2025-2026 Central Asia Adventure – The Trip from Kars Turkey to Batumi Georgia
Today’s Huntington’s Disease report is about Stem Cells. Stem cells are cells in your body that have not decided what they want to be when they grow up. They can become muscle cells, skin cells, blood cells, and best for us – neuron cells. Research has been ongoing for a long time to use stem cells as a replacement or repair system for the dying neurons in the HD brain. Dr. Jan Nolta leads multiple stem cell research and manufacturing teams at UC Davis investigating mesenchymal and other stem cell types which generate brain-derived neurotrophic factor (BDNF) that can help neurons survive, along with other pathways for stem cells to treat HD and many other diseases. I first met Dr. Nolta around 2007 and she and her teams continue to champion the fight for HD treatments and cures.
Hello from a twisty little road between Kars Turkey and Batumi Georgia. This post details the adventure of the trip itself, not the next destination, so grab your knickers tightly and hold on, you’re going to need it on this road. Batumi is not where I wanted to be, but it’s where I ended up. Sometimes life is like that.
The major thing you need to know is that there are simmering tensions to flat-out war between the countries in this region. The Turkey-Armenia border is fully closed by road and rail. These issues stem from historical conflicts, ethnic disputes, and strategic alliances, particularly Turkey’s support for Azerbaijan amid the Nagorno-Karabakh War. There’s some heavy-duty foreshadowing here… The only possible way to continue east is to use the single land border from Sarp Turkey to Batumi Georgia. This causes a major detour north then east then south again instead of a smooth continuation east from Kars. Check out the map! Ignore the time estimate because it doesn’t take into account police stops, multiple bus stations, lunch and border crossings.
In the morning I bought my minibus ticket for 650 Lira from the same cranky kid that I spoke with yesterday. He wanted cash but I said I don’t have any Turkish cash left and I want to use my card. He grumpily used his card terminal but I’m positive he caused it to error out and I was forced to give him a 50 Euro note which he grumbled about then gave me an absurd exchange rate, but what can I do? At least I got small Turkish notes for the rest of the trip.
Safe in the knowledge that I had my ticket, I asked a non-Turkish-looking guy standing at the bus station if he spoke English. He said yes, turns out he’s Edward from Iceland, and he speaks better English than I do. He’s Professor of Cultural Geography in the Netherlands and an extensive traveler. Turns out we’re on the same path through Georgia and beyond, and we agreed to pool our knowledge and stick together in this part of the world. He had some up-to-date knowledge on future parts of the trip which forced me to re-evaluate my path, but it’s always good to pick up another data source.
There were 40 seats in a comfy small bus, but only 6 people today so I picked an isolated seat and levered it back. There were two police roadblock checks on the way. We stopped about 5 times at small bus stations, long enough for everyone to pile out and power blast two cigarettes. One stop was dragging out so I looked around and discovered that the driver was just having a leisurely lunch. He probably said so in Turkish but I didn’t catch on. The scenery at the beginning was the same scrubland I saw for hours on the train but then we started following an ancient river valley which turned into a lake/reservoir with spectacular greenery, plus two hydro dams along the way. Check out the pictures.
We ended our bus ride in the Turkish town of Hopa, on the Black Sea. We were a long way from where my research said we would be dropped off, with the promise of small shuttle minibuses to the border with Georgia, but nothing was available except a string of taxis. Another bus-mate Deon from New Zealand joined our little fellowship and we got a taxi for 950 Lira, split 3 ways turned out to be a very good price for door to door service to the border checkpoint, even though he drove like a madman.
We went into Turkish immigration and exited the country, walked across a bridge to the Georgia side and entered the country with a quick stampy-stamp in the passport. This is my first new country on the trip and my #69 lifetime. Tip of the hat to those of you with dirty minds.
Coming out of Georgia immigration we walked into a swarm of taxis and currency exchange booths. Yet another currency I have to deal with, yay – the Georgian Lari. Call it 3 to 1 Euro/Dollar.
We looked again for the researched small shuttle buses to the city of Batumi just a few kilometers away but a taxi said he would take us for 800 Turkish Lira which worked because I still had some Lira left. This was a very good value because the ride to the city was quite long with mucho traffic. After being stationary for a while we made a detour through an industrial area and my mind immediately went to organ harvesting, but we survived. When I mentioned this thought to Edward later he said he thought the same thing! I was surprised how big this city of Batumi is, I thought it would be just a border/sea cargo town but it’s the 2nd largest city in the country, full of skyscrapers, parks and top western hotel names.
I thought I would be able to catch the last electric train to my eventual goal of Tbilisi, but I missed it. I was tired after such a long day anyway, so I decided to book 2 nights in this interesting town.
The taxi dropped us at Edward’s lodgings. I had tried to book the same place back at the Kars train station but it was marked as full. We eventually found the lady who runs the apartments but she confirmed she was full. I used the Wifi in Edward’s room to book my own hotel about 2 blocks away, it said to pay at registration rather than on the web site, OK.
And now it begins. I need to poke myself in the eye any time I decide on what looks like an apartment rather than a hotel. So we walked there, found the street address but it was just a dark passageway into an interior square parking area. There were a series of metal security gates, I figured out from the address that I was in building entrance #3 which was actually marked III. A guy walking out in let us through the door, then we started searching for my room. It’s become clear that it’s an apartment building, not a hotel. I looked at the address again and saw a 66, so we looked for apartment 66 and found it on the 3rd floor. We knocked on the door and a little old Russian-speaking lady answered, seemingly bewildered why we were there. With a combination of booking.com emails on my phone and Google Translate, something clicked and she shuffles down the hallway to #72 and unlocks the door. She waves us inside and now it’s dawning on me that this might be my room – 66 is her apartment/check-in desk. She says “Wifi” and points to a piece of paper with dozens of handwritten notes on it and I manage to work out the Wifi name and password! She puts the sheets and pillows on the bed, points to the sink, the bathroom, the TV all in a long string of Russian that’s going right over my head. Finally she gives me the key which has an RFID tag for the security door downstairs.
She shuffles off. I set my Wise card to Lari, and Edward and I go in search of a currency exchange for our remaining Turkish Lira. The bane of any traveler is constantly changing currency. Luckily with tap-to-pay cards cash can be largely avoided but it’s always good to have some for when a card is not accepted. The first exchange is closed at 8:30pm, the second looks closed but Edward knocked on the steel door and someone inside shouted “1 minute”. A guy opens the door and Edward gives him a stack of Lira, he punches on a calculator and returns Georgian Lari, at what Edward says is a great rate. No receipt, no passport, no problemo. He has his cash in a drawer, coins in an old coffee can. I exchange the rest of my Lira. Yay!
We then walked to Guinness Bar, we each have a pint and I have a burger because I’m starvin Marvin. Edward and I went to our homes and we agree to meet up in the morning after we’re sufficiently rested. Trip adventure complete!
Next stop: The actual city of Batumi.
