28th July 2010 Aaron and I arrived in Istanbul five days ago, after an overnight bus journey from Kobuleti, Georgia. Olegi had secured us seats on a bus from Tiblisi therefore the bus was already full when we got on and we didn't have many stops other than a slow crossing at the border. Luckily the driver kept the AC on for just long enough intervals to make it a much pleasanter journey than our last trip across Turkey, despite that several Georgians had stuffed their air vents with the curtains. Accommodation in Istanbul was more expensive than Aaron had experienced a few years ago when he visited off-peak, so we searched several hostels before deciding to try out a dorm room. The room was in the basement of the hostel and contained ten bunk-beds. In one corner of the room a window and door leading into a small yard provided daylight. During the night with the use of ear plugs and an eye mask I managed to sleep fine until I woke up by accidentally kicking someone. The bunk-be...

10th July 2010 Today Aaron and I arrived in Mukhaestate, Georgia, after a very long journey from Kefalonia, Greece. The warm welcome we received from Olegi, Mzia and all the famliy made the trip worth while. On the 1st July Aaron and I caught a bus from Ratzakli, Kefalonia to the port Poros where we took a ferry to mainland Greece and another bus to Athens. We spent two nights in Athens, so that Aaron could collect his passport with his Indian visa thankfully granted. Although Athens is renowned for it's history and culture and for being the seat of democracy, Aaron and I were not so enamoured with the city. It was covered in graffiti, dirty and we saw thieves being arrested and prostitutes on street corners in the middle of the day. Having said that the new acropolis museum was very well designed, the archaeological museum really interesting and we found a charming restaurant for dinner. We stayed in the Ionis hotel which was more luxurious than we had become accustom to and s...