The main religion in the Republic of Georgia was Orthodox Christianity although 10% of the population were Muslim. Batumi had many casinos and, as darkness fell, their gaudy neon lights illuminated the urban landscape. Gambling was illegal in some neighbouring countries and tourism was an important source of income for Georgia.
Batumi had narrow cobbled streets lined with little shops, clothes boutiques and restaurants. We discovered beautiful Italianate parks and gardens and, adjacent to “our” car park, was a 7 km promenade stretching along the water front where there was a Ferris wheel and stalls selling souvenirs, roasted chestnuts, sweet corn and fruit. Coach loads of tourists arrived throughout the day for excursions on the water – pirate ship trips, jet skis, paragliding, boat tours etc. In the adjacent marina we even spotted a couple of Azimuts, the larger boat was a 62 foot called “Ambasadori” – the name of one of the local hotels.
A dozen or so stray dogs roamed the car park, each one identified by a yellow ear tag. They were big and barky but stayed out of our way. The car park attendants were a friendly and helpful bunch although they spoke very little English. There was a car wash right next to us; their customers were mainly courtesy cars from the local hotels and casinos but we also saw private cars being valeted – high end Mercedes, Mustangs, Lexus and we even spotted a Rolls Royce. The car wash people did an excellent job on our mud spattered truck too.
Adjacent to the car park where we were staying were high rise hotels and apartments. Just as it was getting dark and the city was lighting up, we took the lift to the Asian fusion restaurant on the 19th floor of the Radisson. The food was excellent quality and cost £25 – £30 a head; beer and a glass of red wine added another £25 to the bill.
