Blog Archive: April 2016
An ex-pat living in Georgia since 2011, I trade stocks, take photographs, work out at the gym, and many more. Here I write about travel, finance, and other things that might interest me.
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Batumi Bay and Port
Once in Batumi, take a lazy walk at Batumi bay area, watch ships on anchor and enjoy a cup of tasty Turkish coffee at some of the bay cafeterias. From Batumi bay you could take an aerial tram and get some really spectacular views towards Batumi. Boulevard at Batumi bay Ship on anchor at Batumi You can climb down from the boulevard and enjoy pebbled shore. Cargo ships at Batumi port And really spectacular views towards Adjarian…
Tashir Pizza at EastPoint Mall (Tbilisi)
From local Armenian ex-pat community in Tbilisi we heard that famous Armenian 'Tashir Pizza' has entered market of Georgia. Back at this stage I never had even heard about Tashir Pizza before. It was on routine shopping day at East Point shopping mall in suburbs of Tbilisi, when we noticed a Tashir Pizza, since we had heard good words about it we decided to give it a try. And let me share my joy, how surprised I was - this place is just…
Georgia / Armenia Border Crossing at Sadakhlo / Bagratashen
One of the shortest routes for crossing Georgian / Armenian border, if traveling from Tbilisi to Yerevan, is Sadakhlo / Bagratashen border point. I have traveled this route several times, mostly for my travels to Yerevan I have used private taxi cars or minivans leaving from Avlabari or Ortachala (in Tbilisi) and back from Kilikia bus station in Yerevan. Learn more about cheap travel between Georgia and Armenia by mini vans: Tbilisi - Yerevan…
Kilikia Bus Station in Yerevan, Armenia
I have used Kilikia bus station to travel from Yerevan to Tbilisi using minivan (marshrutka), but seems you can get from Kilikia to Istanbul (Turkey), Tehran (Iran) or Moscow (Russia), take in note those will be very long trips (starting 40 hours) and I would rather prefer to fly instead of traveling such long distances by bus. I reserved a seat a day before by calling to firm in Yerevan - Tbilisi minivan (Read more:Tbilisi - Yerevan transfers…
Narikala Fortress
Ask anybody in Georgia - what are the must have tourist sites to visit while in Tbilisi. Narikala fortress will be a top of the list. And there is a good reason - an ancient fortress, featuring rich history, overlooking Tbilisi, with some really spectacular views towards Tbilisi Old Town. Spectacular view to the Narikala Fortress Above photo is shot from another monastery, located just opposite to Narikala fortress: See: Tabor monastery…
Karas fast food on Mashtots Avenue, Yerevan
We paid a visit to Karas fast food restaurant on Mashtots avenue in Yerevan, just shortly we checked in at nearby Park hotel on Koghbaci street. We got to this place by simply asking on street to a passer by where are some cool places around to get some cool food experience. The lady told - Karas, it's just around corner. So we ended up in Karas. Menu at Karas restaurant in Yerevan This was the most interesting menu I have seen, featuring …
Cranberries in Powdered Sugar
Cranberries in powdered sugar are one of my favorite sweets from my childhood (sorry, Georgian churchela). I remember in my childhood there were little nice cardboard boxes available for sale at local stores around my native Riga. It was always like a little celebration when my mom or grandma bought me some of those cardboard boxes with cranberries in powdered sugar and let me eat them For a very long time I didn't find them around, but at…
St. Nicholas Church, Tbilisi
The chances you have seen or even visited St. Nicholas church, if traveled to Tbilisi, are huge - located on the lower court of city's most famous landmark's - Narikala fortress. This Church has been "recently" restored. Newly built in 1996–1997, it replaces the original 13th-century church that was destroyed in a fire. The new church is of "prescribed cross" type, having doors on three sides. The internal part of the church is decorated with…
Tbilisi For Dummies- 10 Places To Visit When Planing Your Trip to Georgian Capital
Planing your next trip to the Pearl of Caucasus - Tbilisi? Spending hours researching Lonely Planet, TripAdvisor and travel blogs? I'm here to help you, save time on researches and let Georgia to surprise you - after five years spent in this South Caucasus republic I decided to craft list of ten interesting tourist attraction sites in Tbilisi which will please most of the travelers. You don't need a fancy budget to visit these sites (as most…
How to replace all "http" hyperlink with "https" Drupal
Recently I made a switch from http to https. I was pretty pleased with results, and started to wait for possible SEO boost from Google. As time passed, instead of boost some traffic drop started to appear in my Google Analytics account. I cannot say for sure is this because of https thing or some major update in Google Search algorithm (Penguins & Pandas) , I just wanted make sure everything works right on my site. Traffic dropped to 0 (…
Georgia - 5 years latter (Economic Developments 2011-2016)
April 1st marks my five year anniversary since I opted to move to this amazing country on the edge where East meets West - Republic of Georgia. Today, to celebrate this small anniversary I decided to take a look back - to see economic developments in Georgia 2011-2016 - how things how changed since I first landed at Tbilisi airport back at at April 1st, 2011. See: 3 years in Georgia and 16 places to visit in Georgia and Tbilisi , for my…
Eldar's Bike Workshop at Kidobani Market (Tbilisi)
Eldar's bike workshop is a place where back at the end of 2013 we bought two mountain bikes as a Christmases gift for ourselves. Take a look of my riding experience in Tbilisi: First ride, Cycling to Tbilisi sea or alternatively check out cycling topic. At Eldar's place you can fix leaky tires, fix brakes order new details and of course to buy a new or used bicycle. It was at the start of March, warm weather approached Tbilisi and I decided to…