Wednesday, July 23, 2014

Carlessness

If I had better internet, I might look up some articles I've read about the physical-activity-related benefits of using public transportation, but you'll just have to believe me. Naturally, I don't have a car here, not that I would ever want to drive in the bedlam that is Tbilisi traffic. Instead, I have been building a deeper appreciation for big-city public transportation. Tbilisi has an efficient network of metro trains, minibuses, regular buses and of course gazillions of taxis. Taxis are the reason I have finally learned how to (more or less) pronounce the word for "four," since drivers inevitably want to gouge me by charging five lari. Finally, I can counter offer.

My favorite is the metro, since with only two lines it is impossible to get lost. I have managed to board the train going in the wrong direction, though this is scarcely a disaster, considering that we are one stop from the end of the line, at which point the train simply goes back in the right way.

The minibuses, known here as mrshrukas, are plentiful and cheap (50 tetri a ride, less than 30 cents), though the routes seem impossibly complicated to me and even Larissa has to ask, though to be fair, this is because she normally just drives her car and is only taking the bus to humor me.

Still, given enough time, my favorite method of travel here is plain old walking. This mode allows for slowing down to watch old men playing backgammon on the sidewalk using bottle lids for pieces, popping into secondhand shops to paw through sparkly dresses, or investigating the "American House" shop, which turned out to be where expired CVS handcream and returned bedspreads (with department store receipts still taped on) get another shot at being sold.

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