Rabati Fortress Complex in Akhaltsikhe, Georgia

11 January, 2015 | Tourism objects | 102 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 | 104 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 | 13 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 | 61 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 | 11 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.

Jūlijs Straume: Caucasus on my mind; exhibition at Tbilisi State Museum of Folk and Applied Arts of Georgia

31 December, 2014 | Living in Georgia | 135 seen

Jūlijs Straume, was a renowned Latvian artist who left a lasting impact on the art world. Despite his passing, his legacy lives on through the active efforts of the Latvian Diaspora in Georgia, who continue to honor his works.

Jūlijs Straume (July 2, 1874 - November 1, 1970) was a Latvian textile artist, educator, and ethnographer, and an Honored Art Worker of the Latvian SSR. He studied in Jelgava and St. Petersburg and later refined his skills in Paris (1905-1907).

From 1907 to 1923, he lived in Georgia, where he collected and studied the folk decorative and applied arts of the Caucasus. During this time, he compiled a rich collection of folk weavings, or carpets, which he later published in the album "Caucasian Carpets" (Volume 1, 1913). Straume created sketches of carpets using typical Latvian applied arts folklore and ethnographic motifs, applying the principle of oriental composition.

After his time in Georgia, he returned to Latvia and continued to work as an artist and educator. Straume died on November 1, 1970, in Riga, Latvia.

Recently, I had the privilege of attending an exhibition at the State Museum of Folk and Applied Arts of…

White Christmas in Bakuriani (2014)

30 December, 2014 | Living in Georgia | 11 seen

For the second year in a row, we decided to celebrate Christmas in Bakuriani, a remote mountain resort city in Georgia. 

While some may choose Bakuriani as a skiing destination, we opted for a white Christmas location. Originally, we planned to take a minibus, but we were persuaded by a taxi driver to travel with him for 70 GEL (after bargaining down from 100 GEL).

Below are some snapshots I took of Bakuriani with my Sony camera.

Bakuriani sign - for me it looks like it have kept from Soviet times, but I might be wrong.

Didveli skiing map - though they have skiing maps around the city, I didn't find much skiers at the Christmas time here, rumour has it - they will come latter.

Playground in Bakuriani - locals get fun at public playground,

Handmade goodies at Bakuriani - honey, jam and other goodies in honey or jam (average price 10 GEL)

Up at Didveli 

Hill's Hut - one and only restaurant up in the mountain

Christmas tree at Hill's Hut

Ski run at Bakuriani

Ski lifts at Bakuriani (…

Best Laptop Deals 2023: Top 6 Models to Consider

29 December, 2014 | Laptop Reviews | 4 seen

Laptops are essential tools for many people, whether for work, school, or entertainment. With 2023 just starting, many laptop manufacturers are offering great deals on their latest models. This article will showcase the top laptop deals for 2023, with a focus on value for money. We've selected these laptops based on a variety of criteria, including price, features, and customer reviews.

Whether you're looking for a budget-friendly option or a high-end machine, you're sure to find something that suits your needs in this guide.

Disclaimer: This article contains affiliate links to Amazon. This means that if you make a purchase through one of these links, we may earn a commission at no additional cost to you.

The Dell XPS 13 is a popular laptop model that has been updated for 2023 with some impressive features. It features a 13.4-inch display with a resolution of 1920x1200, which is bright and vibrant. The laptop is slim and lightweight, making it easy to carry around. The Dell XPS 13 is powered by an 11th Gen Intel Core i5 processor, making it a powerful and efficient machine. It also features 8GB of RAM and a 256GB solid-state drive, providing…

Best Tablets for Students, Creatives, and Professionals in 2023

29 December, 2014 | Laptop Reviews | 12 seen

With the rise of mobile computing and remote work, tablets have become essential devices for professionals and casual users alike. Tablets are portable, versatile, and can perform many of the functions of a laptop, while remaining more compact and convenient to carry around. However, with so many tablets on the market, it can be difficult to choose the right one for your needs.

In this article, we'll take a look at some of the top tablets available today and help you find the perfect one for your lifestyle.

As an Amazon Associate, I earn from qualifying purchases. This means that if you click on a link to a product on Amazon.com and make a purchase, I may earn a commission. The commission I earn is at no extra cost to you

The Apple iPad Pro is one of the most popular tablets on the market, and for good reason. It offers a large, high-quality display, powerful performance, and a range of features that make it perfect for both personal and professional use. Some of the key features of the iPad Pro include:

• Large, high-resolution display: The iPad Pro features a large 12.9-inch display with a resolution of 2732 x 2048 pixels,…

Minimum Wages in Baltic States 2015

28 December, 2014 | Macroeconomics | 11 seen

The Baltic States, which include Estonia, Latvia, and Lithuania, have been recognized as one of the fastest-growing regions in the European Union. The region has experienced significant economic development, attracting foreign investment, and becoming a hub for technology, finance, and other sectors. One crucial aspect of this growth is the regulation of minimum wages.

In 2015, the minimum wages in the Baltic States were as follows:

It is important to note that the minimum…

Exploring the Future of Transportation: The Dallas-Houston High-Speed Rail

28 December, 2014 | Railway / Bus / Ferry | 15 seen

Back in 2013, we embarked on an epic journey across the United States that began at JFK Airport in New York City and ended in Houston, Texas. Although we had initially planned to reach the West Coast, we eventually decided to cut our trip short due to two reasons: we were travelling on a budget using Megabus, and we were exhausted after a month on the road.

While Megabus was an affordable option for us, there were no other economical choices to reach the West Coast. This led us to reflect on the transportation options in the United States. It became clear that unlike in Europe, high-speed trains were not a popular mode of transportation in the United States. Instead, many Americans preferred air travel, even for short distances like Dallas to Houston.

However, after seven years, a time and cost-effective alternative may soon become available. Plans are underway to build a high-speed rail network connecting Dallas and Houston, which would be the first of its kind in the United States. This 240-mile project is expected to take only 90 minutes, with an estimated completion date of 2021, pending federal approval and funding.

During a public meeting…