what a great market!

if it’s not too late:

enter a shia mosque

soak in the sulfur baths in tbilisi

learn to write your name in armenian or georgian script

@Lui oh these are good ones! i was sadly on a plane home when you sent this

@mattyb flame on!

@mattyb so I went the border, as best I could, it’s completely shut to everyone and this is all that you could see

However, there’s a greenbelt that divides the two countries and I found a cemetery where I could see Iranian mountains off in the distance. Those dark mountains are in Iran’s Gilan Province.

@mattyb got 3x in Azer. Gotta love having a red light camera every 3km when you’re driving 3,600km

@mattyb definitely a bit hard to see, but the Romans carved the equivalent of “we were here” in a rock in Gobustan

Can you update with rough dates for (planned) cities? :)

Love the market, despite it being smol

@HenriThunberg you and you alone 💙

What I’ve got left is Lankaran, where I hope to see Iranian land, and then a bit around Baku, Tbilisi, and Yerevan as I slowly head back to the states. For all intents and purposes, the trip is nearing its end.

@mattyb wow, this one was pretty annoying to Resolve. My car’s rental contract literally said “no mud volcanoes”, so I had to park on the road and walk (I don’t wanna lose my deposit).

One was no where near where Google Maps claimed that it was, and I got swarmed by bugs. But, I did see 2 mud volcanoes today.

@mattyb i did already get a ticket, but it wasn’t for speeding - it was for illegally passing someone in a country where people pass each other constantly and will just casually drive down the middle of the road. fucking tourist tax.

however there’s so many cameras EVERYWHERE (and I’ve driven 1,700 KM already, and the trip is only halfway done). I’m damn near certain this is an inevitability.

@HenriThunberg i’ve seen a few saddled horses, but there hasn’t been a good time to ask to sit on one. i’m going to keep trying for this one. my goal is for them all to resolve YES.

@mattyb maybe in Stepantsminda? (I'm on the right!)

@HenriThunberg I’ve already been there, similar shot! They only had a single horse when I was there too.

@mattyb Prometheus Cave

@mattyb i expected it to be bigger (like 2x bigger), i didn’t expect it to move

@mattyb a really interesting place, in Stalin’s hometown of Gori. It’s like 85% Stalin reverence without any acknowledgement of the bad, and then it heel turns in the final rooms and talks about all of the people he imprisoned, disappeared, jailed, and then it goes on to talk about Russia’s 2008 invasion and ongoing occupation. A really interesting POV on a not so great guy

@mattyb my count is now ~15

@mattyb shot this on mobile, i’ll edit the good’nes later tonight off my real camera

@mattyb cooool 😍

@HenriThunberg Georgian casinos gamble in USD… so strange. Anyways I lost $3.80 (US), fun time

@mattyb Mount Shani (the tiny peak to the left is also Russian)

For the Police Resolution, it’s hard to explain how many cops are on the streets in Armenian cities (large and small). Cops set up a road block in Maralik, and spoke to me to let me through.

@mattyb Day 2 and my count here is >5. I’ll be here for 2 more weeks

@mattyb in Armenia now, and wow there’s cops everywhere. this one feels low

Looking forward to the pics, I love Georgia! 🥰

@HenriThunberg so excited for this trip! it’ll be my first time in all three countries

@mattyb For Tbilisi I personally liked ...

• Fabrika https://maps.app.goo.gl/czUepwH2yuLcuaSb9

• High quality ballet for very low prices

• Botanical garden in the heights was decent if you're into that kind of thing

When you do Stepantsminda I highly recommend doing the hike up to the chapel before dawn, much better temperature and very spectacular to get the sunrise.
Genocide museum in Yerevan was worth a visit IMO.

I wasn't tracking in Google Maps places I went, and a few favorites have unfortunately closed since then. Enjoy!

@HenriThunberg thanks for all the tips!