After leaving Krakow, Poland I flew to Kiev in the Ukraine where I had a several hour layover. The plane from Kiev to Tbilisi, Georgia was the most uncomfortable and outdated plane I have ever been on. There was literally just 5 inches of leg room between the two seats and when the person in front of me reclined he was practically in my lap leaving me with an intense feeling of claustrophobia.
Most flights to Tbilisi arrive late night/early morning so my friend Hannah told me not to feel bad that she had to come and pick me up from the airport at 4am! Luckily she was living in an apartment in the heart of Tbilisi with 2 other Americans and a Georgian so we were tucked in our beds (or should I say sofa) before 5am.
Map of Georgia and surrounding countries
After catching up on some much needed sleep we headed out on a walking tour of Tbilisi and seven "tired" hours later met up with two of Hannah’s Swedish friends for an hour long soak in a typical “Georgian sulfur bath”. I was not sure what to expect but what I got was an experience!
We found ourselves in this charming private room covered in mosaic tiles with a very hot 105 degree sulfur pool and a freezing cold 50 degree sulfur pool. In this gigantic room there was also a stone table for getting a "scrub". In the sulfur baths it’s typical for everyone to be naked (even in the public baths), and I have to admit that I was a little uncomfortable at first but quickly relaxed once I was emerged in the hot sulfur waters! For an extra $5 each, everyone decided to get a scrub down. A woman in her 70’s entered our room wearing only her bra and underwear. One at a time she called us over to the stone table and with her scrub mitt covered in vinegar she proceeded to scrub all the dirt and grim off us (and I mean EVERY inch of us)! Who knew that vinegar helps to life off the dead skin. It was quite an experience but afterwards I felt so "squeaky" clean!
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