Soviet Back from Georgia... stuff to share

[Bob]

Here from the Stalin museum one of the few copies of Stalin's death masks

[Bob]

Here an example of a seller at the "Dry Bridge Market" in Tbilisi

[Bob]

From the Stalin museum, a tabletop copy of the Lenin mausoleum... I never realised that it at one point also had the name of Stalin on it

[Bob]

And just to show that the country side can be nice as well - near the border town of Kazbegi (i.e. near the Russian / Chechnyan border)

[Bryan]

Wow very nice Bob! Thanks for sharing some pictures with us. I can't wait to travel again.

Is there a lot of people speaking Russian in the Caucasus and in Central Asia? I think my limited Russian knowledge will be more usefull than my French, English and German languages out there.

I have to say that I will not travel very luxious as I'm still on a shoestring budget.

[Bob]

Wow very nice Bob! Thanks for sharing some pictures with us. I can't wait to travel again.

Is there a lot of people speaking Russian in the Caucasus and in Central Asia? I think my limited Russian knowledge will be more usefull than my French, English and German languages out there.

I have to say that I will not travel very luxious as I'm still on a shoestring budget.

Most people 20 and up speak Russian as they had to learn it in school.

If on a shoestring budget, I'd consider ruling out Turkmenistan as it's rather expensive to just get in the country (big visa hassle) and public transport is essentially non-existent.

[Bryan]

Most people 20 and up speak Russian as they had to learn it in school.

If on a shoestring budget, I'd consider ruling out Turkmenistan as it's rather expensive to just get in the country (big visa hassle) and public transport is essentially non-existent.

Who knows, since Turkmenbashi died last week, the country might open-up for visitors and be more friendly to visitors. Do you remember how much you had to pay for your visa in Turkmenistan?

[Bob]

Who knows, since Turkmenbashi died last week, the country might open-up for visitors and be more friendly to visitors. Do you remember how much you had to pay for your visa in Turkmenistan?

I think about USD 200 + you MUST (this is compulsory) book your trip via a local travel agent.

Had a similar thing in Libya where I was a few years ago... added difficulty there was that groups of 1 person where not allowed so I had to get visa for 4 people (of which 3 "coincidentally" missed their plane):

- visa costs for 4 people

- compulsory translation of passport into arabic

- compulsory guide during travels

...also, expensive!

[Bryan]

Mmmh that's rather expensive to travel to Libya alone. I'll see if later if I go to Turkmenistan or not. I would like to go, but I guess other countries might be more inviting.