Day 28 — with my stay here winding down, it was time to start packing. Since I picked up more items than I planned — Georgian script socks, a scarf, Armenian flag pins, souvenirs from every market — and since my luggage is now 10+ years old, I decided to buy a new one.

I asked ChatGPT for suggestions and it recommended the Samsonite store at the Galleria mall here in Tbilisi. I headed over and asked the clerk about a luggage. 1,075 GEL — about $400 USD. I stared at the price tag, then at the luggage, then at the price tag again. Walked away.

🥓 Therapy at Wendy’s

I headed upstairs to the food court. I was going to have to eat a cheap meal if I was going to afford that luggage. I ordered a Baconator at Wendy’s — 25 GEL — and much to my surprise, it came with latex gloves. Because it’s that greasy of a burger. I put them on and devoured the meal. A Baconator served with surgical gloves in a Tbilisi mall food court. The globalisation of fast food has reached its logical endpoint.

🇬🇪 The Inner Georgian Awakens

With my brain recharged by beef, bacon, and cheese, my inner Georgian kicked in. I remembered the Dezerter Bazaar — the sprawling outdoor market near Station Square where I’ve been buying socks and vegetables since Day 6. I’d seen luggages there. Not Samsonites. Not shiny. But luggages.

Since the Galleria is at Liberty Square, I hopped on the subway and in a few stops I was at Station Square. I walked around a bit — the best deals are always a little further from the train stop, where the tourist foot traffic thins out and the local prices surface. I found one I liked. 110 GEL.

Let me do the maths for you: 1,075 GEL for one Samsonite. 110 GEL for one Dezerter luggage. I could buy ten of these for the price of one branded luggage at the Galleria. Ten. If I somehow destroy a luggage every three years for the next thirty years — which I won’t — I’d still come out ahead. The inner Georgian was right.

Next order of business: a final massage before my departure early Wednesday. One last moment of unwinding before the chaos of international travel. Tomorrow is finish packing and clean the apartment. The 28-day chapter in Tbilisi is closing, and I wanted to close it well.

By the Numbers

Item	GEL	EUR (≈)
Baconator + latex gloves (Wendy’s)	25.00	€8.50
Luggage (Dezerter Bazaar)	110.00	€37.41
Massage	190.00	€64.63
Total	325.00	€110.54	€45.92