Living and travelling in a van isn’t all about the best spots to camp, the thumbs up we get or driving the most scenic roads. It’s also about waiting for the engine to cool down, being anxious about a new sound she’s making and visiting garages while holding your breath that they know what they’re doing.
Up to now we have visited a couple of garages. One didn’t know much about an old engine, the other one was specialised in it and now in Georgia we found an old guy who at least worked on a T3 before.
But still, while they are working on the engine, loosening more and more screws, taking more and more things out but still not the one you need fixed. It kind of feels like a surgeon who is working on your heart but he’s specialised in brains. They are educated and know much but just not the right thing.
Fixing van problems in Georgia
We were thinking when we passed the European borders people would know a lot more about oldtimer engines because they probably drive older cars. But like in Georgia, during the USSR time no foreign cars were allowed, thus no old Volkswagen. Luckily there are fan clubs everywhere and not only Volkswagen.
In Georgia we just contacted the Porsche fanclub. Porsche has been a close friend to Volkswagen. Ferdinand in the end stole the beetle design of the Jewish creator Ganz, made some minor changes and tadaaa the Volkswagen Hitler desired was born.
So, finding this fanclub was great. We send a message and the kindest of people replied. Lasha, president of not only the Porsche fanclub of Georgia but also the founder of the classic car fanclub. Oh my oh my were we lucky! He called some friends, one of whom has a T3 himself and had started ‘Vanlife Georgia‘ and the other one a Beetle, amongst other classics. We met and checked out the van before going to a garage. They confirmed what our Dutch rescue hotline (Dominique, Sander and Jaap) already thought; bearings in the alternator.
We changed the alternator in Italy but as written before; they didn’t really know what they were doing. Instead of replacing a broken cable they replaced our alternator. Luckily we still have the old one and so we decided to change it back. Our new made friends Lasha and Giorgi knew exactly the place. It’s that kind of place you would never find yourself.
But then, still, despite the good feeling and translation people are fiddling inside the heart of our van. It’s not the thumbs up that gets us to China but the engine. We can’t sleep at the most idyllic places if the engine isn’t working. So it hurts, seeing other people taking everything out and sometimes they look fabled, not knowing exactly what they are doing, questioning each other. And while not understanding them due to a language barrier it makes it even worse.
But we have faith in human kind and of course in Volkswagen. The reason why we got this far in the first place is because the engine is so strong, these cars are built for driving. Not just in the city, but distances. I’m sure that Pon intended this van to be used like we are using it now. Transporting people, migrating from place to place and maybe also meeting people through the van. Cause to be honest, we wouldn’t have met all these people if it wasn’t for the van.
Bernardus Marinus “Ben” Pon, Sr. (April 27, 1904 – May 15, 1968) was a Dutch businessman. In 1947, Pon’s Automobielhandel (“Pon’s Car Dealership”), became the first dealer outside of Germany to sell vehicles manufactured by Volkswagen. A sketch made by Pon inspired the engineers at Volkswagen to develop the VW Type 2 Transporter.
Branko in Montenegro who installed a new homokineet, got her checked and gave us some valuable tips. Lasha and Giorgi in Georgia who helped us fix the alternator and had us taste the delicious Georgian food and many more people who love the van and give us a beer, cherries or a great location to sleep.
Anyway, whenever we get her fixed we hold our hearts and hope she’ll return as her old self, hope she’ll feel better afterwards not worse. We can never be sure but let’s hope she likes people playing with her engine as I, Milene, like hairdressers playing with my hair 😉
We love first impressions. Whenever we are just 10 minutes in a country we ask each other “and? What do you think?” A person has an impression about someone or something within 3 seconds. And this is sometimes the right one and sometimes the wrong one.
It takes just a quick glance, maybe three seconds, for someone to evaluate you when you meet for the first time. In this short time, the other person forms an opinion about you based on your appearance, your body language, your demeanor, your mannerisms, and how you are dressed. With every new encounter, you are evaluated and yet another person’s impression of you is formed. These first impressions can be nearly impossible to reverse or undo, and they often set the tone for the relationship that follows.
So we always write down our first impressions and at the end of our trip see whether we were wrong or right. While coming from Turkey, a country I, Milene, know very well it’s always fun to explore a place you have no impressions of yet. Driving from the known into the unknown.
The architecture of Batumi
And wow, is Georgia unknown to us. The first things that we were impressed about were the buildings in Batumi. It’s gonna look like the Las Vegas or Macao of Georgia. Strange buildings everywhere and more coming! Fun for Yuri though who loves architecture. Many people skip Batumi but it’s actually a nice city to have a stroll, relax at the beach and learn about the many cultures that it hosts. A good place to start your travels through Georgia when you come from Turkey.
Gas pipes everywhere
Then there’s the gas pipes you see above the ground everywhere. High cars cannot enter most premises because the gas pipes prevent it. It’s part of the environment. When you drive through a cute village the gas pipes highlight the road.
The crazy Georgian driving
We were less impressed by the driving of the Georgians. They are crazy!! Absolutely crazy! They come from left and right, criss cross their way to their destination. They don’t care if there is actually space or not they just go for it. Also some cars have the steering wheel on the left and some on the right. Mainly because there is no regulation about this in Georgia, at least there wasn’t. Now apparently they are preventing cars with their steering wheel at the right side of the car being imported. Then there’s the cars without a front, back or side. Many accidents happen and when you don’t have money to fix your car or buy a new one you just continue driving without a front or door for example. You don’t want to get hit by a car like this because the sharp edges will hack you into pieces.
We’ve been on the road for 3 months, drove more than 12.000kms and for the first time saw someone being hit by a car. When you should drive 60 km/h a Georgian drives at least 80 but preferably 100, if not faster. Also there are lanes on the roads but we honestly don’t know why. 3 lanes easily become 5 – creative lanes it’s called in Georgia. “When you see free space you create a lane” a bartender tells us. To be honest, driving in Istanbul is peanuts compared to driving in Tbilisi.
The kindness of people
Even though they drive like crazy the people are actually very very kind! Strangers giving us cherries, inviting us for diner, giving us a beer. People helping us to fix the van, giving us local insider tips and give us stickers for the car for free. It’s not about getting things for free it’s about not asking for anything and receiving the world! So hospitable so kind.
Foodies in the making
On Instagram you might already have seen that we are truly foodies in the making. In Turkey we tried every possible delight and we are still not done! Need to go back again and again. But now in Georgia it’s getting even worse, or more delicious.
Ok, so thank god Ayran can also be found in Georgia cause we were definitely not done drinking that. But then…
I thought we finally could lose some weight again. Little did we know that Georgians love to put calories in everything! They have the most delicious bread with cheese, inside and outside!!! And when a new friend took us out for a food experience our table exploded with delicious dishes. “You cannot finish but you can try everything” his motto. In the morning we were still full!
And we haven’t tried it all yet! At the bar down of our apartment in Tbilisi the bartender gave us a list of things we should eat here. So we are on a mission to eat as much as we can. But we might put a couple days of hiking in our itinerary. No cooking in the van for us, that’s for sure 🤣
These were some impressions we had. Not all in the first 10 minutes though, they mostly were; crazy drivers, strange architecture, hot temperatures, car maintenance garages everywhere and lots of Turkish influenced food. But of course there are still first impressions to make. For example; we haven’t been to the mountains yet and we still have to talk more about Russia with Georgians cause that’s a tricky subject. We might visit the border which is moved once in a while by the Russians. Meaning that Georgians living in Georgia today can suddenly live in Russia tomorrow.
Have you been to Georgia? Are our impressions familiar?
Why tourists often skip the Black Sea Region is a riddle to us. It’s definitely one of the most beautiful regions of Turkey! The lush green mountains, delicious food, nice & mild climate. It is here where tea is produced, and it’s also known as hazelnut and honey region. And when I read that the most expensive honey on earth is from here we had to visit it.
After a fabulous time in South East Turkey it was time to move up North again. It feels a bit like criss-crossing through the world but well, we enjoy that. So from scorching hot temperatures to a wonderful mild climate at the Black Sea region.
But, this was not why we were here. It was also not because of the amazing green mountains you can find here, though very welcoming. No, I – Milene – wanted to go here to see the Hemshin people and check out their beekeeping. They are famous for it.
Cave honey!
Even so famous that there is cave honey which you can buy. It’s a tad expensive though: Eur.10.000,- for 1kg. So, we didn’t buy it. Neither did we get to see it, unfortunately. But we did get to see the modern way of beekeeping of the Hemshin, which is equally as nice.
The ancient way is actually not that interesting as the bees work the entire season and only once per season the beekeeper goes there (2500 mtrs above sealevel) to check out how they did. Next time we’ll definitely visit the caves in the right time 😉
We did buy some local hemsin honey from 2.000 meters above sea level and tasted it of course. And we didn’t only taste honey we also got to join a beekeeper and see his work. The bees in the fabled honey forest of Camlihensin are often in trees or high platforms to keep the bears from stealing the honey. Only one animal is allowed to steal honey of course. We got up one of those platforms and even though it felt as if it would collapse anytime we didn’t feel too scared while not wearing a beekeeping suit. The bees were actually quite relax, not aggressive at all. We checked out the queens together and looked at the pollen, honey and eggs.
It’s important to check upon the bees cause like pandemics in human lives, bees also get diseases. These diseases go easily from one to the other colony so as a beekeeper it’s your task to check for diseases and not spread it but stop it. Luckily these bees were as healthy as ever, maybe that’s why they were relaxed. The queens were doing a great job and the weather was amazing. No reason to be aggressive at all. And remember, when a bee stings she often dies so it’s better not to sting.
The Hemshin people
Not only is the beekeeping in this area interesting, also the people. They are the Hemshin people, originated from Armenia.
To survive, these Armenians gave up their religion. They converted to Islam. They also started to speak the local language; Turkish. Some of the Hemshin people still speak the ancient Anatolian (western) Armenian dialect. But only very few.
The Hemshin are without doubt one of the most enigmatic peoples of Turkey and the Caucasus. As former Christians who converted to Islam centuries ago yet did not assimilate into the culture of the surrounding Muslim populations. As Turks who speak Armenian yet are often not aware of it. As Muslims who continue to celebrate feasts that are part of the calendar of the Armenian Church. And as descendants of Armenians who, for the most part, have chosen to deny their Armenian origins in favour of recently invented myths of Turkic ancestry, the Hemshin and the seemingly irreconcilable differences within their group identity have generated curiosity and often controversy.
We drank local Ayran with one Hemshin beekeeping family and got to see how they live in the beautiful countryside of the Black Sea.
We stayed a night in the amazing forest of the Black Sea Region, made ourselves a nice campfire and slept like babies.
The next morning it was, unfortunately, time to go. We could have spend a lot more days in this amazing area but like we say to most places “we’ll be back!”
We’ve been three months on the road right now, so it’s time to reflect on vanlife so far.
Up to now we still feel so privileged and happy that we’re able to do this. Travelling brings us so much freedom, we get to see wonderful places, explore known and unknown parts of the world and venture where we haven’t been before. We get to see amazing sunrises, sunsets and everything in between. In the mornings we don’t know where we end at night. We drink coffee with the kindest of people, have lunch while hearing interesting stories and experience true hospitality.
This journey has brought us so much already!
We spent; €2.000 on gasoline That’s 1650 liters of gasoline We drove about 12.200 kilometers And Alexine devoured 14 liters of oil
But back to vanlife. Cause it ain’t all about meeting people, eating delicious dishes and watching sunsets. It’s also about preparing the van for sleeping, finding a nice place to stay the night and well keeping the engine going. Not to forget using nature as a toilet & shower.
Living in a van
So how’s that going? It’s going quite well! Yes it’s a small space we live in, we can’t stand upright inside and it easily gets messy. Of course we sometimes disagree or argue but the van is too small to ignore each other for too long 😉 in three months we have kind of started a routine, preparing the bed in the evening and the van for the journey ahead in the morning is something Milene often does. Preparing coffee is Yuri’s task. Finding a place to stay for the night gets easier. In the beginning of our trip we didn’t sleep so well. I, Milene, because I needed to get used to sleeping wherever we want and Yuri because of the bed. But nowadays we sleep wonderfully and feel very relax and safe in the van.
Van maintenance
Alexine is doing great, however every strange sound we hear makes our hearts jump. We’ve had two major problems up to now. One was a broken cable from the battery to the alternator. Unfortunately the garage didn’t understand the problem and they changed the whole alternator. Then we had to change the homokineet at the right back wheel. And at the moment of writing we have another problem. A strange sound from the engine. It’s either the alternator or the fan. We will try to switch our old alternator back where it belonged and hopefully it will fix the problem. If it’s the fan it’ll be a bigger problem so let’s keep our fingers crossed.
Then there’s the always checking oil, finding the best gasoline even if there’s none and washing her very regularly. But it’s like taking care of a child. You have to make sure she drinks enough, is clean and treat her as a queen. That’s what we do and it’s part of our trip. It doesn’t feel like a burden at all. It’s actually fun to take care of her, yes even filling her with oil. And the gasoline stops in Turkey were great!! We got tea and a nice conversation at most gasstations.
The outdoor life
Our lives have changed 360 degrees. From being inside often due to work or a Netflix addiction to being always outside and driving hours and hours and hours. From washing ourselves every day in a nice hot shower to once a week in a cold stream or lake. From white clean skin to brown and dusty. And it doesn’t matter. Nobody cares that I haven’t shaved my legs for two weeks, or that Yuri didn’t trim his beard or that we wear the same clothes for more than three days. I suppose that’s actually how it should be. Taking a shower everyday is insane, wearing clothes only once is ridiculous and caring whether someone shaved her legs or trimmed his beard is bullshit. We’ve lived this privilege life for so long that we don’t know what is truly important. Fresh clothes or a shower ever day isn’t it, We are sure about that right now.
To conclude; travelling in a van is amazing, driving the Silk Road is an adventure and the freedom we feel indescribable. 3 months in 9 months to go.
After Midyat it was time to move North. Finally we would visit the capital of the Kurdish people in Turkey: Diyarbakir. Yes, the Assyrians and Armenians mostly left this area due to oppression and hate the Kurdish people are still here. Turkey is a wonderful country to travel through and we won’t get into politics too much but one has to admit while travelling in this immens country that the history and even present is a bit violent. There is still no peace, neither is there equality.
While driving to Diyarbakir there are many roadblocks where military is stationed. They check the IDs of people before letting them pass. For us no problem of course because we are tourists.
Diyarbakir
The city was ruled by various Arab, Turkish, Mongol, and Persian dynasties until its capture by the Ottoman sultan in 1516. Capital of a large and important province under the Ottomans, it regained its prosperity. Its location near the Persian frontier also gave it strategic importance, and the town was used as a base for armies facing Persia. The old town is still surrounded by the ancient black basalt walls that gave it the name Kara (Turkish: “Black”) Amid. The triple walls, an outstanding example of Middle Eastern medieval military art, were greatly expanded and restored during the Arab and Turkish periods; they are about 3 miles (5 km) long and have numerous towers. We of course climbed on top of them.
Diyarbakır, also spelled Diyarbekir, historically Amida, city, southeastern Turkey. It lies on the right bank of the Tigris River. The name means “district (diyar) of the Bakr people,” an Arab tribe that conquered the city in the 7th century CE. The modern spelling of –bakır (Turkish: “copper”) is said to refer the region’s abundance of copper.
Just one night we stayed here but oh my do we love this city. It’s bustling with life, on every corner something is happening. The old city is walled and has two main streets. Behind those main streets is a labyrinth of little alleys connected by bazaars and caravanserais.
We visited three caravanserais in the city, all turned into a place to have food, a drink or sleep. I say turned but actually the caravanserais haven’t changed. When merchants came to Diyarbakir many many years ago one would go immediately to a caravanserai. Here the traveller would find food, a bed and sometimes a hamam. He would be able to change his horse for a fresh one, get information about the road ahead and maybe even do a little bit of trading already. I’m intrigued by the caravanserais and it’s fabulous to see that they are still used the same way 800 years later. Maybe Marco Polo once visited this caravanserai.
Hi there! We are Milene & Yuri. We are travelling the world together since 2015. Our endless curiosity and will to explore has resulted in many cool, and somewhat extreme, adventures. On MYgrations you'll read all about our adventures, you'll find lots of information about the countries we visit you won't find anywhere else and more. Enjoy!
We’re also grammin’
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