Tbilisi

So, after a couple of days in Kiev and my briefing, it’s off to Tbilisi. I remember to the day the last time I was there; Monday 22nd November 2004, the first day of that winter in Tbilisi. I left there for Kiev in the evening and happened upon the Orange Revolution. But that’s another story.

So, back to today. As soon as I got to the airport, I knew I was on my way to Georgia. The Georgians are wonderful people; kind, generous, passionate, impulsive. What they are congenitally incapable of is queuing. At the check-in desk, at security, at the gate, a crowd of people all milling around, changing places, pushing in, chatting away. But hey, remember all the good things.

Rules in general are basically unGeorgian. So at security there was a forlorn pile of vodka bottles and shampoo containers which had fallen foul of the 100ml in a sealable plastic bag rule. Because this was Ukraine and Ukraine is proud of being European, almost EU, so rules were rules. It would all have got through in Tbilisi.

And onto the flight. Our carrier was Ukraine International, a proper airline, unlike some that I will be flying during this next month. (Top tip; when flying to Amsterdam fly Ukraine International. They codeshare with KLM so you get the airmiles, but you also get a decent meal, unlike the rubbish that KLM now serve up.) The usual stuff as we landed at Tbilisi; loud applause as the flight touched down, the sound of mobile phones being switched on even as we were still doing 100mph, and people standing to get their luggage out of the bins during the taxi to the stand. All part of being Georgian.

But then the real surprise. More or less the nicest terminal I have been in, absolutely brand new, no queue at immigration, no visa, no immigration card, just the latest technology. Two minutes and I was in. Ten minutes and I was looking for my driver.

When I had left five years ago just about every car was a Lada, but here I was, being ferried to my hotel (Betsy’s, try it!) in a Land Cruiser and cars around me were Opels, Daewoos, Mercedes. How times have changed. But that’s not all. The Georgian drivers I left five years ago were the most frightening in the world, or at least the world that I have inhabited. Now all I saw were people obeying the speed limit, passing on the outside and stopping at traffic lights. Have Georgian men had an operation since I was last here?

So here I am, full of anticipation about the work and reinforcing my memories. I remember that I have had one of the greatest moments of my life here. On my first visit in 2002 I was staying with my team leader Rieks (a very Dutch Dutchman) and he asked me if I wanted to go to an evening of folk singing and dancing. Of course I agreed, but imagined a bar with people with one hand over their ear pounding out the Georgian version of sea shanties.
Not at all! What we were going to see was one of the great dance companies of the world, the Georgia National Ballet Sukhishvili, 40 women and 20 men, on the biggest stage I have ever seen at the National Theatre with the President (then Shevardnadze) in attendance. The three hours I spent there was a thrilling introduction into Georgian culture, amazing athleticism and grace. Absolutely unforgettable and if you ever see that they are dancing in one of Europe’s great cities go and see them!