Introducing Georgia.

Tblisi.  Our two apartments are located somewhere down there :-)
(Photo by Nino Ozbetelashvili.  Licensed under CC BY 2.0 via Wikimedia Commons.)

Pat and I will arrive into Georgia via train from Baku to Tblisi, the capital city of Georgia. We'll be staying in two different apartments during our stay in the city - a few days in one located in the old city and a few days in one located in the modern city. I've probably allotted more time than necessary to see the sights in Tblisi but both Pat and I agree that it's nice to just have time to chill out.  Hopefully, there will be some nice cafes that we can do just that in.

Like its neighbor Azerbaijan, Georgia is located at the crossroads of Western Asia and Eastern Europe. It is bounded to the west by the Black Sea, to the north by Russia, to the south by Turkey and Armenia, and to the southeast by Azerbaijan.

The country was incorporated into the Soviet Union in 1921 as the Georgian Soviet Socialist Republic and became an independent nation shortly before the collapse of the USSR in 1991.

The Food of Azerbaijan.

Tava (fish) kebab.  (Photo from advantour.com)

Both Pat and I love good food. As much as we enjoyed our visit to Central Asia, the same cannot be said of the food. Sorry, but we were not fans of plov, lagman or manti.  We did like the shashlyk, especially when it was pork shashlyk but in countries where pork is rarely eaten, it was a real treat for us when we got to eat it.

Before we left for Central Asia, Pat and I headed to an Uzbek restaurant in Brooklyn, New York to try out the food.  For this trip, we have been to an Armenian restaurant but not Azeri or Georgian.

Introducing Azerbaijan.

One of the gates of Icherisheher (Old City) of Baku.
Photo by Khortan.  Licensed under CC-BY-SA-3.0 via Wikimedia Commons.)

Yay!! I have finally wrapped planning the Thailand/Myanmar trip so I can now return my attention to the Caucusus trip. Much has happened since I last posted up anything on this trip.

I managed to find a reasonably priced hotel for our stay in Baku.  For our visa, we have to get a hotel voucher, printed on hotel letterhead.  I reached out to the hotel and got an email back this morning informing me that they are having issues with their printer and I can expect to get the voucher in two days.  Of course, I am anxiously awaiting for that day to come around.  I just hope they don't forget!  In anticipation that our names might have to appear on the voucher, I replied back to let them know that there are two travelers and what are names are.  Fingers crossed that I will see something in my email inbox on Wednesday, Thursday at the latest.

Burmese Cuisine.

A traditional Burmese meal.
Photo by Wagaung.  Licensed under CC-BY-SA-3.0 via Wikimedia Commons.)

I know the country is officially known a Myanmar but when I think of the food, I still refer to it as Burmese cuisine. Hence, the title of this blog posting.

I am a foodie.  Food plays an important part in my travels and while I have been to many countries where the food is not very palatable, the opposite is also very true.  There's a lot of lip smacking good food in the world!

I have been lucky to have worked with several people from Myanmar who have also graciously invited me to their homes for a meal.  The food was always utterly delicious.  More often than not, it looked familiar but tasted nothing like the Malaysian, Thai or Vietnamese cuisine that I know.  Unfortunately and this is my fault, I've not kept up contact with those friends and colleagues from long ago so it's been a long time since I've had any home cooked Burmese food.  We do have a few Burmese restaurants and the food is okay but it's never been the same or as delicious as the home cooking I've enjoyed.  So in many ways, I will be (re)discovering Burmese cuisine on this trip and I am very much looking forward to it.