Shaori Reservoir

29 November, 2022 | Lakes | 27 seen

Shaori Reservoir is an artificial lake located in the region of Racha, Georgia  - some 170 km northwest of the capital Tbilisi.

I first visited it in mid-October 2022, during our first trip to Racha

The Shaori reservoir stretches from the southwest to the northeast, its length is 7.1 kilometers, the greatest width is 2.7 kilometers.

The greatest depth is 14.5 meters, the average depth is 9.8 meters, the area is 9.2 km². The volume of water is 90.6 million m³. It is fed by tributaries and precipitation that falls on its surface (1500 mm per year). 

The banks of the reservoir are mostly low and steep, in some places they are flat.

I can see some great tourism potential here. 

Sikvaruli Waterfall in Racha

25 November, 2022 | Tourism objects | 40 seen

The Sikvaruli waterfall (Waterfall of love) is located in Racha, near the town of Ambrolauri, Georgia

The waterfall flows on the mossy rocky massive and creates marvelous sight. Waterflow is located across the Rioni River.

We discovered this place by a chance - when our Rachan driver Levan, showed this place as one of the top sights around Ambrolauri.

Indeed the waterfall is quite impressive and looks double interesting because of the many colors around it - greed, red, blue. But it also depends on the season of the year. Fall is especially popular among Racha photographers.

The road literally ends at the waterfall, so you cannot pass it.

Spend some time at the waterfall before exploring other parts of Racha.

Won Another Online Auction - Plot of Land in Saldus (EUR 4.82/m2)

24 November, 2022 | Real Estate | 21 seen

On November 24, 2022, I helped to win an online auction for a real estate property in Saldus, Latvia

This auction was held online at the E-izsoles platform. And unlike most of the other bids, this was one of the easiest bids, We were just two bidders, the second bidder had entered the bid a few days earlier and probably forgot to bid today, as my bid was just the second highest.

In the past I've bought already one apartment using this platform, see: Today I bought my first flat on an online auction site

In total, we agreed to pay EUR 3,250 for a 668 sqm plot of land in Saldus. Distance to Riga is about 120km, Laidi 48km, Vilgāle 64km, and Jēči another 120km.   

With this buy, we are having four properties in Latvia, all of which are located in the Kurzeme region. Back this summer we bought a little nice Summer house in Jēči (Liepāja)

Among Bolt couriers, bagels and overturned bowls of chips, I won a bid on a plot of land in Saldus. Purchase amount 4.86 EUR/m2 - cheaper than in the mountains of Georgia (most probably),  but it seems much easier to realize. The free market says -  that the price could be 4.5 - 9…

How to buy Straddle Options on Crypto (Ethereum & Bitcoin)

23 November, 2022 | | 84 seen

Lately, I have been trading 1 DTE options with Ethereum on the Deribit platform. In the past, I have traded quite a lot of Bitcoin and Solana coins (until the November 2022 Crypto Crash)

Unlike stock options, trading crypto options might get more complicated, a lot more complicated and I wouldn't actually recommend them if you are a novice. My biggest learning curve so far has been the fact that crypto options are settled in crypto itself.

Disclosure: This article contains affiliate links to the deribit.com options trading website, by clicking on links on this page and by making an investment on deribit.com, I might earn affiliate income at no cost to you.

I'm not a financial advisor and I don't give you any advice, I'm just sharing my own experience. Investments in stocks, funds, bonds, or cryptos are risk investments and you could lose some or all of your money. Do your due diligence before investing in any kind of asset. 

Anyhow, after a losing trade with a call ratio bacskpread I was looking for a "revenge" trade (something you should always avoid at all cost) and thought - what If instead of selling…

Sakhluka Rachashi, Cozy Cabin in Racha / Agara

22 November, 2022 | Hotel reviews | 27 seen

Sakhluka Rachashi cabin house is located in Agara in the Racha region of Georgia.

We booked this place on Airbnb for about a 2-night stay in mid-October 2022, during our Racha trip. In total, we paid about $300 for our stay here.

As this time we were traveling without a car, we arrived here from Sadmeli Winery near Ambroulauri, after a short trip around Racha, by a driver I hired in Ambrolauri. 

We had a little nice cabin house, with two bedrooms, fake, but fun, little fireplace, nice garden, and best of it - garden oven. We grilled some fish and potatoes there.

I felt bit nostalgig, but also inspired for our canceled garden oven, see: Building a foundation for a garden oven - Part 1

Our stay here, was quite cozy, but bit cold. There was no TV, and the fake fireplace didn't warm us, as expected. We got heating grom AC and garden oven.

The chalet features 2 bedrooms, a kitchen with a fridge and a minibar, a washing machine and 1 bathroom with a hairdryer. Towels and bed linen are provided.

We enjoyed a lot our stay here. We found a local shop nearby to buy some goodies. Also found some ideas…

Top 20 Best Selling DELL Laptops in 2023

21 November, 2022 | Laptop Reviews | 36 seen

Dell is known as a reliable business laptop brand, pioneering the latest tech, touchscreen, FULL HD, and high-bandwidth RAM.

Nowadays Dell builds not only laptops for business use, but also gaming laptops, Chromebooks, and of course simpler but still powerful everyday-use machines.

In this article, I've listed Dell laptop models (both traditional and Chromebooks) which are among the top 20 sellers / most popular laptops on Amazon.com in 2023.

Disclosure: This article contains affiliate links to Amazon.com, by clicking on links on this page and by making a purchase on the Amazon site, I will earn an affiliate income at no cost to you. Prices for laptops listed on this page are retrieved using Amazon Product Advertising API and is updated daily. For actual prices please refer to the product page on Amazon.

• 12GB high-bandwidth RAM to smoothly run multiple applications and browser tabs all at once; 256GB…

Securing first under construction real estate investment in Tbilisi - Planning to SELL as NFT

17 November, 2022 | Real Estate | 24 seen

On November 17, 2022, together with a partner from Canada, we secured our first co-investment in Georgia - a 47m2 apartment under construction in Tbilisi. Looking to put it on blockchain next. Exploring NFT.

Long story short, back in April 2022, while vacationing in Batumi, I come up with an idea - investing in booming Batumi real estate by attracting crypto investments. Original idea was to issue a crypto token, raise the funds, purchase the apartment under construction and sell it for profit once it is done.

A few months latter, Uday, co-investor from Canada contacted me, showing keen interest in this project, but in a more classical FIAT investment approach. I agreed.

Scouting Batumi real estate for the second time, at the end of September 2022 I was left a bit disappointed, the price seemed too high, and the apartments seemed too small... I started to explore what are our options in Tbilisi and was left surprised to find, there are apartments for sale for about $500 per square meter.

I contacted a few real estate developers in Tbilisi and narrowed down our potential investment to Eco City Samgori project in Tbilisi.

See, how I went…

Nikortsminda Cathedral

15 November, 2022 | Churches and Monasteries | 48 seen

Nikortsminda Cathedral is a Georgian Orthodox Church, located in Nikortsminda, Racha region of Georgia.

I first discovered this beautiful cathedral in mid-October 2022, during our first trip to the region of Racha.

It is said, that Nikortsminda was built in 1010–1014 during the reign of Bagrat III of Georgia and was repaired in 1534 by the King Bagrat III of Imereti. Three-storied bell tower next to the cathedral was built in the second half of the 19th century. Frescoes inside the cathedral date from the 17th century.

The cathedral is on the Tentative List for status as a UNESCO World Heritage Site.

Stylistically, Nikortsminda reflects the Georgian cross-dome style of architecture, following a six-conch-within-rectangle plan. The rectangular western apse has adjoining side chapels.

Nikortsminda has a massive dome and unbroken arcatures as its twelve windows, which are decorated with ornamented architraves.

Make sure to visit this cathedral, when planing a trip to the region of Racha in Georgia

Top 20 Best Selling Lenovo Laptops in 2023

14 November, 2022 | Laptop Reviews | 30 seen

Over the years Lenovo has proved itself as a reliable business, everyday use, and even a gaming laptop.  Besides its Chromebook series - Lenovo is known for the ThinkPad, IdeaPad, Yoga, and Flex line of notebook computers.

In this article,  I've listed Lenovo laptop models (both traditional and Chromebooks) which are among the top 20 sellers / most popular laptops on Amazon.com in 2023.

Disclosure: This article contains affiliate links to Amazon.com, by clicking on links on this page and by making a purchase on the Amazon site, I will earn an affiliate income at no cost to you. Prices for laptops listed on this page are retrieved using Amazon Product Advertising API and is updated daily. For actual prices please refer to the product page on Amazon.

• Memory is 8GB high-bandwidth RAM to smoothly run multiple applications and browser tabs all at once. Hard Drive is 256GB PCIe…

14 Things to Do in Latgale

11 November, 2022 | Travel guides | 51 seen

In this article, I will share some notes and points of interest from our latest trip to Latgale at the start of August 2022. to celebrate my 37th birthday.

Our trip actually started a few days earlier on the other side of Latvia. Since this Summer we own a little summer house near Liepāja. Also, we have an apartment near Kuldīga, and back in that Summer, we had a flat in Riga. We started from Jēči with a stop at Pape, Vilgāle, and an overnight stay at our Apartment in Riga.

The next morning we left from Riga towards Latgale with a booked guesthouse in the evening near Varakļāni. There are several highways taking towards Latgale. We chose E22 highway, through Pļaviņas, Koknese, and Jēkapils. 

One of our first stops in Latgale was the Quail Farm Olala in Koknese, we decided to include this place in our route as we have an acquaintance from the Georgia times somehow involved in this business. Next to the Quail Farm is located the impressive Koknese castle, which alone is already worth spending a few hours at. From Koknese we headed towards Varakļāni, with a stop in Jēkapbils. Spent about an hour at Jēkabpils LIDL store buying goodies for the next few…

GDP Per Capita in OECD countries 2022

9 November, 2022 | Macroeconomics | 110 seen

OECD or The Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development is an intergovernmental organization with 38 member countries, founded in 1961 to stimulate economic progress and world trade. ]

It is a forum and its members are countries that describe themselves as committed to democracy and the market economy, providing a platform to compare policy experiences, seek answers to common problems, identify good practices, and coordinate domestic and international policies of its members.

Also, sometimes called the club of the wealthiest countries, in this article I decided to pull up GDP per capita data for each of the countries and make some ranking.

GDP per capita USD

Navtlugi Farmer's market Tbilisi

8 November, 2022 | Shopping Venues | 88 seen

Navtlugi farmers market is located in the Samgori metro area, Tbilisi.

It seems it is possible to buy here fresh veggies from local farmers, kitchen sinks, electric lamps, bicycles, and many more.

Navtlugi market seems is like a mix of a Dezerteer bazaar, Kidobani market, and Dry Bridge flea market.

I had heard about this market from friends, but I first time discovered it just at the end of 2022, during a scouting tour for buying an apartment in Samgori. A German friend Ralph, happily assisted me and took me on a small guided tour to the Navtlugi market.

Our potential investment project actually is located just behind the Navtlugi market. Property prices in Samgori are among the lowest in Tbilisi. 

It's said that the open-air bazaars of Tbilisi began with the collapse of the Soviet Union in the early 1990s, as newly-independent Georgia experienced political and economic turmoil. Having lost their jobs and homes, newly-destitute citizens began selling their possessions as hyperinflation decimated pensions and savings.

It’s possible to find almost anything you can imagine in the market.

The place is quite interesting…

Top 14 Best Selling Asus Laptops in 2023

7 November, 2022 | Laptop Reviews | 47 seen

In 2023 ASUS laptops might not be as popular as they were some 4-5 years ago, their overall share has shrunk from about 20% in 2017 to 8% in 2023 on Amazon's top 100 best-selling laptop list. 

In this article I've listed 14 ASUS laptop models (bost best selling and new releases), that will suit almost all consumer verticals, starting with cheaper editions affordable for students, and ending with more powerful laptops aimed at gamers and business professionals

A quick note: This article contains affiliate links to Amazon.com, by clicking on links on this page and by making a purchase on the Amazon site, I might earn an affiliate income from that. The prices for laptop computers listed on this page are retrieved using Amazon Product Advertising API and are updated daily. For actual prices please refer to the product page on Amazon.

• Intel Celeron N4020 Dual-Core Processor 1.1GHz Up to 2.8GHz / 4GB SDRAM / 64GB eMMC Storage
• 14-inch HD LED Display (1366 x 768) / Integrated Intel Graphics
• Webcam / Wi-Fi 802.11 / Stereo speakers
• 2…

Guest house / Glamping Laimes taure

4 November, 2022 | Hotel reviews | 16 seen

Located in the village Vabole, the region of Latgale in Latvia, some 20 km from Daugavpils, guest house Laimes taure offers accommodation with a garden, water sports facilities, a terrace, and free WiFi.

We booked this place for a one night stay, during our trip to the region of Latgale at the start of August 2022. As it was also my birthday, I was turning 37, my better part surprised me, by booking a stay inside a glamping tent and hot pool in the eveining. 

The hosts prepared grilled fish and other local delicasies for us. In total we paid about EUR 250 for a stay here.

Our glamping tent in the background and hot pool in foreground. The tent had a comfortable bed. It was quite an interesting expierience.

in front of our glamping site we had a nice Vabole lake, where we had a nice boat ride among the swans.

Boasting free private parking, the holiday home is in an area where guests can engage in activities such as hiking and fishing.

The stay was quite awesome, food was delicious, hot pool was superb. Higly recommend. 

Book now on Booking.com

Racha trip

28 October, 2022 | Living in Georgia | 9 seen

Unforgettable Fall break from QSI Tbilisi to the picturesque region of Racha. From lush vineyards to charming wooden cottages, from hiking above the clouds to stumbling upon a defunct cable car station, our adventure had it all. So, fasten your seatbelts and get ready for a virtual tour filled with nature, culture, and a touch of rustic charm.

Taking advantage of the convenient 30-minute flight from Tbilisi to Ambrolauri with Vanilla Sky, our journey began with anticipation and excitement. Racha, known for its breathtaking landscapes and warm hospitality, was the perfect destination for our Fall escapade.

Our first stop led us to the enchanting wineries dotting the Racha region. Surrounded by rolling vineyards, we indulged in the flavors of local wines, each sip telling a tale of the terroir. The hospitality of the winemakers and the serene ambiance made it an experience to remember.

For our stay, we opted for the cozy wooden cottages that added a touch of rustic charm to our getaway. Nestled amidst nature, these cottages offered a perfect blend of comfort and tranquility, providing an ideal retreat after a day of exploration.

No trip is complete without…