Henry left me in Istanbul, much to my disappointment as from then on I started getting lost! However after a minor breakdown with the handbreak jamming in Istanbul and having to be pushed up a motorway sliproad with the handbreak on and a detour round the Ankara equivalent of the M25 I made it on the road to Georgia.

It provided some stunning driving which must rank as amongst the most enjoyable I have ever done as I went down a long winding 4 lane motorway as almost the only car on it!

After a minor delay as they blew up a mountain, I drove on into Georgia.

It has to be said that the Turks are incredibly friendly especially once we got out of the mania that is Istanbul. I was even given a copy of the Koran by one which he hoped would bless my journey. Sadly the car and the Turkmen authorities had other ideas!

Georgia was a great country although it was the first time that the road from the border disproved the seeming rule that governments improve them the closer you get. No tarmac just a rather bumpy dirt track.

The car broke down just outside Tbilisi. Fortunately, it was a minor problem and we quickly changed the spark plugs. The mechanic then insisted on driving me to a Tbilisi web cafe where the last rather brief update came from. On the way back he stopped at a drive-through pub… what a great concept and came back with two huge 5-litre bottles of beer and then gave me a snack at the garage and a bottle of beer to drink on the journey! Sadly the bottle burst and the whole car stank of beer for a while… Fortunately on the other hand it meant that I didn’t!

Tbilisi and Georgia as a whole were both great places that I am very keen to go back and visit someday.