Villa Likani Review

25 August, 2014 | Hotel reviews | 11 seen

The other day was damned hot in Tbilisi, and we decided to take a minibus to head to Borjomi (temperature there is significantly cooler than in Tbilisi). Said - done. In matter of few hours we were at Borjomi National Park eating barbecue and figuring out - should we stay or should we leave (As the song of The Clash - Should I stay or should I go).

Since this was not the first time visiting Borjomi and staying overnight here, we already knew - apartments for rent here sucks - they might be cheap, but they sucks. Maybe I'm getting old - but comfort is one of the things I'm looking for. There was internet connection problems in Borjomi, and we decided to catch a local taxi, and ask for his recommendations for the best hotel in the city (not very expensive, but definitely not the lauzy one - the normal hotel, with shower, TV, breakfasts e.t.c)

Taxi Driver soon realized what we are talking about and took us out of Borjomi city centre to Likani (or close to Likani), and there was two hotels/guest houses looking to us. We split - I went to the first one (Hotel Natali) and S went to second one - Hotel Villa Likani.

The host of Hotel Natali was kind of cheater…

6 Best Value Hotels in Borjomi, Georgia

24 August, 2014 | Hotel reviews | 24 seen

Borjomi is a popular resort town in Georgia. The most popular recreation season here is summer. Local tourists from Georgia and international tourists from Russia, Poland, and Israel make the largest amount of tourists here.

Although in Borjomi you can find an apartment for rent literally on every corner, most often they are pretty bad, they might be cheap (I wouldn't pay more than 30GEL for a bad apartment in Borjomi), but if you are looking for comfort (restrooms, shower, linen, a TV set, air conditioner) then forget about those cheap apartments for rent. You will ruin your Borjomi holidays.

I have listed best value hotels in Borjomi, based on actual user ratings on Booking.com site - by booking one of those hotels, you will have not only towels and clean bed served, but you might get breakfast included, billiard table and some other extras. Don't worry - the price won't sky-rocket. Good hotel in Borjomi will cost you around 120-200 GEL (USD 70 - 115/ EUR 50- 85) for two persons per night with comfort. The best - for such money you can actually get a celebrity treatment and stay in a 5-star hotel in Borjomi

In this…

Tbilisi - Borjomi Transfer by Marshrutka (Minibus) (2014)

24 August, 2014 | Living in Georgia | 73 seen

The Summers in Tbilisi can get damn hot, I mean +40 Celsius, common - it's not serious without air conditioning. And I'm not the person complaining.

So we decided to head to Borjomi, visit Borjomi National Park for some fresh and mountainous air, and to find a boutique hotel for an overnight stay.

This is not the first time of me heading to Borjomi, the last time I was there was during our rafting trip. As well you can find a photo set of Borjomi in Autumn I made in October 2013.

I decided to write this post and highlight some options for cheap and pretty fast travel between Tbilisi and Borjomi using the Marshrutka service.

I made the photos using my phone and published them to my Instagram wall as well (Learn more about how I turned my Instagram account into a photo blog)

There are a few options to travel to Borjomi from Tbilisi available. One of them is by train, another great and by me most often preferred option is to choose Marshrutka (Minibus) service. Another option is to take a Taxi, but it might too pricey.

There are two places in Tbilisi, I know for sure where you can find a…

How To Apply For Hotels.com Affiliate Program

22 August, 2014 | Blogging | 26 seen

Lately I have been starting to evaluate the power of affiliate marketing. So far I have been playing around with two affiliate marketing programs - Booking.com and Amazon Associates.

Speaking of first (Booking) - the results kinda suck, while second (Amazon) seems like a brilliant finding. 

Since I'm not seeing any return of using Booking I started to look to another hotel affiliate programs, after a few days guessing what could be a very good alternative for Booking - I decided to opt in for Hotels.com

Hotels.com has over 290,000 cheap hotels in more than 60 countries. Our 11 million genuine guest reviews will help you find a cheap motel, extended stay or hotel accommodation. Simply check our best deals, discounts and offers and find a hotel near me or the location you are searching for. Whether you are travelling last minute as a family or need a hotel for business, we have the right hotel at the lowest rates for you. We also have a 24-hour call centre, if you would prefer booking with a real person. Don't forget about our Best Price Guarantee and Last Minute Deals. Plus, no change or cancel fee from Hotels.com to ease your mind with…

Georgia Expects Visa Free Travel to EU by End of 2015

21 August, 2014 | Living in Georgia | 22 seen

Georgian citizens might have Visa Free Travel with European Union (Schengen area) by end of 2015 or at start of 2016 - told Georgian Minister of Foreign Affairs - Maia Panjikidze on live translations on Imedi TV station, Wednesday, August 20, according to NewsGeorgia 

I have a assumption based on realistic data that by the end of 2015 - beginning of 2016 we will have visa-free travel with the member countries of the Schengen Agreement

 - told Panjikidze

According to the official Tbilisi - visa free travel between Georgia and European Union will boost process of the  Georgia's Euro integration, as well the development of political and business cooperation with the European Union.

Update: Visa-Free Travel For Georgian Citizens Entering European Union has been in force since the late 2015

Georgian citizens might get up to 90 days Visa Free stay in EU. 

Some time ago EU gave Visa Free travel to EU for another ex-Soviet country Moldova.

For me it seems just logical move that Georgia is next on the list, in that article I wrote

I guess it's not long time to wait to see Visa Free…

How To Hide Drupal Block For Nodes In Specific Taxonomy - Example With Google Adsense

20 August, 2014 | Drupal Development | 44 seen

<p>In this Drupal Development tutorial I will show how one (perhaps you) can hide a block for nodes on specific taxonomy. But before we dig in, lets look to an example.</p><p>Let's say you are displaying Google Adsense ads on your Drupal website or blog, ads are displayed by using blocks. Everyhting fine. But then you realize, there are some pages (nodes) you are not willing to show Google Ads. For example you are doing an affiliate marketing, and you have specific taxonomy, in which all affiliate marketing nodes are tagged in.&nbsp;</p><h2>So how to hide that block containing Google Adsense?</h2><p><img src="http://www.reinisfischer.com/sites/default/files/drupalads.jpg&quot; alt="Google Adsense For Drupal" title="Google Adsense For Drupal" width="948" height="562"></p><p><em>Google Adsense's block in article.</em></p><p>In above image you can see Google Adsense being displayed in articles for my blog.</p><p>So, but I do affiliate marketing as well, and there are few articles on my blog I down want my readers been…

How To Set Event Based Google Analytics Goals - Amazon Affiliate Links Tracking Example

19 August, 2014 | Blogging | 33 seen

In this article I will guide you through - how one (perhaps you) can define custom even based goals in Google Analytics reports - and I will give you a real example - how to track Outbound links to Amazon.

With this post I'm starting a new topic series in my blog - Web Analytics. I have already previously covered different topics related to web analytic you might find useful.

So, now let's go back on our topic subject - Setting Goals:

Goals are everything, right?

Before we are speaking of goals, be sure you have already registered for Google Analytics and your website visitor are counted. If you, just like me are a Drupal friend - here is a quick reference how to add Google Analytics to your Drupal website.

Please note - to use my suggested option for tracking outbound links - you should use Universal Google Analytics tracking code:

Universal Analytics introduces a set of features that change the way data is collected and organized in your Google Analytics account, so you can get a better understanding of how users interact with your online content.

Some notes I will highlight in this article I…

SEO Best Practices for Drupal 7: Managing No-Follow and Do-Follow Links

18 August, 2014 | Drupal Development | 51 seen

Learn how to implement nofollow external links while still maintaining dofollow internal links on your Drupal website in this tutorial.

It's important to understand the reasons why you should consider this option, especially with the Google Panda and Penguin algorithms constantly fighting low-quality websites. To stay safe, it's best to avoid copy-pasting or scrapping content, and minimize the number of low-quality internal and external links.

For better on-site SEO, avoid using dofollow links to affiliate sites or advertisements, and steer clear of link schemes. For instance, if you're writing a blog post reviewing products and places, it's acceptable to add external links, but be wary of adding too many dofollow links to affiliate products to avoid getting penalized.

Here is a video on that by Google's Matt Cutts:

Anyway - the purpose of this article is not to guess how many links should be fine on your site, but how to nofollow external links on your Drupal site.

By default, Drupal is offering to use text format filters, and one of the options is to set all links to "nofollow"

…

Luca Polare - One Of The Best Ice Creams In Tbilisi

17 August, 2014 | Restaurant reviews | 75 seen

I have decided to start a new post series - Tbilisi restaurants.

As you might already know I'm an expat living in Georgia (Tbilisi).

 I'm a huge lover of restaurants and coffee shops, and since living in Georgia I have came even a bigger fan of eating outside the home. 

Since I'm eating out pretty regular - there are my favourite places, then there are places, that once was my favourite places, and then there are places better to avoid. 

I'm willing to make an description of them and to photograph the food I have tasted on those places.

Perhaps on such decision I came after making a post of Fine Dining places in Yerevan, when I forget the names and locations for lovely Yerevan restaurants. Not any more!

Please note, this is just my subjective opinion.  For taking photographs I'm using my Samsung phone and using Instagram (then taking them from Instagram and adding to posts - you can read a blog post on how I turned my Instagram account into a photo blog - speaking of what - I decided there is no need and place to keep up with 2 blogs - so I decided to shot tourgeorgia down - and starting today…

20 Top Rated Romantic Hotels / Apartments In Barcelona

15 August, 2014 | Hotel reviews | 14 seen

Barcelona is a perfect location for romantic trips, in case you are looking for the best honeymoon or just a romantic weekend in fabulous Barcelona city, I have listed Top 20 best-rated hotels and apartments in Barcelona, based on actual user reviews on the Booking site.

In this list, you will find both hotels and apartments.

The price per night for those 20 top-rated hotels varies - starting from EUR 95 and up to EUR 375. The price may change, and there are some hotels offering huge savings.

Disclosure: hotels listed below contain links to Booking.com, by clicking on links on this page and by making a reservation on the Booking.com site, I might earn an affiliate income, at no cost to you.

This property is 9 minutes walk from the beach. Set within the World Trade Center building, this 5-star design hotel overlooks Barcelona’s port and is a 5-minute walk from La Rambla. It features a seasonal rooftop pool, a gym and a spaciousterrace.

The Eurostars Grand Marina Hotel GL offers modern rooms with wooden flooring and warm-coloured fabrics. A flat-…

11 Top Rated Hotels / Guest Houses in Mestia, Region Of Svaneti, Georgia

14 August, 2014 | Hotel reviews | 5 seen

<p>Mestia is a remote mountainous village in region of Svaneti in Georgia. You can reach Mestia by car, minibus (<em>marshrutka</em>) or even by plane. Speaking of the last one - I'm not sure, but there is <a href="http://www.reinisfischer.com/flights-mestia-tbilisi-will-resume-startin… flights available from Tbilisi to Mestia</a>. Depending are you a solo traveller or you travel as couple, or maybe as a group, you might want to check this list with Top rated Mestia hotels, based on actual user ratings and reviews on Booking site.</p><p>Here at Mestia you will mostly find guest houses and hostel type accommodations, although here are a few hotels as well. Price will vary, starting from GEL 20 per night up to GEL 120.</p><h2 class="item"><span id="hp_hotel_name" class="fn">Marina Guest House (<a href="http://www.booking.com/hotel/ge/guesthouse-marina.en-gb.html?aid=363972… Now</a>)</span></h2><p><span class="fn"><a href="http://www.booking.com/hotel/ge/guesthouse-marina.en-gb.html?aid=363972… src="http://www.reinisfischer.…

Celebrating Birthday in Yerevan, Armenia - Roundup

13 August, 2014 | Travel guides | 24 seen

This post is a round up post from my birthday celebrations in capital of Armenia, Yerevan, at start of the August.

Idea of visiting Armenia, arise soon after I decided it might be fishy to flight to Mestia (Georgia). That was first option - to visit mountainous region of Svaneti in Georgia. I even expressed my joy, learning that regular flights has been launched from Tbilisi to Mestia. After several attempts to contact aircraft-carrier - they didn't expressed much trust for me - like - on questions, when is the flights, where are they from (it's some airfield out of Tbilisi) - the answers were typical lame - call tomorrow e.t.c. So screw you Mestia - it's time for Armenia.

This was not the first time we headed to Yerevan, Armenia, this was second time this year, and third time in total. Seems I'm found of Armenia.

So we did quickly found a car transfer service from Tbilisi to Yerevan, and our trip started. 

Click on the above image to find out how to travel cheap by taxi car from Tbilisi to Yerevan

Prior to visiting Yerevan, we booked a Hotel Republica Yerevan in city centre.

How To Get Pre-Paid SIM Card In Armenia - VivaCell-MTS

12 August, 2014 | Travel guides | 21 seen

<p>During my short two days trip to Yerevan in Armenia, I decided I will need a local SIM card to make calls and browse internet.</p><blockquote><p>There are three mobile phone operators currently in Armenia: Viva Cell MTS, Orange and Beeline. Orange and Beeline only offer 2G and 3G services. Viva Cell MTS offers both 2G and 3G as well as 4G services. All three networks are widely modern and reliable with shops located in major towns and cities where one can purchase a sim card or get assistance if needed. Most unlocked mobile phones are able to be used on roaming however network charges apply. Orange and Viva Cell MTS are often recommended to tourists due to the variety of tariffs available and the help available in a variety of languages.</p></blockquote><p>I was really surprised being informed by taxi driver who took us to Yerevan, that you can have a Pre-Paid SIM card bought at VivaCell-MTS office near Marriott Hotel (Republic square) in centre of Yerevan - 24/7.</p><p>I followed taxi drivers advice and went to VivaCell-MTS office around 6.00 AM. That's right - they are opened 24/7.</p><p>I briefly…

Fine Dining Places In Yerevan

12 August, 2014 | Travel guides | 38 seen

During our short 2 day trip to Yerevan, Armenia, in time we celebrated my 29th birthday - we tasted a lot of great Armenian and European food. 

Now, looking through my Instagram account - I decided to add photos of food I have taken with my Android phone. Unfortunately I don't remember precise locations and names for many of those lovely Yerevan restaurants, but still it's pleasant to view some food photos.

We started our food adventures at Marriott Hotel in Centre of Yerevan at 6 AM.

We didn't use any alcoholic beverages here - instead we had a fine coffee with delicious Armenian truffles. One of the best truffles I have tasted. Our overall cheque here was about EUR 15

After couple of hours, we stop at the Olivia place. Kinda Italian restaurant.

Nothing special here, but they have breakfast menu here for 1000 Drams (About EUR 1.83)- scrambled eggs. Coffee, tea, soda must be paid separate. Overall cheque here some EUR 10

Then we found an excellent place for dinner - at bottom of the Yerevan cascade, there is Paulaner restaurant

We took chefs special - steak, potatoes and grilled vegetables.…

Tbilisi - Yerevan Transfers By Taxi Car

11 August, 2014 | Travel guides | 81 seen

Update: This article originally was written back in 2014 - a lot has changed since then, mostly prices and services - prices have gone up, service in some cases have gone down - I've removed any contacts listed in this article - please read comments section for up to the date information. 

See: Tbilisi - Yerevan Transfer by GoTrip.Ge Review

Those of you looking to travel from Tbilisi to Yerevan, or from Yerevan to Tbilisi, you have few options to choose - I'm not 100% sure but one of the options is by plain, the second option is by train, the third option by bus, another option by minibus (marshrutka) - the best option so far I have found is by private taxi car.

Actually, I have never traveled to Yerevan by plane or train from Tbilisi. I'm always choosing a private taxi car.

Update: Rend a car in Tbilisi

By saying a taxi car - I do not mean a regular taxi - you can chase on every street corner. Probably you can get with them too to Yerevan, but the price might be too pricey.

There are literally tons of privately held - semi-official, unofficial firms that offer Tbilisi - Yerevan transfers.…