Hot, hot, hot!

Tbilisi is known for its sulphur baths.  Many believe that it was actually Tbilisi's sulphur springs that inspired King Vakhtang Gorgasali to settle the area as the capital in the 5th century.

Legend has it that the King was in the area on a hunting trip and either poached or healed a pheasant in the boiling sulphur waters, thus spurring his decision to move the capital city to that very spot.  In fact, "tbili" translates to warm so perhaps there is some truth to the story.

A key spot along the Silk Road, these sulphur baths were historically a huge draw for weary travellers, at one point hosting 60 different baths in the area.  Today, there are five surviving bath houses in the city - one which is public, one which is open 24 hours and the others where individual rooms can be booked.

Upon advice from our tour guide, we booked at the Royal House, supposedly the nicest of the group.  Even still, this cavernous spot felt like it was from a different era - and though we told ourselves that the tiles and furniture had been replaced since the baths were first developed centuries ago, we weren't entirely sure.


Nonetheless, we forged ahead excited to plunge into the warm bath.  Until we stuck our toe in and panicked that our foot was being burnt right off our body.  The water was scalding hot!

We did our best to adjust the temperature with the cold water hose nearby but the boiling water was simply too intense. Geoff braved the bath by spraying the hose right on himself as he slowly and painfully waded into the water.   Beth did her best to even keep her feet in the water.

By the end, we both managed to get ourselves all the way in but it certainly did not meet the vision of the relaxing and leisurely baths we had dreamed up in our minds.

All in all, we left the pools feeling clean and even a little relaxed but admittedly looked much redder and in the back of (Beth's) mind wandered if we had suffered any third-degree burns or other long-term consequences.