It is finally here! Heads and Tails. Reloaded – Season Three!
We will reload new cities this season.
We will rediscover incredible islands…
This will be the most surprising season ever!
Do not miss it!
Nastya: Anton would usually give me compliments as we walked up.
Evsei: Well, I ain't Anton.
Nastya: Dear friends!
On behalf of Heads and Tails Reloaded, it brings us joy to welcome you in the capital of sunny Georgia – Tbilisi!
Evsei: Great toast Nastya. I dreamed about trying the puffy khinkali and tasting every wine in Alazani Valley.
Nastya: What wine do you speak of little man? You are not 18 yet! Who's gonna sell it to ya?
Evsei: Chill Nastya! This is Georgia, there will be free wine!
Heads.
Nastya: Tails.
Evsei: Gaumarjos Georgia!
Nastya: Terrific toast Evsei. Catch you later!
Anyone who visited Georgia once cannot help but return repeatedly! Just look at us!
Zhanna: Hello! This is Heads and Tails!
Alan: and we are in Tbilisi!
Andrei: Today we are in Georgia!
Georgia is a country for infinite exploring...
Tasting…
listening…
And you will never get enough!
I will soon be getting married!
What can be better than a high-pedigree S-class Mercedes in black?
Correct! Only a high-pedigree S-class Mercedes in black!
My Mercedes is supposed to look just like that one!
Without the police escort of course. This must be for here some big shot.
We will have to wait for mine. It is funny though.
Driver: Gamarjoba Nastya! Welcome to sunny Georgia!
Nastya: Hello.
Cop: Hello Nastya.
Nastya: Hello.
Cop: We have orders to escort a VIP guest to a hotel.
Please.
Nastya: Thank you very much.
Needless to say that this the first time this is happening on Reloaded.
You can keep your racecars. I feel like the President.
Finally, the cops are with me, not after me.
Only VIPs move around the city that way.
You get the connection.
You cannot purchase a police escort unfortunately.
Georgian Ministry of Tourism decided to make us a gift
when they found out that Heads and Tails were coming to Tbilisi.
This is bending the rules a bit, but we could not resist such splendor.
$100 turn into 260 lari.
That makes them 2.5 times more pleasant.
A hundred became 260.
Taking a cab does not make sense
because there is a bus to the city that only costs 0.5 lari – that is just twenty cents!
Can you tell where the bus is here?
Girl: It will stop right here.
Evsei: Right here? To the city?
Girl: Yes.
Evsei: Bus route #37 goes downtown.
All right. Let us wait.
I was just sitting waiting for the bus and
then something happened so fast that even the cameraman did not catch it.
Girl: Transport card.
Evsei: Thank you, but I can't take this.
Girl: We do not need it, because we have a flight to catch. It should be good for about 10-15 rides.
Evsei: Ten or fifteen?
One lari each?
Girl: There should be about 15 lari on it.
That means 30 rides! Have fun!
Evsei: Wow! Thank you so much.
Thank you!
What did just happen?
I asked the girl where the bus stop is to the city
and she just came over and gave me the card for 15 rides.
That should cover my entire stay!
That is Georgia for ya!
Man: Right here. That's one ride.
Evsei: How much is left?
Man: Each ride is 0.5 lari.
Evsei: I got it.
Man: Your leftover balance is at the bottom.
Evsei: There is more than what she said there will be on it – 31 lari. That totals to 60 rides.
I will pass this card on to someone else when I leave. Awesome!
The city bus is new, has A/C and you can pay with either the card or cash.
It even features USB chargers.
Sweet!
Hello Tbilisi! How have you been since we left?
I heard that Tbilisi is a beautiful city before, but I did not expect such gorgeous diversity.
I am surprised. Stunned even!
Modern structures grew like mushrooms amidst the old Soviet buildings while we were away.
It feels like they sprinkled Tbilisi with a pinch of Dubai!
Here is the Hose of Justice for an instance. It looks like the giant petals are covering it.
Looks interesting.
This building has all glass walls to show transparency and availability to people.
Those are the tubes. That's how locals them – the tubes.
ne of them is supposed to feature a musical theater. The other one – an exhibition hall.
The building is not open yet, but they decorate the Rhike Park.
This building resembles a contemporary museum, but it is in fact a prosecutor's office.
The black color symbolizes toughness of Georgian judiciary system,
while the glass stands for its transparity.
Nastya! The buildings were not the only thing that changed. The name of the country is different now!
Georgians want their country to be known as Sakartvelo so that the world does not confuse it with a state
in the U.S. South. Georgians refer to themselves Karvelian peoples now.
This is the first time when Heads and Tails returned to a completely different country!
Tbilisi allows you to make a magnificent time leap to the past.
You will reach Old City after you cross Kura River.
Old Tbilisi is comprised of old sagging buildings, roofs and cracked cement.
Small courtyards that smell like fresh laundry.
I feel the atmosphere.
The wooden shushabandi balconies.
Every traditional Georgian building has a long balcony that unites all of the apartments on the same floor.
It seems like the life here stopped a hundred years ago
and no one ever noticed.
Local genacvale still discuss the news on the same old bench.
Grandma is hanging her carpets out to dry,
while her grandson is getting the grill ready.
This 100-meter hi-tech building is the tallest one in Tbilisi.
It looks like a shard of glass dropped out of the sky right in the middle of the Georgian capital!
Where else did you think I would stay? The tallest and the best hotel in Georgia – The Biltmore Hotel.
Thank you so much! No other city did this for me! I swear!
Arab Sheikh Nahyan bin Mubarak Al Nahyan built this hotel for $140 million.
I admire the scale!
This right here is dope!
You will not see any singing Georgians with wine here.
Just enjoy the luxurious atmosphere.
My hotel has 216 suites. Every one of them is deluxe.
I rented out the most expensive one – The King's suite located on the top 30th floor.
Let us check out the 95,000 UAH suite!
Oleg are you seeing this?
Those are my favorites!
Ivleeva get it together!
The suite.
Gimme a sec.
The living room spans over 220 square meters and features a crafted wooden floor.
The dining room floor features five types of marble.
Bedroom.
Bathroom number one.
Bathroom number two.
This is a pool Oleg!
Second bedroom with panoramic windows.
This is where Queen Nastya Dangerous will rest after she eats plenty of sweets,
takes a bath and thanks Universe for the gold card.
Evsei will turn his feet to dust while he is walking out there.
All I had to do was get this suite and enjoy this view from the 32rd floor. Or this view. Or that one.
The best attraction in Georgia is local food-
khinkali, khachapuri, labiani, chackabili, chrakmeruli…
let us go figure it out together.
Saha: What about kharcho?
Tbilisi has 1001 cafes and 1001 dishes for any taste and wallet size.
Kinda pricey. I can't spent 55 lari on a dish.
You are invited by 1001 hostesses.
I chose a café with the lowest prices – Metekhi.
They have khinkali, khalakuri, mtiluri, suluguni, chakhapuli,
adjakhuri, abzakhury, chakhobili, kupaty, chakhmeruli… whew!
Can I have five khinkali with beef, aha, Adjara khachapuri, kharcho soup and Rkatsiteli?
Waiter: A glass?
Evsei: No! I am in Georgia! A liter! Yeah.
To Georgia! Gaumarjos!
Let me eat some kharcho soup. It is hearty.
Very hot and spicy.
Tastes great. Kharcho means beef soup. It has to include three ingredients – beef, plums and walnuts.
There is plenty of that here.
On to the Ajaria khachapuri it is bell-shaped pastille with an egg, cheese and butter.
This is how you eat Ajaria khachapuri – mix your egg with butter and cheese so it can melt.
You need to eat this with your hands, pinch some from the side and dip.
I cannot even taste the raw egg.
Tastes like a tasty omelet with cheese.
Last but not the least – khinkali.
Here is how you eat it properly – only use your hands.
They are so hot!
I cannot eat them cold.
I need some chacha with these.
I forgot I have wine.
Georgians say that you need to treat khinkali like you treat a girl – salt her, squeeze her
and then drink all of her juices.
The stew inside these is something! Tastes like some condiment. Tastes like cilantro!
Here, you can see it.
The last khinkali is like the last kilometer in the marathon. You cannot do it but you have to persevere.
This feast in Tbilisi's center amounted to $18.
I am so full that I cannot breathe.
I cannot move, but I am so happy.
Happy in Georgia.
Do they have rose wine in Georgia?
The word "Tbilisi" means "warm water"
because Tbilisi is sitting on thermal springs.
Let me give you the backdrop,
Tsar Vakhtang Gorgasali went on a deer hunt in the 5th Century and wounded a buck.
Yet the deer came to the creek and healed itself.
The Tsar was so amazed that he decided to build a city here.
They built the world famous sulfuric baths right above the springs!
It would be blasphemous not to visit these and I do not like to sin.
There are VIP bathhouses reserved for the rich.
How should I put this?
This smells like every single rotten egg on the planet was dumped here.
Even a tourist on a tight budget can afford a bathhouse.
I will attend a public bathhouse #5.
Bathing in the VIP sauna costs $60 per hour.
It looks terrific – mosaics, baths and a marble massage table.
You can bathe in a public bathhouse for $1 per hour. This is what it looks like.
Don't these remind you of the horror flicks?
The curative water is the same everywhere.
Shall we?
The first thing that you need to do in a sulfuric bath is wash your dirt off
because hydrogen sulfide only works on clean skin.
Then you have to dip into a pool with hot sulfuric water so that your body rejuvenates with hydrogen sulfide.
I am kinda scared, but they promised me that this bath would make me younger, leaner, healthier and happier.
I am khinkali.
Some meat inside of the boiled dough.
. Very hot and very stinky. The six minutes are up!
and dip in the cold water to improve blood circulation!
Why can't we meet in the middle in this bathhouse?
This is ice-cold!
I get it. Tbilisi likes extreme swings.
This one is for you. One dip.
Cold as ice. That would be enough for you to get the picture. Let us proceed to the most pleasant part
– the bath attendant.
Peeling your skin is the first thing he does.
Why are they so sharp?
Man: These? These carpet gloves peel your skin.
Nastya: Carpet?
Man: We call them kitty.
Nastya: A kitty is a sponge made from a woolen rug.
A kitty is very rough in a public bathhouse.
I am getting mixed feelings.
I feel like he is peeling my skin with drywall paper.
Bad kitty! Bad!
It tickles!
Man: Turn on your back now.
Evsei: Do not film down there Sanya.
Nastya will not talk to me.
Bath attendant pours clouds of foam over you after he is done with the kitty peeling.
Was that normal?
Man: Light steam!
Georgian bathhouse procedures hurt and give you pleasure at the same time.
Definitely worth checking out.
There is so much interesting stuff to see in Georgia besides Tbilisi and so little time!
I headed to the bus station. Do you go to Signagi?
Driver: Yes.
Evsei: How much is for one?
Driver: Six lari.
Evsei: How long is the trip?
Driver: About an hour and a half.
Evsei: Ready to go.
I decided to go to the town of Signagi. Let me tell you what is interesting there.
I always dreamed to see a traditional Georgian wedding. Good thing there is a town where that happens 24/7.
Thank you. Good-bye.
Signagi is a large neat village.
A place where people prefer a laid-back lifestyle.
This is like being in Switzerland or in the Alpine part of France with no one but Georgians around.
I do not care about that.
Locals jokingly call Signagi their Las Vegas because anyone can get married here at any time.
No ID's required.
How about that! Here is the town's main landmark – marriage registry.
Here are the newlyweds!
A real Georgian groom with his bride.
Hello.
Groom: Iliya
Bride: Maya
Groom: What's up.
Evsei: Nice to meet you.
I came here to look at the Georgian wedding.
Yours is beautiful!
Congratulations! I wish you happiness, health and love.
Groom: Thank you.
Evsei: May your house always…
Groom: Madloba!
Evsei: What?
Groom: Madloba! Thank you!
Evsei: Signagi is a lottery – you might see a traditional wedding or an ordinary kind
like the one we have back home.
I did not get lucky. Perhaps you will.
All of the needed wedding components are here – groom, bride, relatives and love.
May your love last forever!
Evsei will not be the only one to see Georgia's splendor. I am on my way to Alazani Valley.
I have seen Signagi. Time to go back to Tbilisi.
Evsei: Do you speak Russian?
Temo: Yes.
Evsei: Where is the bus going to Tbilisi? Right here?
Temo: Yes.
Evsei: There?
Temo: Yes.
Evsei: Thank you.
Temo: I could drop you of, but we have to stop by my brother's vineyard. This might interest you too.
Evsei: Is that on the way?
Temo: You will see some things on the way.
Evsei: Is it interesting there?
Temo: Yeah.
Evsei: How much will cost me?
Temo: The ride is on me.
Evsei: Seriously?
Temo: Of course.
Evsei: The bus would be faster, but how could I resist such an opportunity to ride through Alazani Valley
and check out a Georgian vineyard?
Valley is unique. Each village boasts its own wine, because each one of them has a different microclimate.
Driving through here is like traveling from one bottle to another –
Tsinandali, Vazisubani, Mukuzani, Akhasheni, Gurjaani and Kardenahi.
Sounds welcoming!
There are brown traffic signs everywhere directing you to wineries, wine cellars
and all of the other spots that have wine.
I came to Nelkarisi Winery. Check this out.
We are in the middle of nowhere.
The fields, the steppe, the woods.
Yet there is a modern designer building in the middle of this countryside.
Hello. Thank you so much for the greeting
Georgii: There is our winery. Our grapes grow there. Make yourselves at home.
Nastya: Georgian winery tours are popular amongst the rich tourists.
They show you how they handle grapes in the tiniest detail.
Let us begin with the obvious – wine.
Pay close attention and I will show you how this transforms into that.
They cut the grapes and put them into a container.
Then they take these crates to the winery.
Behind me is a large juicer. They put grapes there and get the juice.
This is where the grape juice is brewing. Slowly.
They wash the bottle here.
Pour wine inside here. Seal the bottle. This amazing machine puts on a sticker and voila!
This wine is ready for consumption.
Don't mind if I do.
After about an hour of driving through Alazani Valley, we arrived at my new friend Temo's village.
This is where his relatives have a house and a small vineyard.
Meet the patriarch – Grandfather Givi.
Evsei: Are we going to the vineyard? Is that your grandfather?
Temo: Yes. He is almost 90.
Evsei: Really?
Temo: Yes. He looks good because he is as clean and natural as these grapes.
Gamarjoba! Gamarjoba! I have brought you a helper!
Evsei: Hello, my name is Evsei.
Nikodym: Nikodym. Here take the knife.
Evsei: All right.
Nikodym: Here is how you cut it.
Evsei: On the stem.
All of Temo's family is here – children, brothers, nieces and cousins.
Gathering grapes together is a family tradition.
I will contribute as well.
Tasty.
I'm working! I'm working!
Do I get wine after this?
Girl: You will.
Evsei: Excellent!
Then we brought the grapes to a dark cellar. They used to squash grapes with feet in a special wooden trough.
These days they use this grape-squeezing machine.
Everything goes in with the stems?
Man: Everything goes.
Evsei: Everything?
Man: Everything..
Evsei: Here is the first Georgian home wine making secret – they squeeze grapes with stems and seeds.
Therefore it becomes a bit more stringent and has rich flavor. Very strong too.
Where does it all go?
Temo: It goes into a big jar.
Evsei: What jar?
Temo: Those jars right there. We put it all in. Bagasse too.
Givi: That fits 530 liters. This one – 1,300.
Evsei: Secret number two – wine is brewing in gigantic jars called kvevri that let the wine breathe.
Kvevri are placed underground to keep wine cool and brewing properly.
What is the right temperature?
Temo: 15C-16C is all you need.
Evsei: People do the work in home wineries, not the machines.
They still use some of the older tools. They mix bagasse with this stick.
Temo: We do not want it going dry on top.
Evsei: This is the stick they use to clean the jars.
Temo: The cherry cortex has antiseptic qualities. We give it an antiseptic when we wash.
Evsei: This basket is a drainer.
This ladle is for scooping up wine.
Temo: This is how we put it in. Get some, lift it up.
Evsei: Okay.
Temo: Then pour it out.
That is natural grape juice.
Evsei: Scooping 300 liters with that?
Making home wine is a piece of work. The more you work the sweeter the results are.
Here I am friends! It turns out they apply grapes for other things than wine.
They use it to make churchkhela and dolma.
These rods also make a perfect firewood for shashlik.
Georgians avoid wasting any part of the plant. They use leftover juice to make Georgian sweets – churchkhela.
This is a churchkhela skeleton. It is made from walnuts, grape juice and flour.
Then you hang them up like this, let them dry and let them take this amazing tempting shape.
Tasty!
They do not waste their vine either – firewood for shashlik!
Georgians do not let women near shashlik, but let me quickly tell you a secret.
When the vine burns, the fire gets high. You have to wait for the heat to go down until about this level.
Put the meat on if your hand feels comfortable.
Locals use leftover bagasse to make chacha – the grape vodka. They put bagasse here after it was squeezed.
Then they add grape juice and shut the lid. The fumes make a condensate.
Chacha comes from here. Allow me to demonstrate how to check if your chacha is real.
Take a shot glass and fill it up.
Then you pour it into the fire.
If it burns… the fire show just happened! Our chacha is on point!
Georgian gathering of the grapes always ends with a feast.
Man: Careful! Do not hurt your hand.
Evsei: This is a celebration of rtveli – gathering of the harvest. They did not let me leave of course.
Man: You're doing great.
Girl: This is how you say "I will not drink anymore".
Evsei: I will need that one tonight! Mets agar vsvav?
I could just pass out somewhere.
Thanks. I feel safer now.
Georgian feast is called supra. That means tablecloth.
Supra has its own set of rules that you have to follow not to offend friends.
First rule – each meal begins with a prayer.
Then there is an appointment of tamada, a very respected person.
Another rule of supra is that the closer you sit to tamada the more respectable you are.
The only one closer is grandfather Givi, so I'm good.
Let the good times roll! The first toast is to tamada!
Temo: Let there be more grapes!
Evsei: Then a toast for parents.
Tamada: To those who have living parents, much health… and to those who do not.
Evsei: A toast for friendship is a must.
Givi: To our friendship. This one is for all of us.
My table is set friends. I have khinkali, khachapuri, dolma and pkhali.
Georgian feast is not about food it is about the people around you.
All: Cheers!
Right now!
I want to… I want to draw your attention to
the fact that I will soon be getting married!
Tamada: You cannot take my glass.
Evsei: That don't matter! This one's mine then!
Tamada: Wait a second.
Evsei: Let us mix this and we will have rose wine!
To you!
Man: We appreciate it.
Evsei: I decided… that I… I decided,
as I should… for you… I will get married! Right?
Evsei: We have beem discreet with it long enough. Me and Nastya are dating.
Soon we'll have a wedding. That wedding will happen in Kakheti!
Man: A toast to you and your bride Evsei. To your love. Much health…
Evsei: Health is key!
Man: …happiness and plenty of children.
Tamada: Much love.
Evsei: Thank you. Despite all the love!
Man: Easy now.
Evsei: …and my respect for you… I do not have time for your hospitality right now.
Evsei: Do you mean I can stay here? Like right here?
At this table? I apologize, but I need to crash.
I can swing on this. All these grapes here give me shade.
Cameraman: Go to sleep.
Evsei: What do you mean sleep?
Okay.
Maiden of the house! I am coming to bed!
Evsei: Water.
Damn.
It's wet.
Have you ever been ashamed of yourself?
Did you ever give a promise that you could not keep?
I will get married! This wedding will be in Kakheti!
Good morning. Have you ever heard about "work hard play hard"?
Here, look.
This is how the host works. This is how the cameraman works.
Evsei: I won't… Thank you.
Temo: Give me your hand. Come.
Evsei: Thank you Nina.
Temo: Sit down son. Let me help you out.
Evsei: Thank you friends. I will surely be back. Next time I will use better judgement.
Temo: Are you sure you're okay to drive?
Evsei: The wheel is on the right side.
Two-hour trip to Tbilisi. I hope I can sleep it off.
Should you find yourself in Tbilisi on Sunday morning, be sure to climb Mount Mtatsminda
and visit St. David's Church.
Trust me it is worth doing even if you are not a religious person.
This is the place where you can hear unique Georgian polyphony performed by a choir of men.
How can you sing like this?
Georgian polyphony is a part of World Heritage on par with Egyptian pyramids,
the Great Wall of China and rainforest near the Amazon River.
It is also under UNESCO protection.
Sorry guys. Hello. That's so incredible! I don't even know how it's possible to use voice as a music instrument.
Man: We can go outside and show you how it is done.
Evsei: You mean with me?
Man: Of course.
Evsei: Really?
Man: Let us begin with warm-up exercises.
Do it with me.
One more time.
Evsei: What's the words?
Man: Very good.
Evsei: Georgian polyphony is unique. Seven notes are not enough for Georgians!
Man: European music culture uses seven notes – do, re, mi, fa, sol, la, si, do.
Man: We use twelve notes because we can sing undertones. Let us show you.
Each region in Georgia has its own special voice.
Evsei: Special?
Man: Right now, we will sing Krimanchuli
Evsei: I sound like a chicken!
Krimanchuli is a complicated form of throat singing that is reminiscent of Alpine Yodeling.
One thing I realized is that no one can duplicate Georgian singing!
ou have to be born Georgian to sing like this.
Nastya: Hi! Should you have time in Tbilisi, take a dancing class for $35 and learn Adjara dance Acharuli.
Tutor: Six, seven, eight.
Where else could perform a traditional dance in a costume with the back-up dancers?
I decided to make one last push and visit The Cave City of Vardzia.
The trip there takes four hours, but it is definitely worth doing.
Behold an ancient Georgian wonder
– The Cave City of Vardzia.
Vardzia used to be a stealth town.
This entire splendor was hidden behind an outer cliff before an earthquake destroyed it.
Let us see what is inside.
Incredible! How could people chisel a 13-story building with 600 flats inside a cliff without machinery?
These are just rocks and empty caves, but life boiled over the top here a thousand years ago.
There were kids running around, people were drying their laundry outside,
workers moved stones around while someone was chiseling a flat for himself.
You have to try and imagine how it used to be in the past to understand the magnitude of places like this.
Vardzia was designed as an exile.
People could hide from enemies and stay here for extended periods of time because it is autonomous.
Their plumbing system would deliver water to wells like this one. They used the dark rooms for storing food.
A walk-in refrigerator.
This is a library.
This is where the pharmacy was.
Dining room still has a table.
You squat like this and eat.
Try to guess what used to be in one of the biggest caves in the city.
Tsar's master bedroom? His best friend's place? This is where they used to squeeze grapes folks!
Barefoot women would get in there and squeeze the juice into ancient jars.
I think these niches were the bedrooms.
They would have animal skins on the floor and candles here.
Gia would embrace his Nino and fall asleep under this dome.
That is not all! They built a monastery here and decorated it with frescos.
What can I tell ya, this place is great!
Your home cannot be conquered or flooded and you always have access to wine.
The only down part is that a little seismic activity can turn your home into a museum.
What does a rich person do in Tbilisi at night?
You can cruise around the city, or go see a musical performance or go to a restaurant.
On the other hand,
you can arrange a three-in-one deal!
This toast is to you Tbilisi!
You are beautiful.
Tbilisi becomes even more magical after the sunset.
never thought I would say this, but I do not really need a gold card in Tbilisi.
There is enough hospitality to cover a dude with a $100 and perhaps even the moneybag on that float.
Is that Nastya?
Nastya! That really is her!
Nastya: Dear God. Where did you come from?
Evsei: Pick me up Nastya!
Nastya: What a pest!
Can we dock here for a quick sec?
Evsei: After a while!
Nastya: Crocodile.
Evsei: How is your evening?
Nastya: It just got a bit worse.
Evsei: Mine got better!
Nastya: Did I lift your spirits?
Nastya: Help yourself to the red wine. I am sure you tried some but wanted a refill.
vsei: Believe me Nastya. You do not need money to get hammered in Georgia.
Nastya: That sounds like a great first toast!
Evsei: To Georgia!
Nastya: To Georgia!
Are you seeing this?
Evsei: Much love to you!
Nastya: The logic behind the scheme is clear.
Evsei: Maiden of the house! I am coming to bed!
Nastya: You get the connection.
Evsei: That is Georgia for ya!
Nastya: Dear friends! We will see you in the next city!
I'm just playing. Not quite there yet.
Evsei: What a great toast!
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