Blog Archive: January 2015

Public Coffee Tbilisi Review (Aghmashenebeli avenue)

16 January, 2015 | Restaurant reviews | 24 seen

Welcome to another Tbilisi "restaurant" review. This time I would like to talk about Public Coffee on Aghmashenebeli avenue (Right next to McDonald's).

Update: Seem this place is out of business

The reason I enjoy this place - because they have toasts and delicious Cappuccino, It's one of the rare places in Tbilisi, I like to have my morning coffee and breakfasts.

Visit of this place will cost you a bit more than average but in most cases service and food will be delicious.

Entrance at Public Coffee

Inside interior at Public Coffee

Inside interior at Public Coffee

Inside interior at Public Coffee

Cappuccino at Public Coffee (Price ~4,90 GEL)

Crepes at Public Coffee (~5,90 GEL)

This was first time I tasted crepes at this Public coffee - though they are eatable, I wouldn't call them a real crepe - salads in a pancake, hold ham (I wouldn't recommend crepes at Public Coffee)

Greek salads at Public Coffee (Price ~ 8,90 GEL)

Toast of egg and chese

The main reason I enjoy…

Proposed New High Speed Rail Line - Moscow - Beijing could cost ~$ 230 bln

15 January, 2015 | Railway / Bus / Ferry | 4 seen

<p>While <a href="http://www.reinisfischer.com/pictures-khazar-islands-azerbaijan-tower">… are building it's super expensive project Khazar Islands</a> with estimate costs of ~ $100 bln, Russians together with Chinese are looking to build a high speed rail connecting Moscow to Beijing in 33 hours with estimate cost of around $230 bln.</p><p><img src="http://www.reinisfischer.com/sites/default/files/russia-new-hs-train.pn…; alt="Russia China high speed train" title="Russia China high speed train" width="1200" height="587"></p><p><em>Russia China high speed train (Image source:&nbsp;businessinsider.com)</em></p><p>According to <a href="http://www.businessinsider.com/afp-china-russia-mull-high-speed-moscow-… Insider</a> -&nbsp;The project would <strong>cost more than $230 billion and be over 7,000 kilometres (4,350 miles) long</strong>, the Beijing Times reported -- more than three times the world's current longest high-speed line, from the Chinese capital to the southern city of Guangzhou.</p><p>The…

Pictures of Khazar Islands, Azerbaijan Tower

15 January, 2015 | Macroeconomics | 523 seen

I have never been to Azerbaijan, but have heard a lot of it's plans to build a super expensive project of Khazar Islands and worlds highest tower - Azerbaijan, somewhere close to it's capital city Baku.

More than a year ago - I wrote about Baku to build Worlds Tallest building:

Azerbaijan is aimed to build artificial island archipelago called Khazar Islands with worlds largest building on it - Azerbaijan Tower. Estimated cost for such a mega project is 100 bln USD, which is more than total of Azerbaijan's GDP.

The cost of Azerbaijan Tower will be 3 bln USD: The $3 billion tower is to be the centerpiece of the Khazar Islands, a $100 billion city of 41 artificial islands that will spread 3,000 hectares over the Caspian Sea.

The city is being planned to house 1 million residents, contain 150 schools, 50 hospitals and daycare centers, numerous parks, shopping malls, cultural centers, university campuses, and a Formula 1 quality racetrack.

All of these facilities are planned to be able to withstand up to magnitude 9.0 earthquakes. The city will be equipped with 150 bridges and a large municipal airport to connect the islands to the mainland…

South African Fish Farms in Georgia (Sagarejo, Sartichala)

14 January, 2015 | Farms | 34 seen

The other day I was contacted on my blog's contact form by locally living foreigner in Georgia originally coming from South Africa. It turned out Afrikaner guy (Johann Kritzinger)  is a manager of South African owned fish farms here in Georgia. 

Since I'm open to almost anything new and unknown for me, I asked is it possible to arrange some sightseeing tour in his properties.

I'm a complete noob in a fishery, fish farms e.t.c. I could barely find any difference between a carp and a salmon, so it's always interesting to learn new things.

My new friend agreed to showcase fish farms in Sartichala and Sagarejo (both located in Georgian province of Kakheti).

On a lovely Tuesday afternoon he picked me up in Tbilisi and story can be told now:

Fish Farm in Sartichala

If honestly I have no idea what devices are in this picture, I believe I was told of them, but as I said, I'm a complete noob in fishery

Fish Farm in Sartichala

Fish farm ravines in Sartichala

Fish farm located inside this greenhouse

House dog

Street in…

Travellers from Poland, Germany and Greece Among Top countries from European Union visiting Georgia - EU From Total Just 4.21%

13 January, 2015 | Macroeconomics | 16 seen

According to Georgian National Tourism Administration in 2014 there was a total of  5 493 492 international travelers arriving to Georgia, what is a increase of 1.9% compared to previous year (2013)

Most of the travelers arrive from following 5 countries - Turkey, Armenia, Azerbaijan, Russia and Ukraine, if counted together international travelers from those 5 countries makes 4 992 934 or saying in percentage - makes 90.88% of total travelers,  leaving the rest of the World travelers with 500, 588 (9,22%)

Rabati Fortress Complex in Akhaltsikhe, Georgia

11 January, 2015 | Tourism objects | 105 seen

Georgia will never end to surprise you (at least - me).

Few years ago a major tourist attraction was renovated and opened to the public, some would call it a Jewel in the Crown, while others would call it a Georgian Disneyland (appealing that like in Disney land, everything here is a butaforie).

My subjective opinion will stay somewhere in middle. Yes it's kinda of butaforie, built from lightweight materials in less than 15 month almost from scratch, but still, it's a jewel in the crown.

First time I visited the Rabati Fortress complex back in July 2014, during 2 day rafting trip. Back then we had our minds focused more on rafting than exploring Rabati Fortress. We decided to come back here when we will have more time.

That time happened at the start of January 2015. We booked Hotel Rabath, took a Tbilisi - Akhaltsikhe minibus, and in less than in 3 hours we were again in Rabati Fortress complex. This time armed with time and photo camera. The story can be told now.

Meet Rabati fortress complex with eyes of me - I managed to capture more than 200 pictures here, they all looked great for me, and it was hard to select few ones to…

Hotel Rabath & Gino Wellness Review in Akhaltsikhe

10 January, 2015 | Hotel reviews | 25 seen

Back in summer of 2014, we took a 2 day rafting trip, during which we visited Rabati Castle Complex for about an hour. in such short time we hadn't much chance to explore the so called "Jewel in the Crown" - Rabati Castle complex, renovated just couple of years ago, and aimed to become as one of the most popular tourist attractions in Georgia. 

Back then (in summer of 2014) we noticed a hotel located at the heart of Rabati castle complex, and we decided we should come back again, stay at local hotel and explore this charming place.

Our second trip to Akhaltsikhe happened at start of January 2015, using one of the cheapest travel options in Georgia - minibus, we reached Akhatlsikhe in less than 3 hours.

Hotel Rabath in middle of Rabati complex

Hotel Rabath & Gino Wellness sign

Stairs down to Spa

Bedroom at Hotel Rabath

Flat screen TV at Hotel Rabath

Lately, I have no luck of getting English language channels at Georgian hotels, here at Hotel Rabath during our stay was available just 3 Georgian language channels

Our Room with a…

Tbilisi - Akhaltsikhe by Minibus: Cost, Time & Distance

9 January, 2015 | Travel guides | 105 seen

As an indie traveler, I prefer to travel in Georgia by mini buses, they are cheap and most often the fastest way to get from one point in Georgia to another.

Not always, but most often (for example, I would prefer railway to travel from Tbilisi to Batumi over minibus).

My first time when I visited Akhaltsikhe was in July 2014, during our 2 day rafting trip. Back then we had a little time to explore Akhaltsikhe and I decided - we must return here another time for a longer stay.

That day came at the start of January 2015 -  we booked a superb hotel at a superb location in Akhaltsikhe, see Hotel Rabath & Gino Wellness Review in Akhaltsikhe

​Update: See how can I save you time and money by helping to plan your itinerary to Georgia, see organized tours in Georgia.

Turns out mini buses heading to Akhaltsikhe departs both from Didube station and from Tbilisi Railway Station. You can travel to Borjomi as well, using Tbilisi - Akhaltsikhe minibus. 

Price per person was 8 GEL

Distance from Tbilisi to Akhaltiskhe is around 207…

Blog Income Report 2014 - $3,334.20

8 January, 2015 | Blogging | 14 seen

Yesterday I published a round-up post for the total blog traffic in 2014.  It turns out my blog has attracted more than 40,000 unique visitors last year.

Today I decided to wrap up a blog income report for the whole of 2014.

I have been publishing my blog online income reports starting in January 2014, so by today, I have 12 reports for the previous twelve months.

In total, my blog in 2014 has earned $3,334.2, what is around $277.85 per month or $9.13 in a day. 

Blog Income Report 2014

As you can see from the above chart -  first months of 2014 (January, February, March, April, and May) are not even visible on this chart. Starting August there is a significant growth in the online income.

Here is why - starting January, I implemented only Google AdSense on my blog to monetize it, and income stayed low while I added Amazon Associates starting the month of August.

Blog Traffic Report 2014 - 40,378 Unique Visitors - Growth; Location, Gender & Age

7 January, 2015 | Blogging | 10 seen

I have been doing monthly blog traffic reports starting from the first month I started this blog. Today I have decided to wrap up a blog traffic report for the whole year of 2014. It should show more accurate data about what was happening last year. 

In average my blog traffic stats have gone up from 1,433 unique visitors in January up to 13,074 unique's at the end of December. Though there were 3 months (February, March, and April) when traffic didn't overpass 1,000 unique visitors in a month.

• In total, my blog reached 40,378 unique visitors in 2014.
• In average it is - 3364.83 unique's a month or
• 110 unique visitors in a day

Blog Traffic 2014 (Data source: Google Analytics)

As you can see from the graph provided above, pretty serious growth has happened during those twelve months. Most impressive traffic growth happened at Q4.

Blog Traffic 2014 Weekly (Data source: Google Analytics)

Most visited was Nov 30 - Dec 6 week, when unique visitors totaled in 3,583  - should I mention, that on these dates…

Hotel Trialeti Palace in Bakuriani Review

6 January, 2015 | Hotel reviews | 17 seen

Welcome to another photo review article, this time I will photo-review Hotel Trialeti Palace hotel in Bakuriani.

For a prelude - this was my second stay at this hotel during Christmas time second year in a row. You might find interesting my post - White Christmas in Bakuriani.

Though, I didn't find a way to book this hotel on booking.com, as usual we used local groupon clone site - hotsale.ge or vovovo.ge (search in both for deals, use Google Translate if needed). So we bought coupons on of the groupon clone sites and get a nice discount, in total making to pay 50GEL per person per day.

This hotel offer included in price 3 meals per day (Swedish table), they claim they have sauna (they do have sauna, but second year in a row, it didn't worked), so do they have indoor pool (haven't used any of them - because, never works)

Simple bathroom at Hotel Trialeti Palace

Room with a balcony

View from Balcony

View from Balcony

Balcony at Hotel Trialeti Palace

A tiny TV at Trialeti Palace hotel

Unfortunately…

Hiking in Tbilisi - Turtle lake (Kus Tba) - Vake Park

4 January, 2015 | Outdoor Activities | 64 seen

On a lovely and sunny Saturday morning, we decided to take hiking from Turtle's Lake down to Vake Park.

First thing first.

Catch a Taxi, or call a taxi company. Personally, I prefer the taxi company with number 2 155 155.

Drive to Turtle lake should cost you around 5 GEL. If you prefer to catch a taxi on street - the price may go up to 10 Lari, but I wouldn't pay more than 8 Lari.

Update: Use taxi ride companies like Bolt

Actually, Turtle Lake or Kus Tba is one of the best attractions of Tbilisi (my subjective opinion) - so you can stay there all day along without any need to hike or trek somewhere else.

You can enjoy a lovely meal at coffee Intelligentsia there. Mostly I prefer to head to Turtle lake in hot summer days.

Ok, enough talking here is the pictures;

Turtle Lake

Sundial at Turtle lake

View to Tbilisi city

Pine forest and plenty of oxygen

Hiking trails in Tbilisi

Hiking trails in Tbilisi used by extreme riders

View to Stadium from trails

…

Blog Online Income Report - December 2014

3 January, 2015 | Blogging | 12 seen

Welcome to my twelve blog income report - covering month of December 2014. 

I'm making an income report each month covering earnings I have made solely in internet and in general with my blog.

Those reports keeps me track were I'm, were I was and were I'm heading to. I hope they can inspire some as well.

• In total my blog and I earned $2,029.67, that's increase by 188.04% if compared to previous month.
• $2,029.67 makes average $65.47 in a day.

Money I earned in December equals to a minimum wage in Belgium ($2,026.00) or average wage in Spain ($2,018.00). I believe it would be hard to survive in Belgium with minimum wage but I know for sure, that it would be pretty easy to live and travel in Spain.

If compared to country were I'm currently living - Georgia. Money earned in December would equal to 4.5 average salaries in Georgia. Technically speaking - I could take a long rest now (till mid April)

Seriously speaking - December was a Christmas time, and as I believe my earnings were so high thanks to:

• Black Friday (End of November)
• …

Blog Traffic Report - December 2014

2 January, 2015 | Blogging | 10 seen

Welcome to monthly blog traffic report, today I will share some data how my blog performed on month of December 2014.

As it turns out this is already 15th blog traffic report. 

In short - December was a great month, traffic first time cracked 10,000 milestone and ended with 13,074 unique visitors.

Blog Traffic Report December 2014 (Source Google Analytics)

• 13,074 unique visitors is a 43.73% growth compared to previous month
• It's 3,978 unique visitors gain if compared to previous month
• 13,074 unique visitors in a month, is an average 421.74 unique visitors in a day, again it's up from 303.2 in previous month.

When I forecasted results for December month (in previous report covering November) this is what I told:

At this point I will forecast results for December - it would be great to crack 10,000 mark, but I will say - a drop could happen, so my goal is to reach at least 6,000 unique visitors in month of December.

Now - the great thing happened and I cracked a 10,000 unique visitors milestone.