Blog Archive: October 2015
Temple of Saint Seraphim of Sarov (Borjomi/Georgia)
| Churches and Monasteries | 266 seen
Temple of Saint Seraphim of Sarov is located close to Borjomi (some 1.5km) in Georgia. You can get here either by car or as I prefer - by foot using Borjomi - Baghi - Tba - Tsemi road. That's actually exactly we did at the end of September during our hiking tour in Borjomi. I must admit this was not the first time for me at this place, but prior to that I didn't know the name and meaning of this place. Now I know, so the place is actually called the Temple on Saint Seraphim of Sarov and is related to Russian Orthodox church.
Tourist sign indicating direction to the temple
It's written in Georgian, unfortunately I'm not familiar with Georgian script (but hey there is Georgian translation service available) and I cannot tell you what's exactly written there, but it should be something related with the temple, like a name.
Church house
Church icons and candles for sale
At Temple of Saint Seraphim of Sarov in Borjomi
Wooden temple on site
Actually it's a rare opportunity to see wooden temples in Georgia
At Temple of Saint Seraphim of…
Ultimate List With Top 10 Gudauri Hotels (Georgian Ski Resort)
| Hotel reviews | 115 seen
The holiday season is approaching, and if you have chosen Georgia as your final destination for skiing, there is a good reason to visit Georgian Winter capital Gudauri. It's famous of skiing slopes, heliskiing, hiking and of course wonderful relaxation accompanied by famous Georgian hospitality service. To make your stay in Gudauri even more pleasant, here is the ultimate list with top 20 Gudauri hotels, apartments, and guesthouses to choose from.
- Be prepared to take cash with yourself, it has been countless times when I have found that bank terminals are not actually working here.
- If you are heading to Gudauri to enjoy ski rides, pay attention to those hotels/apartments which actually are located close to the slopes (many of hotels are actually near the slopes, but they come with a price attached)
Here are two hotel reviews I've stayed so far in Gudauri - Hotel Shamo, Hotel Edelweiss
Alternatively, see:
- Bakuriani Hotels - Enjoy Your Winter Holidays in Georgian Ski Resort
- 6 Best Value Hotels in Borjomi, Georgia
Please note: All hotels listed in this article contains…
Actual Price Index in Tbilisi Market (Georgia) - At Start of October 2015
| Living in Georgia | 11 seen
Right, this might probably sound as yet another hipster style article and probably you are right. The thing is - during month of October I have decided to write down my everyday expenses and in the next month I will provide article on Cost of Living in Tbilisi (Georgia). Since it was start of October, I headed to Google Play store to download first expense tracking app and started to write down my expenses.
I had to visit Tbilisi Dezerteer bazaar just to buy some groceries, and I decided hey it actually would be neat if I would write down actual prices for vegetables and fruits there. So I did. I must admit it was fun and entertaining to enter that app after each purchase I made (I don't want to miss a single item).
- 1 kg garlic - 6 GEL
- 1 kg potatoes - 0.70 GEL
- 1 bunch of spring onions - 0.60 GEL (or buy 3 for 1 lari)
- 1 bunch of parsley - 1 GEL
- 1 bunch of dills - 1 GEL
- 1 kg washed carrots - 2 GEL (1.5 GEL for regular ones)
- 1 watermelon (~6kg) - 5 GEL
As you can see it's not a perfect consumer basket, but hey that's what I…
How I Reached My Google AdSense Goal To Make $40.00/mo In 19 months
| Blogging | 10 seen
Wow, that title actually sounds pretty scary - some humble $40 per month in 19 months? Poor me! Well.. in fact I don't look on that as something very scary or low income. Back in the 2014 at start of the February, my blog was just about 4 months old, I decided (understood) that to actually succeed anyhow on this money making thing I should define some goals and I created my first goal - to earn enough to break even my hosting expenses (which at that time was $40/mo)
It's Official now - in the month of September 2015 I first time crossed $40.00 Google AdSense milestone, when in total earned $45.58.
Now in the past 19 months I have learned other ways you can make some lucrative income from your blog, and Google AdSense probably is not your best bet to get those dollars rolling to your bank account, but it (Google AdSense) has been on my blog for the most time of my bloggers carrier, and there is a reason for that - I look on Google AdSense earnings as a dividend payments from stocks - they are not huge, but it's good to have them.
In fact 19 months latter I'm paying even more for hosting, it…
Barbecue Festival in Akhtala (Armenia)
| Travel guides | 16 seen
At the start of September 2015, we booked a one day tour to Armenia. This trip took us to Lori province in Armenia, which actually is pretty close to Georgian border. During this trip we had a stops at Haghpat monastery, Sanahin monastery and Akhtala monastey.
It turned out that at our final destination place - the Akhtala monastery, a barbecue festival was held. At start I did find it a bit strange - a barbeque and a monastery? Well... why not?
Akhtala monastery in Armenia
If you will look closely into above picture you will notice the smokes, that's because of barbeque is being prepared
Road to Akhtala Monastery
There were a lot of tourists both local and foreign that day visited Barbeque festival in Akhtala
Entrance gates at Akhtala monastery complex
Barbecue festival at Akhtala monastery
Or the Ancient world (Monastery complex) meet the New World (Coca Cola tents) and both are covered in the smokes of barbeque. So surreal, so true, so Armenia!
Armenian folk songs and dances held at Akhtala
Armenian…