One thing I have realized while traveling in Georgia is that it is best to explore the country with local residents. You can save a lot of money through their knowledge and insights. A local person can buy tickets for you, allowing you to get entry to parks, monuments, and monasteries at a lower price. Even when dining in restaurants, many places charge more for foreign tourists. When you’re with a local person, dining in good restaurants can be cheaper.
When we reached Batumi, the port city, instead of dining in a restaurant directly, we bought fish from the local market and then took it to a restaurant and asked them to cook it for us. This way, we were able to save more than 50% on our food costs. I went along with Nino and her brother to the local fish market and bought lobsters, crabs, and prawns, which we later had cooked at a local diner.
I decided to stay in an apartment in a high-rise building on the 23rd floor, right at the top. I thought this would be the perfect place to finish my book about my travels in Georgia.
Enjoying Seafood in Batumi
“You know, I got my lips done up, yeah! I got some Botox injections just to make my lips succulent and luscious like Angelina Jolie,” Nino told me as we tucked into some prawns and oysters.
“Yeah, I was about to ask you. They do look a bit plump, your lips,” I replied as I took a bite of some fresh crab.
“You should try your hand at acting or maybe modeling. You are very beautiful,” I told Nino.
“I don’t have the time. Georgia doesn’t have a big movie industry like Bollywood,” Nino said.
“But I like you, Nino, and I like your English. It is fluent. Where did you learn English?” I asked.
“Oh, I just learned it on my own, just by talking to tourists and travelers. I did not take any classes or lessons. I picked it up naturally,” Nino told me.
“Your brother Joseph is really very possessive about you. Whenever I take pictures of you, he gives me an irritating look and says that will be fifty dollars. He thinks I am trying to hit on you,” I replied.
“Yes, although he is a brother from another mother, he still cares for me,” Nino said politely.
I felt full by lunchtime and was ready to go back to my apartment in Batumi for an evening nap, knowing full well that I would be spending the next nine days exploring this city.
