2025-2026 Central Asia Adventure – Tbilisi Georgia Redux
Today’s Huntington’s Disease report is about individuals with the HD mutation exhibiting a reduced cancer risk, potentially due to the mutant huntingtin protein’s interference with cell proliferation pathways. Research suggests that the same toxic protein aggregates that damage neurons may also suppress tumor growth by disrupting DNA repair and cell division, particularly in colorectal and prostate cancers. This paradoxical effect is observed in HD patients, with a 30-40% lower cancer incidence compared to the general population, offering a unique angle on HD’s systemic impact and hinting at potential therapeutic insights for cancer research. My wife’s father, who she inherited HD from, died from esophageal cancer which may not be prevented as much as other types of cancer by the mutant protein.
Hello from Tbilisi, the twelfth stop on the trip. The short answer why I’m here again is it’s the only way to enter Azerbaijan. I had to come out of Armenia and back here to get a flight to Baku. The land borders are closed between Armenia and Georgia into Azerbaijan, so this is the only option kiddos.
Well I’m taking another damn minibus from Yerevan, across the border and back to my original hotel in Tbilisi. Karina was sweet and agreed to hold my suitcase while I went to Armenia with just a backpack. If you think this was finally going to be a smooth trip, think again!
I packed up, had lunch in the food court across the street and rolled to the bus station. Well, I was told to go to the Doubletree Hotel next to the bus station. When I got there I was confused because I couldn’t see a bus station anywhere, so I asked the woman at the Doubletree front desk, she said it’s next to the flags outside. I walked out, see some flags against a wall but there is no entry to a bus station. I went back inside, she says now that the minibus just stops on the sidewalk. Ah OK. So not so much a bus station, a spot on the road then. She was nice and let me wait in the lobby, with access to Wifi and a toilet.
At the scheduled time the minibus comes, same style of minibus I’ve had before, but actually smaller. It’s full and everyone smokes, yay. We get into traffic and I quickly realize the driver is insane. He’s doing full-on road rage with other drivers, zooming around them and cutting them off. When we got out of the city, he’s speeding and passing other vehicles dangerously and we’re getting body slammed side to side and front to back. One woman finally tells him to pull over, she gets out and vomits on the road due to his driving! He drives well for a while but then goes back to his dangerous ways. We stopped for 30 minutes for him to have lunch, the bus is a cloud of cigarette smoke.
At the border, a guard looks at all of our passports while we’re still in the van, nods OK then points us into the immigration hall. We go through quickly, exiting Armenia.
Back on the bus, halfway across the bridge and we’re stuck in the bus in a queue for 30 minutes. We then piled out and into the immigration hall. 200 people cannot manage to make or stay in 4 lines, chaos with people and their full luggage trying to push ahead. One of the four immigration clerks just walked away. One tourist is holding up a clerk the whole time I was watching. Finally I got through! We then waited 30 minutes for the last of our passengers to get through, then back on the bus.
As we approach the bus station in Tbilisi, the police have the road blocked off due to protests! I swear I can’t make this shit up! I got my phone out and the GPS reading says I’m in the middle of the airport runway 20km away! So the cops are actively jamming GPS signals. We were dumped out on the side of the road at the roadblock. I searched for landmarks I could see then tried to find them in Google Maps. I knew the general direction and figured out how to get to the closest metro station. Coming up to the station I walked past billowing acrid smoke coming over a building, came around the corner to a strong smell, hurt my eyes, made me cough. I took a short video of someone holding 2 flags while things are on fire in the street. Further down the road I saw at least 100 riot police in full gear positioned at one road coming into Liberty Square – ironic eh?
CNN had this to say: “Police in Georgia used water cannons and pepper spray on Saturday to push back protesters who tried to storm the presidential palace, as the South Caucasus country held a municipal election boycotted by the main opposition blocs amid a sweeping crackdown on dissent. Tens of thousands rallied in the capital, Tbilisi, to protest repressive policies by the governing party, Georgian Dream, which they see as trying to pull Georgia away from its democratic aspirations and into Russiaâs orbit. They carried Georgian flags and placards supporting membership in the European Union, a cherished goal for many that has been enshrined in the countryâs constitution. Georgian Dream halted talks about joining the bloc last year, triggering waves of protests that have been met with mass arrests and police violence. The move came after the longtime ruling party declared victory in an election the opposition said was rigged.” So there’s that. Maybe this isn’t the retirement possibility I thought it was…
Having just one night here before my flight to Baku, I decided to do laundry – all major sightseeing is done. The closest one on Google Maps is only 50 meters away, sadly it doesn’t exist anymore so I made an edit. I walked to another one 500m away, and it was open and working on a Sunday! The old guy at the counter knew enough English to take my order, but then he said it would be ready tomorrow! I asked for fast service due to my flight tomorrow so he yelled at the ladies in the back and they said yes, come back at 6pm. The bill was 35 but I gave him 40 and said keep it for a fast service charge, he gave me a little salute. The battery in my Samsung Tag tracker is reporting low so I got the last CR2032 at a phone accessory store, then borrowed a SIM popout tool at an Apple store, old battery out and the new one in.
I tried to exchange my remaining 6000 Armenian Dram, but the first bank wouldn’t take it! It’s literally the next country, jeez. The second place I found, a little hole in the wall, did exchange it, with a terrible rate but at least I have more Georgian Lari.
At 6pm I walked over and picked up my laundry. Then I decided to ride the rails of the very Soviet metro system, went all the way to one end, popped up, walked around, had a quick dinner and came home.
Next stop: Baku Azerbaijan – or is it? Bwaaaahaaa.
