Tbilisi, Georgia (February 2020)

I made a short visit to Tbilisi, Georgia in February 2020. The primary purpose of the visit was to spend time with Ryan Hyunsoo Kim and Kelly Bongjoo Koh. Ryan is one of the graduates of SfK MBA BCT Irvine 2018. Both of them were part of the GP training in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia in 2019. They have relocated to Tbilisi about three months ago and have been receiving the language training.

On the way to Tbilisi, I made a stop over at Doha and the usual sculptures welcomed me.

Right before the landing at Doha, the sunrise on the horizon was unearthly.

As I was passing through the immigration, the immigration officer gave me a pleasant surprise. Georgia claimed to be the birthplace for wine. He gave me a small bottle of wine. Have you experienced it before?

On Sunday, we worshiped at Tbilisi Korean Church. A couple were getting baptized and the Lord's Table was shared after the baptism.

I was asked to talk about missional business for 15 minutes after a short sermon by the senior pastor Mr. Chung, Jeong Ok. He and his wife Kwak, Hyun Sook served in Uzbekistan before they moved to Georgia approximately 10 years ago.

After the worship, we shared the lunch and later Pastor Chung took us to a few places in Tbilisi, all of which I have already been to. Nonetheless, it was good to see them again.

Nino's cross symbolizes Georgian Orthodox Church.

For more information about Tbilisi, please click here to learn more about places of interest in Tbilisi
In the evening, we had a fellowship over dinner at a famous Georgian restaurant.

 

I was able to meet with Amy who started a pizzeria, called Ronny's, with her husband Eric. We met at the first store that was opened about 10 years ago. Apparently, the fathers of both Amy and Eric are Ronny, hence the name. They now have the pizzeria at four locations. Amy was confident that Ronny's is the best American pizza restaurant in Georgia, let alone Tbilisi. She shared the challenges and struggles that she she and Eric have elbowed through, including the difficulties of working together with her husband whose style is completely different from hers. Both are professional illustrators. Apparently, both of them are working as digital nomads online to make a living.

I thought it would be a wonderful opportunity for Ryan and Kelly to work with them to get their feet wet into their living in Georgia.

Before I left, another Pastor Lee, Jong Young and his wife wanted to meet with me. We met at Coffee Lab and had a cordial fellowship. The husband is an ordained pastor with the Baptist Denomination and the wife is an ordained pastor with the Methodist Denomination. Their sending church is a Presbyterian Church. What a combination! They served the Uiguru people in China for 15 years or so before they relocated to Georgia about a year ago. They were asking about serving Chinese Christians in Georgia.

Later we had a fellowship over dinner with the Chungs, the Lees and Ryan and Kelly at a Korean restaurant, called Seoul.

Early in the morning, I arranged for a pick up with Gettransfer.com and went to the airport. All seemed to be moving along, until I found out that my flight was not listed on the screen.

After several inquiries, I learned that TAROM does not fly during the wintertime. Somehow, Vayama sold me the tickets whereas there are no flights. This type of fiasco was the first time for me. I ended up buying another flight the following day via Turkish Airlines. Vayama was not answering the calls at all for over an hour.

I had to stay for another night at Hotel Atlantis. On the way from the airport to the hotel at 6am, it was still dark and the taxi was going to an area where I was not convinced of any hotel to be present. At the end, however, we arrived at a hotel. The door of the 8-bedroom boutique hotel was closed and the light was out. I banged the door and the receptionist woke up and opened the door. Fortunately, he let me check int 8 hours earlier than the usual check-in time. How grateful I was!

They served the breakfast to the room  One big guy brought the breakfast and later I figured out that he was the owner. He later took me to the East Point Mall where I met up with Ryan and Kelly. We had another unplanned dinner before we said "Goodbye!"

This breakfast was no match with the breakfast Ryan and Kelly served while I was staying at their house.

After a short sleep, I left the hotel at 2:30am to catch the flight. This time, there was a flight. Turkish Airways. Oh well... - Jeffrey 

Muscat, Oman (February 2020)

On the way from Kathmandu, Nepal to Lahore, Pakistan, I made a stop over at Muscat, Oman. I arrived there around noon and I left the country the following morning, but nonetheless, it was my 94th country.

When I landed at the airport, I was stopped by a health care worker if I have been to China. Based on my appearance, I thought it was only natural. But it was not a pleasant moment.

Oman is located at the eastern tip of Saudi Arabian Peninsula. It is an Islamic nation, but a liberal or secular one. It used to be a ruling power dominating the east coast of Africa. 11 Sultans ruled the empire from Zanzibar.

When I arrived, the city was welcoming me... and I am sure a lot of others.

I was trying to arrange for a pickup, but the airport taxi cost was quite high. So I chose to rent a car to explore the city.

When I first arrived, the overall scenery reminded me of the Palm Springs area. The sandy and barren hills and mountains were like Palm Springs and many palm trees all over the city were also like Palm Springs. In a sense, the city looked so familiar to me.

First, I wanted to check in and eat lunch. Because my GPS was not working properly, I ended up driving around the surrounding areas quite a bit before I finally found the hotel.

The receptionist and the chef at the restaurant all looked like the Filipinos. They were indeed. The chef told me that most of the workers in Oman are from the Philippines. After I ate chicken briani as lunch, I began to drive to the traditional market or Souk. The hotel receptionist told me to explore the Marta Souk and the boardwalk area. It was to take 25 minutes.

On the way, I saw Sultan Qaboos Grand Mosque that I saw on the internet, so I stopped by to take a photo. It was indeed a huge facility. It is known to be one of the largest mosques in the Islamic world. It was built over six years and seven months until the construction was completed in 2001.

The Muttra or Mattra Souk was located by the sea. I did not have time to go into the souk, but the scale was quite big. On the boardwalk, many people and families were strolling and playing around. The scene was quite peaceful.

 I felt uncomfortable adding Oman to the list of countries visited based on one-night sleep, but for now, it still counts.

At the airport, the benches placed here and there were quite unique. With that, I said Good Bye to the city and the country. - Jeffrey