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Day 61 - Thr 15 May 08
I was left alone on the train last night, my bunkmate had friends in the next door cabin so he was in with them most of the time. I made up both beds to save hassle later on. I got an okay nights sleep and I'm awoken at 05:40 by the conductor(ess). It was a pleasant surprise as the train line is hugging the coast of the Black Sea. The train arrived on time at 6:30, but the station is someway from the town of Batumi itself. If I arrive too early then getting a hotel room might be an issue, so I decide to walk into town dispute it being about 5km.
My plan doesn't really work, things are very slow here in the morning. I try a number of places but they are either still shut or full. Eventually I find one place for 50l. It's not too bad and it's quite central. Have a bit of kip and then head out at lunch time to get something to eat. There really isn't a great deal to see or do here, but it's pleasant enough. I'm itching to get into Turkey now. I turned £20 into 50 Lari to keep my small USD bills intact for tomorrow.
While I was out and about I met a German/Austrian couple who were looking for the post office, they had spent the last two weeks travelling around the Black Sea. I would have thought that would have been a bit like repeating the same day..
I saw one of the ex-soviet hydrofoils in the harbour, just like the one I took in St. Petersburg back in 1996. The only other excitement was the US Navy boat off shore, it's supposed to be visiting tomorrow. Mr Bush is a hero here, they even have a road named after him in Tbilisi.
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