Blog Archive: September 2020
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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Rustaveli Borjomi Hotel
Set in Borjomi on Rustaveli street this Hotel has a bar, shared lounge, garden, and free WiFi throughout the property. This 4-star hotel offers a 24-hour front desk and room service. Free private parking is available and the hotel also offers bike hire for guests who want to explore the surrounding area. We booked this hotel for a one night stay at the end of September 2020 and paid just GEL 88 (USD 26). Now that's definitely a bargain deal.…
Carved Stone Sculptures near Sno - Akhaltsikhe - Juta road
Driving into the village on the winding Sno-Akhaltsikhe-Juta road, just before the entrance, you pass a collection of massive stone heads, somewhat reminiscent of Easter Island, carved out of granite. It was in mid-August 2020, we took a day trip to Juta village to fly drone when our guides told - hey look there are these cool carved stones, let's take a stop here. I thought cool, I will google this place later, but for now, will just take some…
Orio Center Shopping Mall in Bergamo
Located next to the Bergamo airport, Orio center is one of the largest shopping centers in Italy. We visited this shopping mall in mid-November 2019, a day before departing back to Tbilisi from the Bergamo airport. Arrived here from Hotel 'Castello Visconteo' in Cassano dʼAdda, Italy in the late evening, some 2 hours before the mall was closing. Bought some goodies and ate at KFC Orio Center in Bergamo In front of the Orio al Serio…
Samsung Galaxy A51 6GB RAM 128GB Review
Samsung Galaxy A51 was first released in December 2019. I bought this phone as a replacement phone for the Samsung Galaxy A50, to whom glass cracked on the tiles at the Champions Academy in Tbilisi after a good workout, at the start of September 2020 My previous Galaxy A50 had served me for about a year and was still a very decent phone, to avoid dealing with repairs I decided to take a new one. I was very happy learning that there is the same…
And We are Back / DJI Mavic Mini drone
The wait is over - today I picked up my already second DJI Mavic mini drone here in Tbilisi. See how I crashed the first one at the Jvari: Jvari monastery from a drone flight / DJI Mavic Mini crash We headed straight to the Tianeti / Khatsiri Forest Park And we are back - short drone videography from drone 2.0 Khatsiri Forest Park near Tianeti Music by: Scott Holmes - We made it!
Today I bought my first flat on online auction site
On September 18, 2020, I won an online auction for a property in the countryside Latvia. This was the second time me using E-izsoles platform, and the second time winning an online auction (for the truth I won the first time a plot of land, but that place turned out not good for a house building and I revoked it, back in Summer of 2019) In total today, I agreed to pay EUR 3,760 for a 53,7 m2 flat in a 3-storer building in rural Latvia. The…
Gudauri View Point from a drone flight
Gudauri viewpoint is a cool attraction located some 2 km up from the Gudauri to the Kazbegi (Russian border) Officially named as the Russian -Georgian Friendship monument, this place has been "installed" back in 1983, but seems to have gone under major reconstruction works recently. We were returning from a weekend trip to Kazbegi when it was agreed to fly my little DJI Mavic mini drone around the monument. Gudari viewing platform Located…
Gergeti church from a drone flight
In today's Piece of Life series - Gergeti Church from a drone flight The region of Kazbegi is very nice for drone photography and videography. Gergeti Trinity Church is a must-have destination in Georgia. The church is located at an elevation of 2170 meters, under Mount Kazbegi some 160 km North from the nation's capital Tbilisi. It was in the middle of August we did a short trip to the Kazbegi region in Georgia and I had a chance to fly my…
List of Georgian laboratories offering to make a test (Paid) to diagnose COVID-19
Colin (form a parent's group here in Tbilisi) shared a link to the spreadsheet containing a list of Georgian laboratories offering to make a test to diagnose COVID-19. The list was published on the Agenda.ge website and contains the medical facilities name, and address, the original list also contains the e-mail of the facility (to avoid spambots harvesting the e-mail list here, I'm pasting info without e-mails) I don't have exact info, but…
Tbilisi Open Air Museum of Ethnography
The open-air Museum of Tbilisi is one of the coolest attractions in Tbilisi, situated in the footsteps of Turtle lake. Many cultural events are held here. The museum is located west to Turtle Lake on a hill overlooking the Vake district, Tbilisi. It is essentially a historic village populated by buildings moved there from all main territorial subdivisions of Georgia. I've been heading here ever since I remember myself in Tbilisi. See: Few…
Expats in Georgia (Facebook group)
I have been living in Georgia since 2011. During my time here I have been exploring the country, as an Indie traveler, crosswise from the pebbled seashore beaches near Batumi to the desert sand in David Gareji, and have gathered a great collection of my travel notes all across Georgia Also, I have been contacted zillions of times online asking Georgia-related questions, starting with how to get a residence permit and ending - is there snow in…
Dry Bridge & Alexander garden in Tbilisi from a DJI Mavic Mini drone flight
It was on an overcast Saturday afternoon (at the end of August 2020), we went for a long walk in Tbilisi. Equipped with a baby stroller and DJI Mavic mini Drone here is what we found today: View towards Dry Bridge in Tbilisi In one of these building, you can see, is located famous 'former hotel London', where some 19th-century writers have stayed Aerial view of Tbilisi Many good things can be seen from this place (Alexander garden),…
Hey options traders, I've started a newsletter!
Hey options traders, I've started a newsletter! Subscribe here! So far it's been live options trades and some trade ideas. I'm hoping there will be other stuff, too. I'm not sure how often it will come out, as I trade often, I'm thinking ... five times a week? There are a plan to send out two free and three paid (paying subscribers) newsletters in a week. For hosting this newsletter I've chosen the substack platform, which takes off a lot of…
Jvari monastery from a drone flight / DJI Mavic Mini crash
Jvari Monastery is a popular tourist destination in Georgia, and I believe there are two reasons for that - first it's located close to the nation's capital Tbilisi and second it offers really scenic views to the nearby city of Mtskheta and the delta of Aragvi and Mtkvari rivers. Another reason to mention - the monastery is listed as a World Heritage Site by UNESCO. On September 5, 2020 we headed here to make some casual drone videography,…
Narikala fortress from a drone flight
Narikala fortress is probably one of the most known tourist attractions in Tbilisi. It was on an easy Sunday afternoon we decided to take a lazy walk around the old town of Tbilisi equipped with a baby strolled and DJI Mavic mini, here is what we got Narikala fortress from a drone flight Narikala is an ancient fortress overlooking Tbilisi, the capital of Georgia, and the Mtkvari River. The fortress consists of two walled sections on a…