Batumi, Monday

1513 In what I think is a Ukrainian restaurant on sea front. Felt slight shifting in guts and decided I'd seize the opportunity to be near a toilet. Having stuffed pepper (the stuffed cabbage is off, apparently) and french fries, with a coke (probably not diet, meh).

Woke up feeling tired and room cold, snoozed repeatedly on alarm, finally got up about 1315 and left hotel about 1415. Actually a lovely warm sunny day outside, I keep confusing the gloomy cold of my rooms with the outdoor weather.

Managed to buy a train ticket for Wednesday, thanks to electronic Georgian dictionary and the lifesaving combination of arabic numerals with pen & paper. Guide book said (correctly) you can buy train tickets at the post office in town, though you don't go into the moderately shabby and discreet post office proper (which has no big sign even in Georgian as far as I can tell, just an A4 laser printed sign saying 'post office' in English and Georgian), you instead go into an even shabbier side door which inexplicably contains a mostly-empty chest freezer with a few ice creams in and a counter right at the back. Sign outside mentions Georgian Express Parcels but no mention of trains, even in Georgian as far as I could tell (not much, of course). Anyway, I said the word for train to the woman and it turned out that was the right place after all. GEL27 for first class, it would have been 20ish for second but I figured I'd splurge. Leaves 0755, I had written details on a bit of paper so knew that. Arse o'clock in the morning, of course.

1524 Well fucking great. Thought I'd go to bog so I don't have to worry. Two smart shining pristine squat toilets. Cos yeah, when I'm a bit worried about the consistency of what might come out would be a fantastic time to try using such a thing for the first time in my life. Fuck-a-doodle-do. I am just going to have to trek all the way back to the fucking hotel afterwards aren't I? I am wondering if I should take a loperamide. I was fine this morning so I don't want to go all on red alert and starting taking tablets that might just make things go funny when they were actually fine.

Maybe I'll see if I can find a bar along the seafront which just might have a proper toilet - I don't care if it's fucking dirty, as long as it sticks up out of the ground.

1537 Stuffed peppers very good. (Stuffed with mince, rice, onion and spices if I remember correctly. Some much needed vegetable matter too...) Am thinking I will pay the bill then take a chance on the toilets. Had to pay with 100 note as v low on change; they have taken it anyway. (I have a 20 but not sure if that's enough and I am saving it in case of need.)

GEL 12.50 including 10% tip, I will leave an extra 1GEL jic.

1546 Actually, the bill was 12.50 including 10% tip but they only gave me enough change to make it 13, so I didn't leave anything.

Managed with the bog. I took my trousers off first just to be on the safe side. :-)

Sign outside says Restaurant in English and then something in Cyrillic which looks like it might say Ukraine.

1601 Just tried to get up to observation deck of Alphabet Tower, secrurity guard gestured very clearly to indicate closed. Chap happened to come up speaking Georgian, probably asking if open, and he got rebuffed too. Shame but there you go. Reading guide book last night made it sound as if the place is all-year-round, even if summer is busier, but this kind of thing reinforces my feeling that the place has kind of gone off-line for the winter.

1659 On upstairs terrace of small bar on seafront, have ordered a beer. Walked along seafront a bit, pleasantly warm though I'm walking the wrong way and have sun in eyes. Small pier with nice views, walked along beach a bit earlier. Very impressive building with small ferris wheel halfway up it, but ferris wheel not turning so I assume no possibility of going up there.

Quiet but there is one other group on terrace here, some people about near pier, not exactly heaving but quite pleasantly non-deserted.

Beer is Natakhtari, as seems usual.

1847 Wandered more, round park with lake. Done circuit looking for food, in Indo-Georgian restaurant practically outside park entrance where there are about 10 staff/family/something milling round and I feel ultra-conspicuous. Was tempted to try the khachapuri with fried egg which is apparently a Batumi thing but going for karahi chicken (boneless) with plain rice; I want a substantial meal and will maybe try the other tomorrow for lunch/an afternoon snack. Just having a non-diet pepsi to drink, I could almost certainly get a beer but it's not exactly the sort of atmosphere I want to sit and have a beer or two in. Will hope to find a bar once I've eaten.

Guy offered me wifi password, since been sat here reading on phone, but I declined. Rowdyish table of whoever has left so feel a bit less on show now.

GPS has been fine today, I might speculate it's something to do with damp which causes problems. (Can't be cloud as such, since it did work at times yesterday despite continuous cloud.)  I am starting to get my bearings a little, it didn't work last night if I forgot to mention that, but by luck I found myself by cable car station where bus had dropped me so was able to navigate back.

1940 Finished, not bad. Bill GEL16.50 including service charge. Not too bad if not astoundingly cheap.

1946 Hmm. I paid with a 20 and there is absolutely no sign of any change, I handed it over as soon as I got the bill so it has been six minutes now. Robbing gits, I was feeling moderately well disposed to the place and thinking I might come back tomorrow night in the absence of anything better (restaurants do seem a bit thin on the ground, somehow) but I'm not going to now.

1949 Just got change, but the guy took my unfinished glass of coke away as he brought it. Meh. Took all the change, didn't count it. Off.

2038 Just come into some cafe/bar which is frankly a bit stuffy inside; should maybe have sat outside. Actually has people inside and outside.

Wandered. Severe shortage of bars etc. Went up by pier, saw the dancing fountains (as I think they are called) which synchronise quite nicely with music. Took crappy bit of video but I'm sure there will be decent ones on youtube.

Then found local-ish looking bar nearby. Sat at table and was ignored by waitresses for maybe three or four minutes. Then one came over. I said "gamarjoba, ludi?" and got a complicated but evidently negative kind of response. A second waitress came over and sort of reiterated it. I shrugged my shoulders and left. Evidently not welcome for some reason, though frankly don't know why. I'm stone cold sober and unless they have some objection to the fact I haven't shaved I can't see why they wouldn't serve me. I could see they had a fridge full of beer.

Anyway, this place is not exactly my usual sort of place but any port in a storm and at least it has people in, and a toilet! Got a draught beer, which the English-speaking waiter who the first one summoned over, is Krombacher (there's an ad on the wall - "eine perle der natur"). I do wonder if I'm missing something very obvious that I seem to struggle to find even the tamest kind of nightlife everywhere in this country. It is Monday night I admit, and that was also the case in Tbilisi and this and it are the two places I might have expected to find something. I guess this place counts anyway.

2050 Used bog, a proper one! Genuinely unclear if you're supposed to stick used bog roll in bin or flush it and just use bin for hand-drying tissues. Guesthouse in Mestia had signs saying to put it in the bin, but other places haven't and haven't even always *had* a bin. Meh.

This place is at east end of Marjanishvili, if I remembered that right from Google Maps long enough to write it down.

2126 Just ordered another beer. Waiter sort of rotated one finger against the same finger of other hand to indicate 'again', I will have to remember that. This makes three today but meh. Not really a stunning night but probably better than nothing. so there you go. I might just spend tomorrow evening in the hotel with a view to having a maybe alcohol-free day (fuck I hate this, it's not like I'm going on fucking benders all the time) and pack and be ready to get up two hours before arse o'clock to see if I can get a taxi out to the train station.

TV here is showing Fashion TV, which is dull but unthreatening. I managed to recognise Jean-Paul Gaultier from his Eurotrash days.

2212 I think I might have a third, but that will be it. Used the rotating fingers gesture. ;-) Oh well, been given the bill. Fuck knows. Won't try for a third then, and won't try that gesture again... GEL11 including 10% tip, made it 12 perhaps stupidly.

2233 Back at hotel.

0147 Had Spanish lesson at midnight - not ideal timing but it was that or 7/8am, and this seemed like a good opportunity - don't want to assume I will have time, inclination or opportunity once I'm back in Tbilisi, especially if I do meet up with the guys from Mestia. Then did load of washing in the micro-sized sink, which probably took most of time between 1am and now. Should really book a hostel in Tbilisi now but may leave it til tomorrow. Need to shave as well but that can wait til tomorrow, though the longer I leave it the more effort/pain it is to shave. Will shower tomorrow morning as well, can't do it now due to clothes line stretched across narrow bathroom.

0241 Like an idiot stayed up writing reviews on hostelworld (and not even booking Tbilisi hostel). Anyway, finally going to bed...