The legend of the walking traveler .

As I had begun my morning routine drinking coffee and lighting a cigarette I hadn’t noticed the traveler who had opened the door and was nearly 7m away from me . He took me by surprise .

His long brown hair was covered by  a green hat with the bottom part cut out . I could see 3 rastas rising from the hat . He had old red worn out shoes and green dusty pants with a shirt that looked like it had been in use for many , many years …His face was covered by a 2-3 month beard and if you looked closely you could see some wrinkles near his eyes . But nevertheless the eyes were friendly – unbelievably friendly .

He asked for bread while saying that he is from Italy and walked here .I offered him chicken but he immediately refused saying that he is a vegetarian .After some looking around I found a piece of bread that was laying in the corner in the fridge .

I made some tea and found out that the guy was 41 years old and  a walking traveler .He had no money and was traveling to write his books about philosophy and travels .We shared our sories and for a minute It was funny to know that a walking traveler and a hitchhiking traveler were drinking tea talking about traveling .

Hes a vegetarian with no money , no direction and only walks never taking a ride from anyone , without any transport to walk the whole world .He hates to cause any harm to the nature and decided not to use any petrol in any means .

He said that he didn’t like to stay in one place for too long and was on his way out .But since we forgot each others names we introduced ourselves finally .So he left with his last words.

His last words :

Traveler : Your name….Raimond …..Its french . Rai meaning King…Mond meaning (the whole)World .

Me : Not forgetting my last name : Soon …

King of the World Soon .

He left with a smile never to return .

Living In Georgia .

Living and working in the hostel is amazing . I have had the biggest opportunity to meet backpackers and tourist from many different countries .Some come by plane to travel Georgia with a minibus . Some come to travel the mountains and for many Tbilisi is on their way home or to their new destination and need a place to stay .Many many many…Polish people , thats for sure .

They are just normal human beings with the inner craving for for travel .Usually having a weeks worth of facial hair , dirty clothes  and are just happy to finally sleep in a real bed or to have a shower . The hostel becomes a place to relax and regenerate .For me – I feel like a monk who helps people in need ..a savior so to say and it fulfills me .People from France ,Russia ,Belgium ,Austria ,Poland ,Iran ,Azerbaijan ,Turkey and Poland come here to this small hostel …So far I am still the only Estonian who has/is visiting the hostel.

I have been living in this hostel now for 41 days . From those days I have spent 39 in the hostel .How weird it is that the days have gone by so fast .Makes me to know that I have slowly become more fond of the owners who have become my family and the hostel that has given me a place to sleep for so long but the main reason for staying here is because I am waiting for someone .My dear friend in Estonia didn’t get to go to be a volunteer for a year in Bolivia .So speaking with her I proposed to her to come join my travels for a year .She immediately agreed and has already bought the plane ticket to Georgia/Tbilisi . My job is to go get her on the 6th of September at 4 o’clock from Tbilisi Airport .I have already made preparations to buy wine and make her stay here as pleasant as possible since she will be staying at the hostel for a few days before we leave to the dangerous countries where Muslim dictatorship is law .

I have finally settled down . After a week staying in here you get used to everything .

“Learn the basics of the language how to say hello , goodbye ,thank you .

“Know your neighborhood .

“See all the main sights .

“Get used to the food .

….Finally you have little to discover , but I still go further and further to the other parts of the city just to see more .I have found locals to hang out and gotten to know the real Georgians .Found many parts of the city to explore . Mainly by Metro and by foot . Ive went to explore the mountains surrounding the city .Found abandoned buildings to explore.Have gone to taste all kinds of cuisine in many different households and restaurants ..But i love the wine….I just love the wine .No wonder Georgia is well-known for wine .The architecture is amazing but mostly because they have balcony’s everywhere – Thats what makes it special for me . But even if I have explored one place I immediately find another .

I am in Love with this beautiful Tbilisi and I will enjoy it as long as I am here .

Meanwhile hitchhiking the 10-minute Georgia

Finally I saw the border and I thanked the driver who took me 15 km further from his way to make my life as easy as possible so I would have no trouble hitchhiking on the small road that had very few cars . I stepped off the car and went to the crossing point .

At first you have to show your passport to the guard that is on the Turkish side and then you can start your steps into a small checkpoint where you will get your stamp – I had to wait in between 10 minutes and I was free to leave building to the second checkpoint where the guy also checked my passport for the  stamp .Then I could go to the 3rd and more modern checkpoint where the guard took a good look at my face , made a picture , checked my papers and I was finally  let to Georgia .

On the other side I saw a nice landscape full of trees , hills and the first abandoned buildings on the other side .My plan for the first night in Georgia was to stay at an abandoned building but I couldn’t get sleep in the first abandoned building and the abandoned gas station didn’t seem such a good place either so i decided to walk and hitchhike that took me around 10 minutes .

The first hitchhike in Georgia was a positive one , the Georgian guy in his 60s with his old Lada brought me further maybe 30 km . In his car we didn’t speak much cause like most Georgian people they knew Russian and Georgian  , but somehow we got over the language barrier and he let me off near a cheap hostel in the first small city .As I told him , I didn’t have “Georgian lari” so I continued on foot to get out of the city , find a nice abandoned building and sleep there . Well even though saw a lot of abandoned buildings – destroyed buildings… I didn’t find  one that could have given me shelter for the night so I continued in this cold rain till I got to the other end of the city “The travel took me 2 hours ” .

As I then found a monument and the rain had stopped I tried sleeping infront of the monument while the bushes were giving me little shelter from the rain . I spent there 2 hours and maybe had sleep for 1 hour . It had been so far the worst experience in finding shelter .

I woke up ,  packed my bag and started walking in the direction of the capital while it was still dark .I walked for an hour until I found a normal bus stop with at least a normal roof that would give me shelter from the rain .I set up my sleeping mat and stayed there for the night .”First time in Georgia . First time alone so far away from home …5000km .” those were my last thoughts before falling asleep .

The Morning …

Slowly I opened my eyes to find a Russian guy looking at me …I can understand that completely – Some foreigner sleeping in a bus stop on a mat – Must have been very interesting for him . My first words to make this less awkward were “hello” , “privjet ” and whatever the first words were to come out of my mouth . I told him that I had traveled a long way here and am on my way to wherever life leads me to .After the first contact I offered him some cigarettes that we immediately smoked and started my journey to a new place .So I went to the other side of the road to hitchhike while smiling at him . Soon another Russian guy joined him and they just stood there looking at me making conversation to each other.

It took me 10 minutes to get on a car and the driver seemed very nice so he asked me where I was going – so i told him – I don’t know , Id rather know where you are going  ?

We didn’t have much to talk about so I just looked at the landscape that was amazing : the green nature , the small roads , small farms , lots of caves  , a river by the road and the big hills we were surrounded by . But I didn’t see the whole road . I fell asleep halfway until we arrived to the capital of Georgia  “Tbilisi” .

We said our goodbyes and I stepped of the car in the middle of the city somewhere with no direction , no plans with just the new culture surrounding me and me just standing on the road smiling 🙂 It was 11 am .

Meanwhile hitchhiking the 15-minute Turkey .

Hitchhiking in Turkey was one of the most finest experiences I have ever had .For the first time I experienced something completely different from Europe .

Turkey is an extremely hitchhiking-friendly country where you never have to wait more than 15 minutes .It is so extremely comfortable to hitchhike there that its hard to find trouble anywhere .People will even try to speak to you on the street and offer their help in any way they can as happened to me many times everywhere .People would start asking me if I need any help or if I would be lost in any small city .                                                                       At first the start of hitchhiking was slow as I had only arrived in a new country and had no idea what would be waiting for me at the dangerous roads of Turkey …Well for the first time in a long time my german became useful again since there is a bigger chance of meeting people who speak german than english .Hell yes for my childhood watching german cartoons .                                                                                                                                             The first car of course stopped and the driver asked me if he could bring me to a bus station – that happens a lot apparently and the second car got me 6 km further – as I said it was a slow start – But then things got off with a blast when a small van stopped for me and the guy started speaking german – in no time he stopped near a truck that got me many hundreds of km further . The truck drivers are the nicest around – Of course at first there was a language barrier but we managed it completely using body language .He taught me basic turkish and I him basic English or at least polished as much as he knew .The fact is that almost every driver will offer you tea(chai) and something to eat – so my own cup would have come more handy if I had thought of that beforehand . The driver let me off near a big city in a gas station so I would have a good place to continue my journey – especially since I didnt have a sleeping bag with me or a tent .Maybe traveling for a year with a normal handbag was a bit too much of a crazy idea .I waited and brushed my teeth and finally shaved .Felt heavenly – really heavenly and got to the border of Iran the next day – thanks to the driver who worked all night .

In the morning we were on the road of the border 15 km of trucks behind each other , 30 degrees celsius  and surrounded by amazing mountains with sheep – We of course had breakfast which consisted of dried lavas that we softened with water and peanut-buttery-kind-of-weird-substance .It was actually edible .after breakfast I hitchhiked to the border and asked around if you need visa . You actually do need visa …So I changed my plan and started hitchhiking  to Georgia since I don’t need a visa there . On the road I met many kind-hearted people who offered me chai and something to eat – It was amazing . The landscape is mostly dry and people throw out trash from the window – So it is not the most sanitary place in the world . By nightfall I was In Georgia .

I saw little graffiti – drank much chai , illegally beer that was horrible ( Turkey is not a country for beer) and ate the most weird and delicious food available in turkey and I loved every minute of it .

” All of my pictures from Hitchhiking  Turkey are lost ”

PS! ( Turkish people touch foreigners a lot )

( Usually you never wait more than 15 minutes for a car )

( You are offered from just a cup of tea to a great dinner and a place to sleep )

( Turkish ice-cream is one of the most delicious ones in the world )

Meanwhile In Ancient Turkey

For me my adventure began in Turkey – The place of great food and kindness . In Turkey I took part in an EU Project in Sivas – a nice small city where I spent 10 days . Everything was great from the day I arrived there til the project ended .I met some great people who I became really close friends with .There were people from  Turkey, Estonia, Slovenia and Romania

(01.07-10.07)

So what did I exactly do in the project ?

For the time I was there I took part in  visiting the officials of the city , universities , sights and the city life . We planted some trees , talked about the future of the European Union and it was a blast and a memorable memory for all .But explaining it would take a lot of time so im going to let the pictures describe it . “A Picture Is Worth A Thousand Words” So here are a few thousand words in pictures 🙂 by Cristian Clodeanu .

I Thank Everybody that made the stay in Sivas Wonderful 🙂