Loads of mountains, soulful people and great food. You're good. If you can, learn basic Russian words like numbers and how much, etc. Zoomers will speak English, but most older people will be conversational in Russian.
Speak a bit of Russian but Cyrillic is foreign to me. Hopefully routes are obvious
They don't use Cyrillic, they got their own writing system which is not easy to learn. But if you can talk, you don't need signs as many things in Georgia are on informal basis. Most trips into mountains will use marshutkas. BTW only pay when you get off and ask how much before. Also see how much everyone else pays. I've never been ripped off, but you don't want to look like a fool.
My man speaks the truth. For clarity - marshrutka = minibus. In the capital there are two major stations where they go from either North and West or South and East, these are near Didube metro station and Ortachala area respectively.
Guys with minivans and picrel are guaranteed to give you a high price.
There's a video online, urbex stuff, where some Georgia guy sneaks into an abandoned hospital and films things like fetuses, hands, organs, etc. preserved in medical juice. It's been posted on PrepHole several times, but I can't find it anymore. Nothing spooky, just cool that he ran into abandoned shit that wasn't stolen and sold off yet.
>medical juice
kek
It's all probably gone by now, but yeah there's plenty of stuff around if you know where to look. There's a large amount of abandoned soviet infrastructure like in any post-soviet country, and a lot of it is very poorly documented. When I was a teenager and was way more into urbex and crawling around I've done my share of commie-dungeon delving
1 year ago
Anonymous
I'm from Latvia and it used to be possible to find loads of cool shit in abandoned places, but it all got picked clean over 90's and early 2000's. First copper thieves, then metal thieves, then just demolition or renovation at some point. I regret not exploring enough as a kid as there was frickloads of shit around me. I was born in '97, so it was still possible when I was very young. Few years later and it was all gone. I did notice in Georgia, even in Tbilisi, there was still lots of old shit that didn't look like it was going to be demolished any time soon.
1 year ago
Anonymous
Same story here, mate. All the cool spots I used to explore as a kid/teen are completely gutted inside and trust me, a lot have been torn down. I sort of assume Latvia is a pretty flat country, we have a lot more subterranean structures. There's plenty of bomb shelters and such cut into the hills of the city, and there's even a nuclear bunker beneath the botanical garden which was open when I was very small and my mom took me there once. Welded shut now
Loads of mountains, soulful people and great food. You're good. If you can, learn basic Russian words like numbers and how much, etc. Zoomers will speak English, but most older people will be conversational in Russian.
Since you won't be around for a long time I won't get into the details of where to just walk around, let me list some of the highlights.
Don't spend your time in touristy places and don't let my people fleece you for every cent you've got.
Borjomi-Kharagauli National park is great, much advised. If you're up for it, Vashlovani national park has great big open steppes and mud volcanoes and shit.
Stay out of tourist traps like Martvili canyon, Prometheus/Sataphlia caves, there's plenty more to see without all that overpriced nonsense.
Birtvisi monument is pretty neat.
Hope you have a good time, don't spoil my countrymen with your money. Try not to speak Russian if you can avoid it.
Phone navigation will work just fine until you want to go somewhere really obscure.
Let me know if there's anything else I can help you with.
Thanks for the other places, I'll take a look at those. >Phone navigation will work just fine until you want to go somewhere really obscure. >Let me know if there's anything else I can help you with.
Whats the best mapping service around, can I get good local paper maps?
Whats the deal with camping, would I be good to be walking around in my milsurp and setup camp in the middle of the woods?
>Whats the best mapping service around, can I get good local paper maps?
idk man, I just use a lil' garmin if I have to but generally even google maps are fine enough with satellite. never bothered with paper maps but you can get some in any local tourist information agency. If you go up a trail in a national park you can get a map from the visitor centre (and always check in with the rangers on entry, I'm sure you're a capable lad tho). >Whats the deal with camping, would I be good to be walking around in my milsurp and setup camp in the middle of the woods?
That's how I camp. There's no law or anything outside major cities and highways, everyone and their mum packs guns and grows weed in the forest. If you're not on someone's field or by the side of the road, nobody will come bother you. People will even let you set your tent in their yard if you're polite.
Milsurp is fine, it'll help you blend in. Only tourists use pricey neon-colored gear, makes you a target if there's any undesireables around.
Nope. Law's hard on weapons here. People in the countryside usually use cheap turkish/italian shotguns or heirloom AKs and other crap from the 90's turbulent times.
No outdoor ranges, but there's a couple indoor ones in the capital.
Oh yeah, if coppers give you any trouble just play the dumb tourist card. Foreigners are usually too much bother for local authorities.
I'll be around for a while, let me know if anything else pops up. Glad I can be useful on this damn board for once
1 year ago
Anonymous
Coppers speak any English or should I leave it google translate and will I be able to pay in card or just card?
1 year ago
Anonymous
Usually enough english to get your point across, no sweat.
Paying with card is an option in any chain store and most places in cities, but in smaller towns and villages they'd rather take cash even if they do have a terminal because they can cheat the taxman, baby. Keep a decent amount in cash in smaller denominations, 'cause motherfrickers never got change for anything larger than 50 gel.
1 year ago
Anonymous
Based enough.
One final question, are there any predators/animals to watch out for?
1 year ago
Anonymous
Brown bear and wolf. There's also supposedly like 1 fricking leopard left somewhere in Lagodekhi national park.
Both bear and wolf are pretty scrawny and rare. If you're in the forested mountain areas (Racha, Svaneti, Borjomi, Algeti), they're more common but still rare. Just hang your food up in a tree if you're in an area like that. A mate of mine had a bear waltz into his camp in Racha, tried to get the food bag, gave up and fricked off. You'll be fine. As a no-gun I like to bring some firecrackers/cherry bombs with me cause they'll spook frickin anything.
There's lots of stray dogs in Georgia. They're good boys and girls but don't get too chummy with them if there's a big pack. If there's more than one dog way out in the woods they're probably gone native and filling in for jackals if the area has been hunted for them too much. Don't socialize with them.
1 year ago
Anonymous
I'll grab some firecrackers, wouldn't mind meeting a dog in the mountains
1 year ago
Anonymous
They can be great. Me and a mate of mine were camping out for a few days and this dog came out of nowhere and immediately became our friend/watchman. Followed us all the way to the settlement after we were done, always sad to part ways.
Take a nice big shit on the side of the mountain and snap a pic for us.
Will do pal
Speak a bit of Russian but Cyrillic is foreign to me. Hopefully routes are obvious
They don't use Cyrillic, they got their own writing system which is not easy to learn. But if you can talk, you don't need signs as many things in Georgia are on informal basis. Most trips into mountains will use marshutkas. BTW only pay when you get off and ask how much before. Also see how much everyone else pays. I've never been ripped off, but you don't want to look like a fool.
My man speaks the truth. For clarity - marshrutka = minibus. In the capital there are two major stations where they go from either North and West or South and East, these are near Didube metro station and Ortachala area respectively.
Guys with minivans and picrel are guaranteed to give you a high price.
There's a video online, urbex stuff, where some Georgia guy sneaks into an abandoned hospital and films things like fetuses, hands, organs, etc. preserved in medical juice. It's been posted on PrepHole several times, but I can't find it anymore. Nothing spooky, just cool that he ran into abandoned shit that wasn't stolen and sold off yet.
>medical juice
kek
It's all probably gone by now, but yeah there's plenty of stuff around if you know where to look. There's a large amount of abandoned soviet infrastructure like in any post-soviet country, and a lot of it is very poorly documented. When I was a teenager and was way more into urbex and crawling around I've done my share of commie-dungeon delving
I'm from Latvia and it used to be possible to find loads of cool shit in abandoned places, but it all got picked clean over 90's and early 2000's. First copper thieves, then metal thieves, then just demolition or renovation at some point. I regret not exploring enough as a kid as there was frickloads of shit around me. I was born in '97, so it was still possible when I was very young. Few years later and it was all gone. I did notice in Georgia, even in Tbilisi, there was still lots of old shit that didn't look like it was going to be demolished any time soon.
Same story here, mate. All the cool spots I used to explore as a kid/teen are completely gutted inside and trust me, a lot have been torn down. I sort of assume Latvia is a pretty flat country, we have a lot more subterranean structures. There's plenty of bomb shelters and such cut into the hills of the city, and there's even a nuclear bunker beneath the botanical garden which was open when I was very small and my mom took me there once. Welded shut now
UK?
Yes
Loads of mountains, soulful people and great food. You're good. If you can, learn basic Russian words like numbers and how much, etc. Zoomers will speak English, but most older people will be conversational in Russian.
Since you won't be around for a long time I won't get into the details of where to just walk around, let me list some of the highlights.
Don't spend your time in touristy places and don't let my people fleece you for every cent you've got.
Borjomi-Kharagauli National park is great, much advised. If you're up for it, Vashlovani national park has great big open steppes and mud volcanoes and shit.
Stay out of tourist traps like Martvili canyon, Prometheus/Sataphlia caves, there's plenty more to see without all that overpriced nonsense.
Birtvisi monument is pretty neat.
Hope you have a good time, don't spoil my countrymen with your money. Try not to speak Russian if you can avoid it.
Phone navigation will work just fine until you want to go somewhere really obscure.
Let me know if there's anything else I can help you with.
t. local PrepHoleist
Thanks for the other places, I'll take a look at those.
>Phone navigation will work just fine until you want to go somewhere really obscure.
>Let me know if there's anything else I can help you with.
Whats the best mapping service around, can I get good local paper maps?
Whats the deal with camping, would I be good to be walking around in my milsurp and setup camp in the middle of the woods?
>Whats the best mapping service around, can I get good local paper maps?
idk man, I just use a lil' garmin if I have to but generally even google maps are fine enough with satellite. never bothered with paper maps but you can get some in any local tourist information agency. If you go up a trail in a national park you can get a map from the visitor centre (and always check in with the rangers on entry, I'm sure you're a capable lad tho).
>Whats the deal with camping, would I be good to be walking around in my milsurp and setup camp in the middle of the woods?
That's how I camp. There's no law or anything outside major cities and highways, everyone and their mum packs guns and grows weed in the forest. If you're not on someone's field or by the side of the road, nobody will come bother you. People will even let you set your tent in their yard if you're polite.
Milsurp is fine, it'll help you blend in. Only tourists use pricey neon-colored gear, makes you a target if there's any undesireables around.
Thanks. A tourist won't be able to get a gun, will they?
Nope. Law's hard on weapons here. People in the countryside usually use cheap turkish/italian shotguns or heirloom AKs and other crap from the 90's turbulent times.
No outdoor ranges, but there's a couple indoor ones in the capital.
Didn't think so, thanks
Oh yeah, if coppers give you any trouble just play the dumb tourist card. Foreigners are usually too much bother for local authorities.
I'll be around for a while, let me know if anything else pops up. Glad I can be useful on this damn board for once
Coppers speak any English or should I leave it google translate and will I be able to pay in card or just card?
Usually enough english to get your point across, no sweat.
Paying with card is an option in any chain store and most places in cities, but in smaller towns and villages they'd rather take cash even if they do have a terminal because they can cheat the taxman, baby. Keep a decent amount in cash in smaller denominations, 'cause motherfrickers never got change for anything larger than 50 gel.
Based enough.
One final question, are there any predators/animals to watch out for?
Brown bear and wolf. There's also supposedly like 1 fricking leopard left somewhere in Lagodekhi national park.
Both bear and wolf are pretty scrawny and rare. If you're in the forested mountain areas (Racha, Svaneti, Borjomi, Algeti), they're more common but still rare. Just hang your food up in a tree if you're in an area like that. A mate of mine had a bear waltz into his camp in Racha, tried to get the food bag, gave up and fricked off. You'll be fine. As a no-gun I like to bring some firecrackers/cherry bombs with me cause they'll spook frickin anything.
There's lots of stray dogs in Georgia. They're good boys and girls but don't get too chummy with them if there's a big pack. If there's more than one dog way out in the woods they're probably gone native and filling in for jackals if the area has been hunted for them too much. Don't socialize with them.
I'll grab some firecrackers, wouldn't mind meeting a dog in the mountains
They can be great. Me and a mate of mine were camping out for a few days and this dog came out of nowhere and immediately became our friend/watchman. Followed us all the way to the settlement after we were done, always sad to part ways.
>always sad to part ways
The one downside