts with the movie Carol and I saw in India last week.  Although that film was in Hindu we knew exactly what was happening with no understandable (by us anyway) dialog.

 

 

When the curtain went down on what I thought was intermission the crowd’s applause was tepid at best.  I don’t think they liked it either.  I was soon outside and hailing a cab.  I gave the driver a business card with my hotel’s name and address.  He had to make a call to confirm he knew where it was.  Again, 5 GEL got me back to the hotel safely.  It was raining lightly now.  Nevertheless, the lighting all around Georgia including Old Town and the Peace Bridge was incredibly beautiful.

 

 

Tomorrow is race day.  That will be fun!

 

 

Sunday – Day 5 – Rustavi, Georgia.

Let’s meet the Rustavi International Motorpark.

 

From Wikipedia:  “The Rustavi International Motorpark is a motor racing venue located 20 kilometres (12 mi) south-east of Tbilisi, Georgia.

 

Rustavi was the last race track built in the USSR.  Opened in 1978, the original Rustavi circuit was 2.5 miles (4.0 km) in length with a width of 18 metres (59 ft) at the start-finish straight, 14 metres (46 ft) in turns and 12 metres (39 ft) in straights. A karting track, automobile cross circuit and motorbike track were also included in the complex, as well as grandstands for 500-800 people. A technical building and hotel were located nearby. The first races took place at the end of 1979. Until 1989 the track hosted eleven USSR Championship events; however, from 1989 until 2009 the track was not maintained and fell into decay.  In 2009 the private company Stromos bought the site at a state auction and began redevelopment.

 

Now the track is totally rebuilt with some configuration changes.  More than 250,000 cubic meters of soil have been moved.  New permanent concrete grandstand was erected, which would seat 2,000 people comfortably.  28 FIA-standard pit boxes were built with a Tribune 2, restaurant and conference hall upstairs.  Race control tower is located at the third floor of the pit building.

 

The track has been equipped with several engineering systems like video surveillance covering all the distance, 14 electronically controlled signaling lights, fiber-optic network, sound distribution and AMB timekeeping with 5 loops.

 

Start-finish line has been extended up to 1/2 mile to serve as a drag strip.

 

In 2012 the track hosts events of different types, like 8-staged national Legends car racing and Formula Alfa championships, drag racing, pairs racing, drifting, karting, motorcycles and club racing.  Tickets are priced at 5 GEL (about $3.00) and available at the gate. Major events are covered in local “Channel 1” (Georgia Public Broadcaster).  Since July 14, 2012 local bookmaker “EuropeBet” gives a line on the main race groups of the Georgian Open Championship.

 

Race day!

Today is race day!  If all goes well I will see racing in my 67^th different country.  Racing is what brought me to Georgia.  However, as you can see from reading the above narrative I try to get as much as I possibly can out of each of these trips.  I realize I am very lucky to be able to do this and respect the opportunity a great deal.

 

 

My morning began with the hotel’s buffet breakfast.  I must say that I never starve on these trips.  I’ve had a great opportunity to try local foods.

 

Georgia is wine country.

Georgia is noted for their wines.  Everyone in my family enjoys drinking wine so I needed to find some to bring back home.  To satisfy all of my immediate family members that meant four bottles.  While walking through the hotel lobby I noticed they sold wine.  Perfect.  However, when I inquired how I could make my purchase the hotel clerk recommended I buy my wine at the local corner market.  He told me they could “advise” me on which wines might be best.

 

 

I did as I was told.  I wouldn’t say the market people were any better at English than the hotel clerk.  They did make some recommendations.  I picked up four bottles of wine (three red; one white) and was on my way.  I needed to pay for my purchase in GEL (Georgian Lari).  I would have preferred to pay with my Visa credit card or U.S. dollars.  This left me with just 15 GEL (about $10 U.S.) for the rest of my trip.

 

 

Now I have the grand challenge of getting this wine back home without breaking any of it.  I would end up wrapping each bottle in my dirty clothes!  As a matter of fact I put my dirty socks over each bottle to keep it warm and cozy until the wine got back to SoCal.  I tried to cushion everything as well as I could.  We’ll see how it goes from here.  It always amazing how I can arrive into a foreign country with my luggage being full.  Then I buy gifts for everyone back home (this trip included those four bottles of wine and a few other things) and somehow can still fit it all into my originally stuffed luggage.

 

You can’t beat the hospitality of the folks from Rustavi.

The Rustavi International Motorpark is sending a driver to pick me up at the hotel.  You know you’ve made it as a trackchaser when tracks are willing to pick up your hotel expenses and provide a driver for your personal use.  Now if I could only get an international airline sponsorship.  I’m just sayin’.

 

 

The weather today is not going to cooperate all that well.  The high temperature for the day is expected to be only 53 degrees.  There’s a 40% chance of rain.  It’s very damp because of the rain from last night.  Nevertheless, weather is not much of a concern for me.  Just about every track in the world races in the rain with the notable exceptions of the U.S., Canada, Australia and New Zealand.  Almost all road courses race in the rain anywhere in the world.  The Rustavi track is a road course.

 

Oops.  Gotta go.  My driver’s here.

The driver came into the hotel to get me.  What service.  We would be taking a 15-mile ride out to the Tbilisi suburb of Rustavi.  There were a few others on the bus before they came to get me.  Who were these other folks?  They were the “hospitality girls” employed by the track to add a special flair to the event.  Europe and South America are really into having these “adornments” if you will.  The United States much less so.  I say a little sexual exploitation can be a good thing!

 

This was my first view of the scenery outside of Tbilisi.

On the ride out to the track I noticed two unusual items.  First from time to time I would see fisherman’s catches handing on a bar just off the highway.  This was the method they used to market their fish.  I can’t recall ever seeing anything like that before.

 

 

As we neared the track we were passing huge parking lots of cars.  These were not cars bringing fans to the track.  They were huge auto “flea markets”.  There had to be 5,000 cars if there was one.  Maybe this was a wholesale car auction arrangement.  Whatever it was there was a beehive of activity and it all revolved around buying and selling cars.

 

Welcome to the Rustavi International Motorpark.

Soon we arrived at the Rustavi International Motorpark.  Our bus driver singled me out when we arrived.  Immediately he took me to the track’s reception area.  This is where I met Ms. Khatuna Julakidze.  She and I had corresponded earlier and spoken on the phone (at 3 a.m.!) when I arrived into Georgia.

 

 

Khatuna was a “whirling dervish” of a track PR director.  She was involved in everything going on at the track.  Despite how busy she was she took the time to welcome me and give me the “Cook’s tour”.  Her main mission, she told me, was that I enjoy myself.  She gave me a lanyard with a V.I.P. designation.  Khatuna told me I could go anywhere at the track with this pass.  She also took me up to the V.I.P. lounge.  Here Khatuna informed me that I could eat and drink to my heart’s content.  She also arranged for me to have a bright orange “Press” vest.  This would allow me to take photos at any position at the track.  With that Khatuna was off to take care of more important business.

 

 

With the track being renovated extensively in 2011 for it’s 2012 opening everything looked really good.  The V.I.P. lounge was first class.  They offered all kinds of buffet foods and drink including wine.  I was at the track for more than six hours and visited the lounge whenever I was hungry, thirsty or cold.

 

 

Let’s get to some racing.

Today there would be three classes of cars racing and one class of motorcycles.  I had been given a complete schedule of events.  In between races they had some drifting exhibitions (don’t miss the video) and motorcycle stunt riding.

 

 

Just like the rest of my visit to Georgia there was little to know English spoken anywhere.  That was O.K.  Once you’ve been too as many tracks as I have you kind of know what is being said without having to hear it for the 2,000^th time.

 

Let’s see all the “cars and stars” up close.

After practice and warm-ups all of the racers and their machines came out onto the track at the same time for introductions.  Only those with “Press vests” which included me were allowed out onto the track.  This was a perfect opportunity to get up close and personal with the cars and drivers.

 

 

In the U.S. at a race in the Midwest or wherever you might see drivers come from a 3-4 state area.  Today they came from a 3-4 COUNTRY area.  Drivers were from Georgia, Russia, Ukraine and Iran.  To the best of my knowledge I had never seen a race team from Iran!

 

 

The three class of racecars included U.S. Legends, Formula Alfa and Touring Class racers.  There were about 15 entrants in each class.  There were also an additional 7-8 motorcycle riders ready for their event.  Each class would compete in one feature event of about 20 minutes in length.  Can you imagine I had traveled approximately 15,000 miles round-trip to see three 20-minute races?  Of course, as you know by now, I didn’t come all this way just to see racing.

 

As always….Don’t miss the videos.

I can’t describe racing and the overall racing scene as well as my videos can.  Therefore, if you want to know how they do it in Georgia (I’m not talking about Bill Elliott or Jimmy Carter’s Georgia) then see the photos and the racing action videos.  It’s the best way to appreciate what I was seeing today.

 

First up…U.S. Legends

The U.S. style legends would be the first race on tap.  They would race for ten laps or 20 minutes.  These cars are identical to the U.S. cousins that all begin life as a legends car out of the shops in Charlotte, North Carolina.  Some fourteen legends started their race.

 

 

From my position along the pit wall I could get photos and videos from within 10-15 feet of where the cars sped past as speeds of more than 150 K.P.H.  All the while the races were going on three “lighter than air” flying machines were buzzing the racetrack.  One had a video camera attached and may have been doing film work for the track.

 

 

The track had a robust P.A. system but all of the announcing was done in the Georgian language.  These races are broadcast over Georgian TV as well.  Today was both the last event of the season and the biggest.  This was perfect for me because I wasn’t missing much back in the states.  Racing in the U.S. is nearly fully completed by the time the calendar reaches November.

 

 

Formula Alfa…and good public relations.

Following the legends was the open-wheeled Formula Alfa class.  They started about 15 cars.  I don’t believe there was a yellow flag in any of these races.  This was despite the track being very wet from the on and off misting conditions.

 

 

Having a “go everywhere” pass is so much different than simply watching the race from the grandstand.  The track had given me this pass, paid for four nights of accommodation and provided a driver for most of the trip.  Why?  Simply because I had communicated with them in advance.

 

 

I suspect my being the “World’s #1 Trackchaser” might have had something to do with it too.  A smart marketer wants to get his product out in front of as many people as possible.  I have a very good reach, not only in the U.S. but abroad with these Trackchaser Reports and my website.  If my broadcasts can help the Rustavi International Motorpark then we both win.  Everything they did today was first class so I’m happy to tell you what a great job they did.

 

Kabobs and coffee.

As I watched the racing I moved from the main straight starting area to the “backstretch”.  Over there I found a small concession stand and a entrepreneur grilling kabobs.  A large number of fans were watching from this area.  For some of the Formula Alfa race I watched from the main grandstand overlooking the paddock area.

 

 

Whenever there was a break in the action I made myself comfortable, with the other guests, in the VIP Lounge.  The track does an excellent job with hospitality.  Considering this is only their second year of racing with the rejuvenated track I’d say they couldn’t do things any better.

 

I liked the last class the best.

The final car race of the day was the touring 2.0 group.  Of all the cars racing today these looked more like what you might see on the street than anything else.  I enjoyed the racing from these folks the most.

 

 

The pole sitter with the fastest time was a driver from Russia.  There’s always one guy who takes things a little more seriously, maybe has a little more money and takes the time to make sure every aspect of his team is top notch.  No, I’m not talking about the Randy Lewis Racing trackchasing team!

 

 

These guys from Russia had everything.  Before the race I saw them using their car’s built in hydraulic jack system that raised the car about a foot off the ground.  While they were waiting for the race to begin they lifted the car, put four new tires (that each had an electric tire warming system) on the car….while all of the other drivers looked on in admiration and envy.  Folks, that’s how the world works.  The sooner you can deal with it the better.

 

The world is about networking.

During driver intros I had been introduced to Ksenia Niks.  Ms. Niks drives in the touring division.  Khatuna had acted as our translator during a pre-race interview.  There was something special about Ksenia Niks.  First, she was the only female car-racing driver here today.  Secondly, she is from Ukraine.  She had a large cheering section from her native country.  One other thing that prompted me to spend some time with Ms. Niks.  She’s from Ukraine.  I had never seen a race in Ukraine.  I’m just sayin’.

 

 

Final Race.

The last race of the day was for the motorcycles.  By now I had been at the track in the coolish and damp conditions for about seven hours.  I was ready to head back to the barn as they say from where I’m from.

 

 

When that race was finished I had my picture taken with Khatuna.  She, and all of the rest of the Rustavi staff had done their job well.  I’m sure at the end of the day they are more than exhausted.

 

 

On the bus ride back home I rode with the hospitality girls and a young medical student from Sri Lanka.  He has a side gig of taking photos for the track.  He had tons of questions for me as an American as I did for him on his living in Georgia while he pursued his medical degree.

 

 

 

Following the races….

My program runs on local currency.

I was back at the hotel by 7 p.m.  It was dark by now.  I was running low on Georgian lari.  I would need to exchange some money to pay for my ride in the morning.  I had seen numerous “hole in the wall” money exchanges all over Tbilisi.

 

 

I headed out of the hotel toward the metro station, about a ten-minute walk.  However, just 100 yards from the hotel I saw the crudest currency exchange I had ever seen in my life.  The “building” couldn’t have been more than four feet wide.  Behind some iron bars was an old Georgian woman.  I slipped her a #20 dollar (U.S.) bill and she gave me a good exchange rate of 1.66 lari.  That would get me to the airport tomorrow morning with a little left over.

 

Who does this kind of thing?  I do.

On my way back I noticed a Georgian bread shop selling huge pieces of bread for a very cheap price.  I saddled up to the counter and ordered one of the breads for just 60 tetra.  That’s about 36 cents U.S.

 

 

In this small “bakery” sat five men.  The room couldn’t have been much more than about 12 feet on each side.  The building was like many I had seen on my touring of old town.  The place had to be 100 years old.  The guys were all near a huge clay pot.  The pot looked like a beehive with an opening about four feet across the top.  I could see that bread was baking inside this clay dome.  With the heat from the oven it was very warm in the room.  I struck up a conversation with one of the men.  I got the usual question I’ve been receiving throughout my trip.  “Where are you from”.  I answered and a conversation was now in progress.

 

I’ve done some strange things in my time.

Then one of the stranger things in all of my foreign travel occurred.  One of the men asked me to come into the 12’ by 12’ room.  The only way I could get in was to bend over and enter an opening that might have been three feet wide and four feet tall.

 

 

I am known for “adventure travel”.  This was certainly going to qualify.  Here I was in a very small room with five Georgian men and a red hot oven!  It was nighttime.  We started a conversation.  Only one man spoke much English.  Another man was the baker.  He sung while he slapped pieces on dough inside the walls of the clay oven.

 

 

It wasn’t long before I was offered a drink.  The English speaker told me, “This isn’t Georgia water” even though the liquid in the small plastic cup was clear.  They urged me to take a seat.  I did.  Whew!  This was “White lightning”!  Whatever it was it was strong.  My first sip sent me into a coughing spell.  Wow!  That stuff was strong.  My newly met comrades just smiled and urged me to drink more.

 

 

Folks, I had a 3 a.m. wake-up call coming my way in just a few hours.  I would have loved to have drank this stuff with these guys until the wee hours of the night.  However, that would not have been very practical.

 

 

I was still wearing my army fatigue jacket.  Outside it was 50 degrees and getting colder.  However, inside near the bread oven it was hot.  After drinking the white lightning it was even hotter.

 

 

Now one of my new friends wanted to teach me how to retrieve the cooked bread from the interior walls of the clay oven.  I was up for this instruction.  It involved using two long poles one with a hook on the end.  It seemed pretty simple.  You only needed to insert the hook into a hole in the center of the bread.  By the way, the bread only about a half-inch thick, was the overall size of a tennis racket.  Once the hook was into the bread the other pole was used to nudge the bread away from the clay wall that it was stuck too.  One of the guys showed me how it was done.  Then I tried it.  If I made a mistake the bread would fall to the bottom of the furnace and be lost.  The pressure was on but I performed my task successfully twice.  This elicited a round of applause from my comrades.  Of course, I had all of this video recorded on my iPhone.  You won’t want to miss this one!

 

 

Street cred and toasts.

Now we were talking about all matter of things.  The English speaking Georgian showed me a photo of him and his son at last night’s rugby match.  Then I showed him a photo of MY being at last night’s rugby match.  My friend was impressed.  This helped built my street cred with the group!

 

 

Now toasts were being proposed.  “To Georgia!”  “To the U.S”  everyone shouted.  They were urging me to chug the rest of my white lightning.  Just like in college I did.  The boys were impressed!

 

 

However, I still have enough of my wits about me to remember my impending wakeup call.  I had to tell the fellas I couldn’t stay.  They were disappointed.  I sensed they enjoyed having an American in their midst.  I would have loved to have stayed longer.  If this were not my final night in Georgia I would have.  I’ve had some most unusual experiences with all of my foreign travel.  Although this episode only lasted about 20 minutes it ranks right up there.

 

 

 

Monday – Day 6 – Rustavi, Georgia to Tbilisi, Georgia to Amsterdam, Netherlands, to Los Angeles, California to San Clemente, California.

This was a big trip.

It’s always an anti-climactic feeling to head home after one of the international trips.  When I travel to a foreign country I always start planning earlier than I would for a domestic trip.  Because of the language differences more than anything nothing is ever “perfectly certain” with these foreign trips.  Add the cost and the travel miles needed and one of these outings becomes a “big” trip.  Nevertheless, today I was headed home on what had been ANOTHER successful international trackchasing trip.

 

 

My wake-up call came at 3:00 a.m., Georgian time of course.   I budgeted 30 minutes to get showered and packed.  In point of fact, most of my packing had been done the night before.  I’m sure glad I didn’t get into a drinking contest with the guys at the bread shop last night.  That could have disastrous.

 

Even at 3 a.m. you have to be flexible.

My hotel clerk had promised that we could simply make a call for a taxi driver at three in the morning and the driver would be there in five minutes.  Well that plan didn’t work.  When the driver had not shown up in nearly 15 minutes a backup plan was summoned.  The hotel clerk on duty called another one of the clerks who was living in the hotel.  In another five minutes he was dressed and ready to go.

 

 

We hopped in his RIGHT SIDE STEER Subaru, that he had purchased from Japan, and headed toward the airport.  Of course, his car’s gas tank was on empty so we had to stop for gas!  In Georgia the gas station attendant pumps the gas just as they do in New Jersey and Oregon.

 

 

In just 15-20 minutes we were at the airport.  I paid my driver the regular taxi to the airport fee of 25 GEL (about $15 U.S.).  I also gave the clerk a generous tip because he had helped me earlier in the trip by recommending the rugby match….and also for getting up at 3:45 a.m. to drive me to the airport!

 

Giving gifts is the most fun.

Today I will be flying on Georgia Airways from Tbilisi to Amsterdam.  Flight time will be about five hours.  From Amsterdam I will fly almost 11 hours back to Los Angeles.

 

 

I had a few minutes before the check-in process began so I checked out the gift shops.  I had purchased wine for all of the adults in our family.  This morning I bought shirts with the Georgia flag on them for the twins.  I love buying gifts for my family and loved ones.  My family didn’t travel much when I was a kid.  However, on the few times they did come back from a trip there was ALWAYS something in their suitcase for me.  Those were special times.

 

It’s just part of the culture.

In Georgia, and Europe in general, the concept of standing in line pretty much does not exist.  If you stand behind someone in line and give them enough space, say 2-3 feet another person will simply step in front of you as if you don’t exist.  They’re not trying to be mean or disrespectful as you might guess if this happened in the U.S.  It’s just part of their culture.  They don’t know they are doing anything wrong.  This is their part of the world so maybe they AREN’T doing anything wrong.  Truth be told, I found myself taking advantage of people in lines myself over here.  There was only one difference….I knew I was doing something wrong.

 

They’re boarding….run!

Georgia Airways has a unique method of boarding their planes.  They don’t board their frequent flyers first of their business class passengers first.  At some point in time the gate agent makes an unseen signal.  At that point, EVERYONE dashes to the boarding door in the terminal at the same time.  It’s quite the scene.  I’ve learned to position myself near the door so I will be at the head of the stampede.

 

 

I was surprised by the amount of legroom on the Georgia Airways flight.  My aisle seat in coach was very comfortable.  However, considering this was a five-hour flight there was not a single hint of inflight entertainment.  A somewhat spartan meal was served and that was it.

 

Carol still needed a present.

Once in Amsterdam I had three items to check off my list.  I needed to get Carol a present in addition to the wine we would be sharing.  The Amsterdam airport has a most unique gift that won’t be found in most places.  They sell tulip bulbs!

 

 

For about 19 Euros ($26 U.S.) I could buy 50 tulip bulbs.  The sales clerk told me that we (this means Carol) should plant them in the ground right away if we lived in a cold climate.  We don’t.  Therefore we’re supposed to put them in the refrigerator for six weeks!  Carol will love that.  Anyway it’s the thought that counts right?

 

Let’s get comfortable.

My second objective was to change from my long pants to my cargo shorts.  During the entire trip in Georgia I wore long pants.  I HATE wearing long pants.  The weather was probably warm enough that I could have gone with shorts.  I found an airport bathroom and switched.  I felt like a new man.  I felt liberated!

 

 

My third and final item that needed to be done was to get a better seat on the flight back to Los Angeles.  I currently had a middle seat in coach.  That’s never good on an 11-hour flight.  However, I was told the flight was sold out.  The only available seat with additional legroom was in the “Economy Comfort” section of the KLM Airlines plane.  They charge 160 Euros for that seat or about $225 U.S.  I could just hang in there for 11 hours in a less than comfortable seat for that kind of money.  Of course, the guy in front of me reclined his seat early in the flight just as I had expected he might.

 

 

I planned to watch a few movies maybe get some shuteye and just vedge out until we touched down in Los Angeles at about noon.  I had a prize waiting for me.  I would be stopping at In N’ Out Burgers on the way home.

 

Life on the road…doesn’t always work out.

Not all good plans come off like you might hope they would.  I was seated in a middle seat between a young Asian woman and an older European woman.  I suspect the woman sitting next to me wasn’t much older than me.  However, I am 64 years old and think I’m 34 years old.  That made the woman sitting next to me seem ancient.

 

 

At one point the old woman was having trouble with her video controls.  I reached over to help and inadvertently spilled her glass of red wine into her lap.  She was none too pleased.  As Carol says, “No good deed goes unpunished”.

 

 

Our row was having a problem.  Our video players would not work.  Folks, on an 11-hour flight that’s an issue.  Ultimately, despite the good efforts of the crew they never did work.  They made my flight just a little bit longer.

 

 

The flight’s head purser told us he would come back to offer us compensation for the video problem. There is no denying that discrimination of many types exists in our world.  It can take the form of the color of your skin, your gender, your age (young or old) or just about anything.  I believe that most people are basically insecure and looking down on others is simply a means to bolster an individual’s insecurity.  However, when it comes to those “Dreaded East Coast Trackchasers” it’s just as simple as pie…they truly are #$%@$%.

 

 

The purser did come back to our row to offer compensation.  I said in a very nice way that it was more than inconvenient that the video players didn’t work.  I could see my “input” was working.  He ended up writing me two vouchers (each for $50 U.S.) on a future flight on KLM Airlines.  Just about that time the young Asian woman came back to her seat.  The male purser gave her just one $50 voucher.  He totaling ignored the older woman sitting next to me.  She didn’t get anything.  Don’t think discrimination exists virtually everywhere?  This was a real life case study on the fact that it certainly does.

 

 

It was most inconvenient not to be able to watch movies on such a long flight.  However, sometime in the next 12 months, I hope to be $100 richer when it comes to my next international flight.  In all reality, I wouldn’t be surprised if I ever use the voucher but as of today I hope that I will.

 

 

If all went well I would be home at about 3 p.m.  That would be exactly 24 hours after I had awakened in Georgia.  Most of these foreign locations that I have been visiting are roughly 24 hours away, door to door.

 

The turtle wins these races.

If you’re going to make so many long trips as I do you had better be patient.  The turtle and not the hare wins these races.  I’m at 67 trackchasing countries at this point.  There are only about ten workable countries left to see.  You can bet I’m already planning on my 2014 foreign country calendar.

 

Thanks for reading about my trackchasing,

Randy Lewis

World’s #1 Trackchaser

Life should NOT be a journey to your grave with the intention of arriving with a well-chiseled and honed body but rather to crash in, riding your golf cart up the 18th fairway with a glass of single malt in one hand and a brownie in the other. You should be totally worn out and used up with a tattoo on your chest proclaiming, “What a ride”.

 

 

Trackchasing truly has taken me all over the world!



THE COUNTRY LIST

#67!!

 

 

 

 

RLR – Randy Lewis Racing Lifetime Trackchasing Countries 

  

# 1 – UNITED STATES OF AMERICA – Peoria Speedway – Mt. Hawley, (oval) – Track #1, Peoria, Illinois – circa 1954 (age 5)

 

# 2 – CANADA – Cayuga Speedway (oval) – Track #174, Nelles Corner, Ontario, Canada – July 31, 1988 (Dick Trickle winner)

 

# 3 – AUSTRALIA – Parramatta City Raceway (oval) – Track #180, Granville, New South Wales, Australia – November 17, 1989 (accompanied by Carol)

 

# 4 – UNITED KINGDOM – Northhampton International Raceway (oval) – Track #378, Northhampton – June 26, 1999 (accompanied by Carol, Kristy, Jim)

 

# 5 – NETHERLANDS – Driesum Racetrack (oval) – Track #839, Driesum – May 5, 2005 (accompanied by Roland Vanden Eynde)

 

# 6 – BELGIUM – Bellekouter oval (oval) – Track #841, Affligem – May 8, 2005 (accompanied by Roland Vanden Eynde)

 

# 7 – FRANCE – Circuit de Croix en Ternois (road course) – Track #843, Saint-Pol sur-Ternoise – May 8, 2005 (accompanied by Roland Vanden Eynde – 2^nd new country in one day!)

 

# 8 – GERMANY – Nurburgring (road course) – Track #844, Nurburg – May 13, 2005 (accompanied by Carol, Roland Vanden Eynde)

 

# 9 – NEW ZEALAND – Western Springs Speedway (oval) – Track #1,134, Western Springs – December 26, 2006 (accompanied by Carol)

 

# 10 – MEXICO – Triovalo Bernardo Obregon (oval) – Track #1,281, Tiajamulco de Zuniga, Jalisco – October 14, 2007 (accompanied by Carol, J.J., Roger Ward)

 

# 11 – BARBADOS – Bushy Park Racing Circuit (road course) – Track #1,296, Bushy Park – December 9, 2007

 

# 12 – THAILAND – Bira Circuit (road course) – Track #1,300, Pattaya – January 19, 2008

 

# 13 – SOUTH AFRICA – Durban Grand Prix (road course) – Track #1,315, Durban, KwaZulu-Natal – February 24, 2008 (accompanied by J.J. and Will Van Horne)

 

# 14 – JAMAICA – Dover Raceway (road course) – Track #1,322, Brown’s Town St. Ann – March 24, 2008

 

# 15 – SWEDEN – Sturup Raceway (road course) – Track #1,335, Malmo – May 10, 2008 (accompanied by Carol)

 

# 16 – DENMARK – Ring Djursland (road course) – Track #1,336, Tirstrup – May 11, 2008 (accompanied by Carol)

 

# 17 – CZECH REPUBLIC – Automotodrome BRNO (road course) – Track #1,381, Brno – September 13, 2008

 

# 18 – AUSTRIA – Lambrechten Stock Car Track (road course) – Track #1,382, Lambrechten – September 14, 2008

 

# 19 – IRELAND – Tipperary International Raceway (oval) – Track #1,388, Rosegreen – October 26, 2008 (Carol and I visited this track earlier in the year)

 

# 20 – GUYANA – South Dakota Circuit (road course) – Track #1,390, Timehri – November 2, 2008 (accompanied by Carol)

 

# 21 – CHINA – The Guia Circuit (road course) – Track #1,392, Macau – November 16, 2008 (accompanied by Carol)

 

 

# 22 – COSTA RICA – Autodromo La Guacima (road course) – Track #1,398, La Guacima – November 30, 2008

 

# 23 – ANDORRA – Grandvalira Circuit (road course) – Track #1,404, Port d’Envalira, Andorra – January 17, 2009

 

# 24 – ARGENTINA – Circuito Efren Chemolli (oval) – Track #1,406, Buenos Aires, Argentina – January 31, 2009 (shared with Jerry Fisher)

 

# 25 – QATAR – Losail International Circuit (road course) – Track #1,408, Doha, Qatar – February 13, 2009

 

# 26 – BAHRAIN – Bahrain International Circuit (road course) – Track #1,410, Sakhir, Bahrain – February 27, 2009 (accompanied by Carol)

 

# 27 – UNITED ARAB EMIRATES – Dubai Autodrome (road course) – Track #1,411, Dubai, United Arab Emirates – February 28, 2009 (accompanied by Carol)

 

# 28 – COLOMBIA – Autodromo de Tocancipa (road course) – Track #1,415, Tocancipa, Colombia – March 22, 2009

 

# 29 – SPAIN – Motorland Aragon (road course) – Track #1,416, Alcaniz, Spain – March 28, 2009

 

# 30 – PORTUGAL – Circuto de Murca (road course) – Track #1,417, Murca, Portugal – March 29, 2009

 

# 31 – ICELAND – Kapelluhraum (road course) – Track #1,420, Hafnafjorour, Iceland – April 25, 2009 (shared with Will White)

 

# 32 – HUNGARY – Hungaroring (road course) – Track #1,426, Mogyorod, Hungary – May 8, 2009 (accompanied by Carol)

 

# 33 – SWITZERLAND – Hock Ybrig (road course) – Track #1,427, Hoch Ybrig, Switzerland – May 9, 2009 (accompanied by Carol)

 

# 34 – ITALY – Vighizzolo d’Este Stock Car Track (road course) – Track #1,428, Vighizzolo d’Este, Italy – May 10, 2009 (accompanied by Carol)

 

# 35 – DOMINICAN REPUBLIC – Autodromo Mobil 1 (road course) – Track #1,515, Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic – December 6, 2009 (accompanied by Carol)

 

# 36 – MALTA – Ta’Qali Race Track (road course) – Track #1,521, Ta’Qali, Malta – February 7, 2010 (accompanied by Carol)

 

# 37 – FINLAND – Lake Pidisjarvi Ice Track (road course) – Track #1,524, Nivala, Finland – February 20, 2010

 

# 38 – JAPAN – Suzuka Circuit (road course) – Track #1,530, Suzuka, Japan – March 21, 2010

 

# 39 – CHILE – Autodromo de Interlomas (road course) – Track #1,531, Temuco, Chile – April 18, 2010

 

# 40 – MOROCCO – Circuit de Marrakesh (road course) – Track #1,535, Marrakesh, Morocco – May 1, 2010 (accompanied by Carol)

 

# 41 – BRAZIL – Circuit de Caruaru – Aryten Senna (road course) – Track #1,540, Caruaru, Brazil – May 16, 2010 (accompanied by Carol, Jerry Fisher and Katina Spencer)

 

# 42 – ESTONIA – Laitse Rally Park (road course) – Track #1,571, Laitse, Estonia – July 24, 2010 (accompanied by Carol)

 

# 43 – LATVIA – Bikernieki (road course) – Track #1,572, Riga, Latvia – July 25, 2010 (accompanied by Carol

 

# 44 – GUATEMALA – Autodromo Pedro Cofino (road course) – Track #1,580, Alotenango, Guatemala – August 15, 2010

 

# 45 – EL SALVADOR – El Jabali (road course) – Track #1,582, Quezaltepeque, El Salvador – August 22, 2010 (accompanied by Carol)

 

# 46 – ROMANIA – Bradu (road course) – Track #1,603, Bradu, Romania, El Salvador – October 16, 2010

 

# 47 – BULGARIA – Closed Route – Burgas (road course) – Track #1,604, Burgas, Bulgaria – October 17, 2010 (accompanied by Lyubomir and Plamen Simeonov)

 

# 48 – SOUTH KOREA – Korea International Circuit (road course) – Track #1,605, Yeongam, Jeollanam-Do, South Korea – October 24, 2010

 

# 49 – PHILIPPINES – Batangas Racing Circuit (road course) – Track #1,608, Batangas, Philippines – November 21, 2010

 

# 50 – NORWAY – Lyngas Motorbane (road course) – Track #1,648, Lier, Norway – April 30, 2011

 

# 51 – MALAYSIA – Sepang International Circuit (road course) – Track #1,656, Sepang, Malaysia – May 28, 2011

 

# 52 – INDONESIA – Sentul International Circuit (road course) – Track #1,657, Babakan Madang, Boder, Indonesia – May 29, 2011

 

# 53 – LUXEMBOURG – Alzingen (road course) – Track #1,711, Alzingen, Luxembourg – September 4, 2011 (accompanied by Carol)

 

# 54 – POLAND – Tor Slomczyn (road course) – Track #1,713, Slomczyn, Poland – September 11, 2011 (accompanied by Carol)

 

# 55 – SINGAPORE – Marina Bay (road course) – Track #1,714, Singapore, Singapore – September 24, 2011 (accompanied by Carol)

 

 

# 56 – URUGUAY – Piriapolis Grand Prix (road course) – Track #1,724, Piriapolis, Uruguay – November 12, 2011

 

# 57 – SRI LANKA – Pannala Race Track (road course) – Track #1,732, Pannala, Sri Lanka – February 12, 2012

 

# 58 – ECUADOR – Autodromo Internacional de Yahuarcocha (road course) – Track #1,736, Ibarra, Ecuador – March 11, 2012

 

# 59 – SLOVAKIA – Slovakia Ring (road course) – Track #1,742, Orechova Puton, Slovakia – April 29, 2012

 

# 60 – MONACO – Circuit de Monaco (street course) – Track #1,746, Monte Carlo, Monaco – May 13, 2012 (accompanied by Carol)

 

# 61 – CROATIA – Automotodrom Grobnik (road course) – Track #1,762, Rijeka, Croatia – June 23, 2012

 

# 62 – PERU – Autodromo La Chutana (road course) – Track #1,802, Lima, Peru – October 21, 2012 (accompanied by Carol)

 

# 63 – GREECE – Serres Circuit (road course) – Track #1,807, Serres, Greece – November 4, 2012

 

# 64 – RUSSIA – Moscow Central Hippodrome (oval) – Track #1,824, Moscow, Russia – February 23, 2013 (accompanied by Carol)

 

# 65 – LITHUANIA – Marijampole Autokross Track (road course) – Track #1,842, Marijampole, Lithuania – May 12, 2013 (accompanied by Carol)

 

# 66 – INDIA – Buddh International Circuit (road course) – Track #1,915, Noida, India – October 27, 2013 (accompanied by Carol)

 

# 67 – GEORGIA – Rustavi International Motorpark (road course) – Track #1,916, Rustavi, Georgia – November 10, 2013

 

 

 

 

 

The International Big 3. 

During the last 6 years, I have added 58 trackchasing countries to my list.  That’s an average of nearly ten new trackchasing countries for each of the last six years.

 

1. Randy Lewis, San Clemente, California USA – 67
2. Roland Vanden Eynde, Vilvoorde, Belgium – 52
3. Carol Lewis, San Clemente, California USA – 34

 

 

2013 wraps up as another great year of international trackchasing.

 

Georgia adds the 33rd European country to overall foreign country totals.  My goal for the year was to add four new countries.  I did it!

 

 

2013 Country List 

Russia

Lithuania

India

Georgia

 

 

 

 

 

Georgia – FAST FACTS*

 

Georgia is a sovereign state in the Caucasus region of Eurasia. Located at the crossroads of Western Asia and Eastern Europe, it is bounded to the west by the Black Sea, to the north by Russia, to the south by Turkey and Armenia, and to the southeast by Azerbaijan. The capital of Georgia is Tbilisi. Georgia covers a territory of 69,700 square kilometres (26,911 sq mi), and its population is almost 4.7 million. Georgia is a unitary, semi-presidential republic, with the government elected through a representative democracy.

 

 

IMPORTANT HISTORY.

During the classical era, independent kingdoms became established in what is now Georgia. The kingdoms of Colchis and Iberia adopted Christianity in the early 4th century. A unified Georgia reached the peak of its political and economic strength during the reign of King David IV and Queen Tamar in the 11th–12th centuries. At the beginning of the 19th century, Georgia was annexed by the Russian Empire. After a brief period of independence following the Russian Revolution of 1917, Georgia was occupied by Soviet Russia in 1921, becoming the Georgian Soviet Socialist Republic and part of the Soviet Union. After independence in 1991, post-communist Georgia suffered from civil unrest and economic crisis for most of the 1990s. This lasted until the Rose Revolution of 2003, after which the new government introduced democratic and economic reforms.

 

Georgia is a member of the Council of Europe and the GUAM Organization for Democracy and Economic Development. It contains two de facto independent regions, Abkhazia and South Ossetia, which gained limited international recognition after the 2008 Russo-Georgian War. Georgia considers the regions to be part of its sovereign territory under Russian military occupation.

DECLARATION OF INDEPENDENCE.

After the Russian Revolution of 1917, Georgia declared independence on May 26, 1918, in the midst of the Russian Civil War. The parliamentary election was won by the Menshevik Georgian Social-Democratic Party. Its leader, Noe Zhordania, became prime minister.

 

In 1918, the Georgian–Armenian War erupted over parts of Georgian provinces populated mostly by Armenians which ended because of British intervention. In 1918–19, Georgian general Giorgi Mazniashvili led a Georgian attack against the White Army led by Moiseev and Denikin in order to claim the Black Sea coastline from Tuapse to Sochi and Adler for independent Georgia. The country’s independence did not last long. Georgia was under British protection from 1918–1920.

GEORGIA IN THE SOVIET UNION.

In February 1921, Georgia was attacked by the Red Army. The Georgian army was defeated and the Social-Democrat government fled the country. On February 25, 1921 the Red Army entered the capital Tbilisi and installed a Moscow directed communist government, led by Georgian Bolshevik Filipp Makharadze.

 

Nevertheless the Soviet rule was firmly established only after a 1924 revolt was brutally suppressed.  Georgia was incorporated into the Transcaucasian SFSR uniting Georgia, Armenia and Azerbaijan. The TSFSR was disaggregated into its component elements in 1936 and Georgia became the Georgian SSR.

 

Joseph Stalin, an ethnic Georgian, was prominent among the Bolsheviks, who came to power in the Russian Empire after the October Revolution in 1917. Stalin was to rise to the highest position of the Soviet state.

 

From 1941 to 1945, during World War II, almost 700,000 Georgians fought in the Red Army against Nazi Germany. (A number also fought on the German side.) About 350,000 Georgians died in the battlefields of the Eastern Front.

 

On April 9, 1989, a peaceful demonstration in the Georgian capital Tbilisi ended up with several people being killed by Soviet troops. Before the October 1990 elections to the national assembly, the Umaghlesi Sabcho (Supreme Council) – the first polls in the USSR held on a formal multi-party basis – the political landscape was reshaped again. While the more radical groups boycotted the elections and convened an alternative forum (the National Congress) with alleged support of Moscow, another part of the anticommunist opposition united into the Round Table—Free Georgia around the former dissidents like Merab Kostava and Zviad Gamsakhurdia. The latter won the elections by a clear margin, with 155 out of 250 parliamentary seats, whereas the ruling Communist Party (CP) received only 64 seats. All other parties failed to get over the 5%-threshold and were thus allotted only some single-member constituency seats.

GEORGIA AFTER THE RESTORATION OF INDEPENDENCE.

On April 9, 1991, shortly before the collapse of the Soviet Union, Georgia declared independence. On May 26, 1991, Zviad Gamsakhurdia was elected as a first President of independent Georgia. Gamsakhurdia stoked Georgian nationalism and vowed to assert Tbilisi’s authority over regions such as Abkhazia and South Ossetia that had been classified as autonomous oblasts under the Soviet Union.

 

He was soon deposed in a bloody coup d’état, from December 22, 1991, to January 6, 1992. The coup was instigated by part of the National Guards and a paramilitary organization called “Mkhedrioni” or “horsemen”. The country became embroiled in a bitter civil war which lasted almost until 1995. Eduard Shevardnadze returned to Georgia in 1992 and joined the leaders of the coup — Kitovani and Ioseliani — to head a triumvirate called “The State Council”.

 

Simmering disputes within two regions of Georgia, Abkhazia and South Ossetia, between local separatists and the majority Georgian populations, erupted into widespread inter-ethnic violence and wars. Supported by Russia, Abkhazia, and South Ossetia achieved de facto independence from Georgia, with Georgia retaining control only in small areas of the disputed territories. In 1995, Shevardnadze was officially elected as president of Georgia.

 

Roughly 230,000 to 250,000 Georgians were massacred or expelled from Abkhazia by Abkhaz separatists and North Caucasian volunteers (including Chechens) in 1992–1993. Around 23,000 Georgians fled South Ossetia as well, and many Ossetian families were forced to abandon their homes in the Borjomi region and moved to Russia.

 

In 2003, Shevardnadze (who won reelection in 2000) was deposed by the Rose Revolution, after Georgian opposition and international monitors asserted that the November 2 parliamentary elections were marred by fraud.  The revolution was led by Mikheil Saakashvili, Zurab Zhvania and Nino Burjanadze, former members and leaders of Shevardnadze’s ruling party. Mikheil Saakashvili was elected as President of Georgia in 2004.

 

Following the Rose Revolution, a series of reforms were launched to strengthen the country’s military and economic capabilities. The new government’s efforts to reassert Georgian authority in the southwestern autonomous republic of Ajaria led to a major crisis early in 2004. Success in Ajaria encouraged Saakashvili to intensify his efforts, but without success, in breakaway South Ossetia.

 

These events, along with accusations of Georgian involvement in the Second Chechen War, resulted in a severe deterioration of relations with Russia, fuelled also by Russia’s open assistance and support to the two secessionist areas. Despite these increasingly difficult relations, in May 2005 Georgia and Russia reached a bilateral agreement by which Russian military bases (dating back to the Soviet era) in Batumi and Akhalkalaki were withdrawn. Russia withdrew all personnel and equipment from these sites by December 2007 while failing to withdraw from the Gudauta base in Abkhazia which it was required to vacate after the adoption of Adapted Conventional Armed Forces in Europe Treaty during the 1999 Istanbul summit.

THE SOUTH OSSETIA WAR AND SINCE.

On August 7, 2008, Georgian forces began shelling the South Ossetian capital, Tskhinvali; this was followed, on August 8, 2008, by an advance of Georgian Army infantry, tanks, and police commandos into South Ossetia; the action was supported by artillery and air support, leading to the capture of a number of key South Ossetian towns and retreat of Russian peacekeepers and South Ossetian forces.  However, after a Russian peacekeepers’ base was shelled and personnel killed, units of the Russian 58th Army, supported by irregular forces, entered South Ossetia through the Roki Tunnel, thus leading to a three-day battle which left the city of Tskhinvali in ruins.  Georgian forces were subsequently forced to retreat and the Russian Air Force began launching airstrikes against Georgian forces in South Ossetia, and multiple targets inside Georgia proper.  The Georgian Air Force resisted and later continued to carry out air strikes against Russian troops. A second front was opened when the separatist Republic of Abkhazia, with Russian support, launched an offensive against Georgian troops in the Kodori Valley. Georgian troops offered minimal resistance and soon withdrew.  Russian paratroopers launched raids against military bases in Senaki, Georgia, from Abkhazia, whilst the Russian Navy stationed a task force off the coast of Abkhazia, and sank a Georgian Coast Guard cutter.

 

Russian forces, upon crossing into Georgia proper, soon entered Gori where Georgian forces had earlier regrouped before retreating to Tbilisi. Irregulars such as Ossetians, Chechens and Cossacks followed; looting, killing, and arson was reported.  Russian troops removed military equipment abandoned by retreating Georgian troops in Gori and the port of Poti, where several naval and coast guard vessels moored in the harbour were scuttled.

 

On August 12, 2008, President Medvedev announced a halt to further Russian military operations in Georgia and ordered a gradual withdrawal from Gori, Poti and other established checkpoints. Despite this Russian forces remained in South Ossetia and Abkhazia, the independence of which it soon recognized.

 

Because of the intensive fighting in South Ossetia, there were many disputed reports about the number of casualties on both sides, which targets had fallen under aerial attacks, the status of troop movements, and the most current location of the front line between the Georgian and Russian-Ossetian units.  Since the war, South Ossetian and Russian officials have made a number of unsubstantiated claims that the Georgian Army was responsible for killing 1,400–2,000 South Ossetian civilians. Human Rights Watch and European Union investigators in South Ossetia have subsequently accused Russia of exaggerating the scale of such casualties.  All sides sustained casualties, with Georgia accounting for the greatest number of military casualties with 170 confirmed dead or missing.

 

Since the war, Georgia has maintained that Abkhazia and South Ossetia are under Russian occupation and remain, legally, part of Georgia.  Georgia has gained much international support for this position although attempts at limiting international access to and enforcing an economic embargo of the two break-away regions have produced mixed results.

GOVERNMENT AND POLITICS.

Georgia is a democratic semi-presidential republic, with the President as the head of state, and Prime Minister as the head of government. The executive branch of power is made up of the President and the Cabinet of Georgia. The Cabinet is composed of ministers, headed by the Prime Minister, and appointed by the President. Notably, the ministers of defense and interior are not members of the Cabinet and are subordinated directly to the President of Georgia. Mikheil Saakashvili is the current President of Georgia after winning 53.47% of the vote in the 2008 election. Since 2012 Bidzina Ivanishvili has been the prime minister of Georgia.

 

Members of parliament are elected for four-year terms. Five parties and electoral blocs had representatives elected to the parliament in the 2008 elections: the United National Movement (governing party), The Joint Opposition, the Christian-Democrats, the Labour Party and Republican Party.

 

Different opinions exist regarding the degree of political freedom in Georgia. President Saakashvili believes that the country is “on the road to becoming a European democracy.” Freedom House lists Georgia as a partly free country.

 

The elections in October 2012 resulted in the clear victory for the opposition, which President Saakashvili conceded on the following day.

HUMAN RIGHTS.

Human rights in Georgia are guaranteed by the country’s constitution. There is an independent human rights public defender elected by the Parliament of Georgia to ensure such rights are enforced.

 

The government came under criticism for its alleged use of excessive force on May 26, 2011 when it dispersed protesters led by Nino Burjanadze, among others, with tear gas and rubber bullets after they refused to clear Rustaveli avenue for an independence day parade despite the expiration of their demonstration permit and despite being offered to choose an alternative venue.  While human rights activists maintained that the protests were peaceful, the government pointed out that many protesters were masked and armed with heavy sticks and molotov cocktails. Georgian opposition leader Nino Burjanadze said the accusations of planning a coup were baseless, and that the protesters’ actions were legitimate.

FOREIGN RELATIONS.

Georgia maintains good relations with its direct neighbours Armenia, Azerbaijan, Turkey, and is a member of the United Nations, the Council of Europe, the World Trade Organization, the Organization of the Black Sea Economic Cooperation, the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe, the Community of Democratic Choice, the GUAM Organization for Democracy and Economic Development, and the Asian Development Bank. Georgia also maintains political, economic and military relations with Japan, Uruguay, South Korea, Israel, Sri Lanka Ukraine and many other countries.

 

The growing U.S. and European Union influence in Georgia, notably through proposed EU and NATO membership, the U.S. Train and Equip military assistance program and the construction of the Baku-Tbilisi-Ceyhan pipeline, have frequently strained Tbilisi’s relations with Moscow. Georgia’s decision to boost its presence in the coalition forces in Iraq was an important initiative.

 

 

From the European commission website: President Saakashvili views membership of the EU and NATO as a long term priority. As he does not want Georgia to become an arena of Russia-U.S. confrontation he seeks to maintain close relations with the United States and European Union, at the same time underlining his ambitions to advance co-operation with Russia.  George W. Bush became the first sitting U.S. president to visit the country.  The street leading to Tbilisi International Airport has since been dubbed George W. Bush Avenue.  

MILITARY.

Georgia’s military is organized into land and air forces. They are collectively known as the Georgian Armed Forces (GAF).  Since coming to power in 2004, Saakashvili has boosted spending on the country’s armed forces and increased its overall size to around 45,000. Of that figure, 12,000 have been trained in advanced techniques by US military instructors and intelligence personnel, under the Georgia Train and Equip Program. Some of these troops have been stationed in Iraq as part of the international coalition in the region, serving in Baqubah and the Green Zone of Baghdad.

LAW ENFORCEMENT.

In 2005 President Mikhail Saakashvili fired the entire traffic police force (numbering around 30,000 police officers) of the Georgian National Police due to corruption.  A new force was then subsequently built around new recruits. The US State Department’s Bureau of International Narcotics and Law-Enforcement Affairs has provided assistance to the training efforts and continues to act in an advisory capacity.

 

The new ‘Patruli’ force was first introduced in the summer of 2005 to replace the traffic police, a force which was accused of widespread corruption.  The police introduced an 022 emergency dispatch service in 2004.

 

Since the restructuring announced in 2005 almost all of Georgia’s internal security agencies have acquired large amounts of new equipment and staff. One of the most visible changes that has come about as a result of the police force’s restructuring and re-equipment is arguably the new liveries applied to service vehicles and uniforms for personnel; in both cases the Police has tried to move away from traditional designs and instead use modern hard-wearing materials and proven utilitarian, modern design.

GEOGRAPHY.

Georgia is situated in the South Caucasus.  It is a very mountainous country. The Likhi Range divides the country into eastern and western halves. Historically, the western portion of Georgia was known as Colchis while the eastern plateau was called Iberia. Because of a complex geographic setting, mountains also isolate the northern region of Svaneti from the rest of Georgia.

 

The highest mountain in Georgia is Mount Shkhara at 5,068 meters (16,627 ft), and the second highest is Mount Janga (Dzhangi-Tau) at 5,059 m (16,598 ft) above sea level.  The region between Kazbek and Shkhara (a distance of about 200 km (124 mi) along the Main Caucasus Range) is dominated by numerous glaciers. Out of the 2,100 glaciers that exist in the Caucasus today, approximately 30% are located within Georgia.

 

The Krubera Cave is the deepest known cave in the world. It is located in the Arabika Massif of the Gagra Range, in Abkhazia. In 2001, a Russian–Ukrainian team had set the world depth record for a cave at 1,710 meters (5,610 ft).

CLIMATE.

 

The climate of Georgia is extremely diverse, considering the nation’s small size. There are two main climatic zones, roughly separating Eastern and Western parts of the country. The Greater Caucasus Mountain Range plays an important role in moderating Georgia’s climate and protects the nation from the penetration of colder air masses from the north. The Lesser Caucasus Mountains partially protect the region from the influence of dry and hot air masses from the south as well.

 

 

The precipitation tends to be uniformly distributed throughout the year, although the rainfall can be particularly heavy during the Autumn months. The climate of the region varies significantly with elevation and while much of the lowland areas of western Georgia are relatively warm throughout the year, the foothills and mountainous areas (including both the Greater and Lesser Caucasus Mountains) experience cool, wet summers and snowy winters (snow cover often exceeds 2 meters in many regions).

 

Eastern Georgia has a transitional climate from humid subtropical to continental. The region’s weather patterns are influenced both by dry, Caspian air masses from the east and humid, Black Sea air masses from the west. The penetration of humid air masses from the Black Sea is often blocked by several mountain ranges (Likhi and Meskheti) that separate the eastern and western parts of the nation. Annual precipitation is considerably less than that of western Georgia and ranges from 400–1,600 mm (15.7–63.0 in).

 

The wettest periods generally occur during Spring and Autumn while Winter and the Summer months tend to be the driest. Much of eastern Georgia experiences hot summers (especially in the low-lying areas) and relatively cold winters. As in the western parts of the nation, elevation plays an important role in eastern Georgia where climatic conditions above 1,500 metres (4,921 ft) are considerably colder than in the low-lying areas. The regions that lie above 2,000 metres (6,562 ft) frequently experience frost even during the summer months.

ECONOMY.

 

Archaeological research demonstrates that Georgia has been involved in commerce with many lands and empires since the ancient times, largely due its location on the Black Sea and later on the historical Silk Road. Gold, silver, copper and iron have been mined in the Caucasus Mountains. Wine making is a very old tradition. The country has sizable hydropower resources.  Throughout Georgia’s modern history agriculture and tourism have been principal economic sectors, because of the country’s climate and topography.

 

For much of the 20th century, Georgia’s economy was within the Soviet model of command economy. Since the fall of the USSR in 1991, Georgia embarked on a major structural reform designed to transition to a free market economy. As with all other post-Soviet states, Georgia faced a severe economic collapse. The civil war and military conflicts in South Ossetia and Abkhazia aggravated the crisis. The agriculture and industry output diminished. By 1994 the gross domestic product had shrunk to a quarter of that of 1989.  The first financial help from the West came in 1995, when the World Bank and International Monetary Fund granted Georgia a credit of USD 206 million and Germany granted DM 50 million.

 

 

Since the early 21st century visible positive developments have been observed in the economy of Georgia. In 2007 Georgia’s real GDP growth rate reached 12%, making Georgia one of the fastest growing economies in Eastern Europe.  The World Bank dubbed Georgia “the number one economic reformer in the world” because it has in one year improved from rank 112th to 18th in terms of ease of doing business.  The country has a high unemployment rate of 12.6% and has fairly low median income compared to European countries.

 

The 2006 ban on imports of Georgian wine to Russia, one of Georgia’s biggest trading partners, and break of financial links was described by the IMF Mission as an “external shock”,  In addition, Russia increased the price of gas for Georgia. This was followed by the spike in the Georgian lari’s rate of inflation.  The National Bank of Georgia stated that the inflation was mainly triggered by external reasons, including Russia’s economic embargo.  Georgia’s main imports are natural gas, oil products, machinery and parts, and transport equipment.

 

Tourism is an increasingly significant part of the Georgian economy. About a million tourists brought US$313 million to the country in 2006.  According to the government, there are 103 resorts in different climatic zones in Georgia. Tourist attractions include more than 2000 mineral springs and over 12,000 historical and cultural monuments.

 

Since coming to power Saakashvili administration accomplished a series of reforms aimed at improving tax collection. Among other things a flat income tax was introduced in 2004. As a result budget revenues have increased fourfold and a once large budget deficit has turned into surplus.

 

As of 2001 54% of the population lived below the national poverty line but by 2006 poverty decreased to 34%. In 2005 average monthly income of a household was GEL 347 (about 200 USD).  IMF 2007 estimates place Georgia’s nominal GDP at US$10.3 billion. Georgia’s economy is becoming more devoted to services (now representing 65% of GDP), moving away from agricultural sector ( 10.9%).

DEMOGRAPHICS.

Like most native Caucasian peoples, the Georgians do not fit into any of the main ethnic categories of Europe or Asia. The Georgian language, the most pervasive of the Kartvelian languages, is neither Indo-European, Turkic nor Semitic.

 

Ethnic Georgians form about 84% of Georgia’s current population of 4,661,473 (July 2006 est.).  Other ethnic groups include Abkhazians, Armenians, Azerbaijanis, Belorusians, Bulgarians, Estonians, Germans, Greeks, Jews, Moldovans, Ossetians, Poles, Russians, Turks and Ukrainians. Georgia’s Jewish community is one of the oldest Jewish communities in the world. There were “more than 6,000” registered Iranian immigrants in Georgia in April 2013.

 

The most widespread language group is the Kartvelian family, which includes Georgian, Svan, Mingrelian and Laz.  The official languages of Georgia are Georgian, with Abkhaz official within the autonomous region of Abkhazia. Georgian is the primary language of approximately 71% of the population, followed by 9% speaking Russian, 7% Armenian, 6% Azerbaijani, and 7% other languages.

 

The 1989 census recorded 341,000 ethnic Russians, or 6.3% of the population, 52,000 Ukrainians and 100,000 Greeks in Georgia.  Since 1990, 1.5 million Georgian nationals have left.  At least one million immigrants from Georgia legally or illegally reside in Russia.  Georgia’s net migration rate is −4.54, excluding Georgian nationals who live abroad. Georgia has nonetheless been inhabited by immigrants from all over the world throughout its independence. According to 2006 statistics, Georgia gets most of its immigrants from Turkey and China.

 

Today 83.9% of the population practices Eastern Orthodox Christianity, with majority of these adhering to the national Georgian Orthodox Church. Religious minorities include Muslims (9.9%), Armenian Apostolic (3.9%), and Roman Catholic (0.8%). 0.8% of those recorded in the 2002 census declared themselves to be adherents of other religions and 0.7% declared no religion at all.

 

EDUCATION.

 

The education system of Georgia has undergone sweeping modernizing, although controversial, reforms since 2004.  Education in Georgia is mandatory for all children aged 6–14.  The school system is divided into elementary (6 years; age level 6–12), basic (3 years; age level 12–15), and secondary (3 years; age level 15–18), or alternatively vocational studies (2 years). Students with a secondary school certificate have access to higher education. Only the students who have passed the Unified National Examinations may enroll in a state-accredited higher education institution, based on ranking of scores he/she received at the exams.

 

Most of these institutions offer three levels of study: a Bachelor’s Program (3–4 years); a Master’s Program (2 years), and a Doctoral Program (3 years). There is also a Certified Specialist’s Program that represents a single-level higher education program lasting for 3–6 years.  As of 2008, 20 higher education institutions are accredited by the Ministry of Education and Science of Georgia.  Gross primary enrollment ratio was 94% for the period of 2001–2006.

 

 

CULTURE.

Georgians have their own unique 3 alphabets which according to traditional accounts was invented by King Pharnavaz I of Iberia in 3rd century BC.

 

Georgia is well known for its rich folklore, unique traditional music, theatre, cinema, and art. Georgians are renowned for their love of music, dance, theatre and cinema. In the 20th century there have been notable Georgian painters such as Niko Pirosmani, Lado Gudiashvili, Elene Akhvlediani; ballet choreographers such as George Balanchine, Vakhtang Chabukiani, and Nino Ananiashvili; poets such as Galaktion Tabidze, Lado Asatiani, and Mukhran Machavariani; and theatre and film directors such as Robert Sturua, Tengiz Abuladze, Giorgi Danelia and Otar Ioseliani.

CUISINE.

Georgian cuisine and wine have evolved through the centuries, adapting traditions in each era. One of the most unusual traditions of dining is Supra, or Georgian table, which is also a way of socialising with friends and family. The head of Supra is known as Tamada. He also conducts the highly philosophical toasts, and makes sure that everyone is enjoying themselves. Various historical regions of Georgia are known for their particular dishes: for example, Khinkali (meat dumplings), from eastern mountainous Georgia, and Khachapuri, mainly from Imereti, Samegrelo and Adjara. In addition to traditional Georgian dishes, the foods of other countries have been brought to Georgia by immigrants from Russia, Greece, and recently China.

SPORT

 

The most popular sports in Georgia are football, basketball, rugby union, wrestling, judo, and weightlifting. Historically, Georgia has been famous for its physical education; it is known that the Romans were fascinated with Georgians’ physical qualities after seeing the training techniques of ancient Iberia.  Wrestling remains a historically important sport of Georgia, and some historians think that the Greco-Roman style of wrestling incorporates many Georgian elements.

 

The first and only race circuit in the Caucasian region is located in Georgia. Rustavi International Motorpark originally built in 1978 was re-opened in 2012 after total reconstruction costing $20 million. The track satisfies the FIA Grade 2 requirements and currently hosts the Legends car racing series and Formula Alfa competitions.

 

 

 

 

 

A very special trip with some very friendly folks from the country of Georgia. Do NOT miss this photo album

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

TRAVEL DETAILS

 

 

AIRPLANE

 

Los Angeles, CA (LAX) – Amsterdam, Netherlands (AMS) – 5,578 miles

Amsterdam, Netherlands (AMS) – Kiev, Ukraine (KBP) – 1,116 miles

Kiev, Ukraine (KBP) – Tbilisi, Georgia (TBS) – 918 miles

 

 

PRIVATE DRIVER

 

I was shuttled back and forth by private drivers, racetrack shuttle bus operators and hotel clerks.  In the meantime I rode all over Tbilisi, Georgia on their metro system

 

Private car – 28 miles

Metro (subway) – 15 miles

Mini-bus – 32 miles

 

 

AIRPLANE

 

Tbilisi, Georgia (TBS) – Amsterdam, Netherlands (AMS) – 2,006 miles

Amsterdam, Netherlands (AMS) – Los Angeles, CA (LAX) – 5,578 miles

 

 

Total air miles – 15,196 (5 flights)

Total private car/mini-bus/metro miles – 75

 

Total miles traveled on this trip – 15,271 miles 

 

 

 

TRACK ADMISSION PRICES:

Rustavi International Motorpark – Complimentary

 

Total racetrack admissions for the trip – $0

 

 

 

LIFETIME TRACKCHASER COMPARISONS 

The three most important trackchasing comparisons to me are:

 

Total lifetime tracks seen

Total “trackchasing countries” seen

Lifetime National Geographic Diversity results

 

 

 

Total Lifetime Tracks

There are no trackchasers currently within 350 tracks of my lifetime total.  Don’t blame me.

 

1.  Randy Lewis, San Clemente, California – 1,916

 

 

 

Total Trackchasing Countries

There are no trackchasers currently within 10 countries of my lifetime total.

 

1.  Randy Lewis, San Clemente, California – 67

 

 

 

Current lifetime National Geographic Diversity results

 

1.  Randy Lewis, San Clemente, California – 5.10

 

 

 

 

That’s all folks!  Official end of the RLR – Randy Lewis Racing Trackchaser Report