How to Install ownCloud on Linode - Ubuntu 14.04
OwnCloud is a self-hosted, open-source file sharing and cloud storage platform that allows individuals and organizations to store, access, and share files securely from any device. With OwnCloud, users can create and collaborate on documents, calendars, and other digital assets, while keeping full control over their data and privacy.
OwnCloud offers a range of features such as file synchronization, version control, encryption, and integration with third-party apps, making it a popular choice for businesses, schools, and individuals looking for a flexible and customizable cloud storage solution.
Find my first impressions with the ownCloud server here.
I decided to create a…
New Asia - Tbilisi Restaurant Review
New Asia is a Chinese restaurant located in Tbilisi on Griboedov street (just next to Rustaveli Avenue). The idea to visit this Chinese restaurant came spontaneous... you see - khinkali, khachapuri or barbecue... there are times you get sick and tired of them in Georgia.So one of the alternatives is to visit some other type cuisine - and this time our choice was Chinese cuisine.New Asia Restaurant in TbilisiEntrance at New Asia Restaurant in TbilisiFor a surprise, the restaurant was full of people even on this Wednesday's evening. I decided to stick with something casual and ordered corn soup with egg for a starter:Corn Soup at New Asia RestaurantThe soup come with some chips (I guess…
My Sighnaghi Travel Guide
Georgia teaches one important lesson—everything is relative. This was especially true during the last weekend of August. Following the trend of getting out of Tbilisi, we decided to book a hotel in the remote village of Napareuli (about 20 km from Telavi). On Saturday morning, we planned to take a marshrutka to Telavi and then a taxi from there.First things first—I found out that marshrutkas to Telavi leave from Samgori. We took a taxi to the station, but the driver insisted we needed to go to Isani instead.At Isani, there were no marshrutkas going to Telavi. After advising the taxi driver not to be a smart-ass, we finally drove to Samgori.Unfortunately, we missed the 11:00 marshrutka and…
How to add Open Graph protocol for your Drupal site
The Open Graph protocol is a set of meta tags that can be added to web pages to improve how they are displayed on social media platforms like Facebook, Twitter, and LinkedIn.
By including Open Graph tags, website owners can control how their content appears in social media feeds, including the title, description, and thumbnail image. In this article, we will discuss how to add an Open Graph protocol for your Drupal site.
Step 1: Install the Metatag module The first step in adding Open Graph protocol to your Drupal site is to install the Metatag module. This module allows you to add metadata to your site, including Open Graph tags. To install the module, go to the Drupal website and…
Dzveli Kalaki Tbilisi Restaurant Review
This is already third post in my Tbilisi restaurant series.Today I got a chance to visit Dzveli Kalaki restaurant (near Didube bridge)For a prelude - we found and interesting offer on Georgian Groupon clone site www.hotsale.com - Entricote with 30% Off. This hotsale systems works like this - you pay some small fee for coupon/voucher and then you get your discount. So we bought a coupon for Dzveli Kalaki - it was for about 2 GEL.Since we had no clue, where exactly it's located, we used a local taxi service, and taxi for 4 GEL took us there (from our place)Dzveli Kalaki RestaurantIt turned out it not just a restaurant - it's restaurant complex with brewery inside.Outdoor exterior here is…
Villa Likani Review
The other day was damned hot in Tbilisi, and we decided to take a minibus to head to Borjomi (temperature there is significantly cooler than in Tbilisi). Said - done. In matter of few hours we were at Borjomi National Park eating barbecue and figuring out - should we stay or should we leave (As the song of The Clash - Should I stay or should I go).
Since this was not the first time visiting Borjomi and staying overnight here, we already knew - apartments for rent here sucks - they might be cheap, but they sucks. Maybe I'm getting old - but comfort is one of the things I'm looking for. There was internet connection problems in Borjomi, and we decided to catch a local taxi, and ask for his…
Tbilisi - Borjomi Transfer by Marshrutka (Minibus) (2014)
The Summers in Tbilisi can get damn hot, I mean +40 Celsius, common - it's not serious without air conditioning. And I'm not the person complaining.
So we decided to head to Borjomi, visit Borjomi National Park for some fresh and mountainous air, and to find a boutique hotel for an overnight stay.
This is not the first time of me heading to Borjomi, the last time I was there was during our rafting trip. As well you can find a photo set of Borjomi in Autumn I made in October 2013.
I decided to write this post and highlight some options for cheap and pretty fast travel between Tbilisi and Borjomi using the Marshrutka service.
I made the photos using my phone and published them to my…
Luca Polare - One Of The Best Ice Creams In Tbilisi
I have decided to start a new post series - Tbilisi restaurants.As you might already know I'm an expat living in Georgia (Tbilisi). I'm a huge lover of restaurants and coffee shops, and since living in Georgia I have came even a bigger fan of eating outside the home. Since I'm eating out pretty regular - there are my favourite places, then there are places, that once was my favourite places, and then there are places better to avoid. I'm willing to make an description of them and to photograph the food I have tasted on those places.Perhaps on such decision I came after making a post of Fine Dining places in Yerevan, when I forget the names and locations for lovely Yerevan…
Celebrating Birthday in Yerevan, Armenia - Roundup
This post is a round up post from my birthday celebrations in capital of Armenia, Yerevan, at start of the August.
Idea of visiting Armenia, arise soon after I decided it might be fishy to flight to Mestia (Georgia). That was first option - to visit mountainous region of Svaneti in Georgia. I even expressed my joy, learning that regular flights has been launched from Tbilisi to Mestia. After several attempts to contact aircraft-carrier - they didn't expressed much trust for me - like - on questions, when is the flights, where are they from (it's some airfield out of Tbilisi) - the answers were typical lame - call tomorrow e.t.c. So screw you Mestia - it's time for Armenia.
This was not…
How To Get Pre-Paid SIM Card In Armenia - VivaCell-MTS
During my short two days trip to Yerevan in Armenia, I decided I will need a local SIM card to make calls and browse internet.There are three mobile phone operators currently in Armenia: Viva Cell MTS, Orange and Beeline. Orange and Beeline only offer 2G and 3G services. Viva Cell MTS offers both 2G and 3G as well as 4G services. All three networks are widely modern and reliable with shops located in major towns and cities where one can purchase a sim card or get assistance if needed. Most unlocked mobile phones are able to be used on roaming however network charges apply. Orange and Viva Cell MTS are often recommended to tourists due to the variety of tariffs available and the help…
Fine Dining Places In Yerevan
During our short 2 day trip to Yerevan, Armenia, in time we celebrated my 29th birthday - we tasted a lot of great Armenian and European food.
Now, looking through my Instagram account - I decided to add photos of food I have taken with my Android phone. Unfortunately I don't remember precise locations and names for many of those lovely Yerevan restaurants, but still it's pleasant to view some food photos.
We started our food adventures at Marriott Hotel in Centre of Yerevan at 6 AM.
We didn't use any alcoholic beverages here - instead we had a fine coffee with delicious Armenian truffles. One of the best truffles I have tasted. Our overall cheque here was about EUR 15
After…
Tbilisi - Yerevan Transfers By Taxi Car
Update: This article originally was written back in 2014 - a lot has changed since then, mostly prices and services - prices have gone up, service in some cases have gone down - I've removed any contacts listed in this article - please read comments section for up to the date information.
See: Tbilisi - Yerevan Transfer by GoTrip.Ge Review
Those of you looking to travel from Tbilisi to Yerevan, or from Yerevan to Tbilisi, you have few options to choose - I'm not 100% sure but one of the options is by plain, the second option is by train, the third option by bus, another option by minibus (marshrutka) - the best option so far I have found is by private taxi car.…
Republica Hotel Yerevan Review
We made a reservation for Republica Hotel Yerevan during our trip to Armenia, to celebrate my birthday on August 6th to August 8th. We chose this hotel - mainly because of it's location (it's located on lively street Amiryan in centre of Yerevan) and it's price (for 2 nights it was 92 000 Armenian Drams, what equals to about EUR 166 or USD 220)Deluxe room with King sized bed at Republica Hotel YerevanFlat Screen TV opposite to bedFlat Screen TV is a must have option in every hotel in over days - unfortunately this TV had just some 17 TV channels, some 6 of them was Armenian, 2 or 3 Russian, and rest was some news channels - Euronews, BBC news, Bloomberg. I guess they had one German…
Erebuni Fortress
Erebuni Fortress is an ancient site situated in the capital of Armenia, Yerevan.I had heard of this place before, but hadn't visited it in my two previous trips to Yerevan. This time I decided to change that. Actually this was my birthday I visited this place. My overall impressions? Well... Let the photos speak for themself:Road to Erebuni FortressWe took a taxi from Yerevan Mall, and taxi driver took from us 1000 Dram, although the fare-meter showed 800 Drams. I didn't argued much with taxi driver, because of 1000 Drams equals to EUR 1.83Some demolished building at Erebuni Fortress entranceSince we took our way to Erebuni fortress from the other side - not typical front - we…
Yerevan Cascade
One of the top attractions in Yerevan, Armenia is the Cascade - stairways providing probably the most beautiful views of the city. I have been in Yerevan for the third time, but this was the first time I decided to visit Cascade actually. We took a taxi from Arminyan street right next to our hotel - Republica, and shortly explained to a taxi driver in Russian - that I want to go there - where the most beautiful photos of Yerevan can be taken - stairways. The taxi driver soon realized I'm talking of Cascade, and promised 1000 Drams took us uphill. I had no idea - what does he mean by uphill - but I agreed. Just many years later I learned that the uphills actually is another cool…
Opening a Bank Account in Republic of Georgia
In this article, I'm sharing notes on how I opened a bank account at ProCredit Georgia Bank back in 2014.
Since I originally wrote this article, I have opened several additional bank accounts in Georgia - at Bank Republic for check redemptions (Sold to TBC bank) and Bank of Georgia.
If you need consultancy or help with opening a bank account in Georgia, visit the Terramatris website: Opening Bank Account in Georgia
There was a law- asking foreigners to register for temporary residence in Georgia, and there was a requirement from the Georgian government when submitting documents for temporary residence in Public Service Hall to show a bank statement that you have about 3000 GEL on it…
Georgia Plans To Have Full membership in EU in 5-10 Years (2014)
Recently Georgia signed Association Agreement with EU, which includes Free Trade Agreement with the EU as well. Georgian Politicians were so happy, that they rushed to announce some great plans - and so the MP of Georgia announced, that Georgia is eager to have full EU membership in the next 5-10 years. So far so good. On the other hand, the newly elected president of the European Commission Jean-Claude Juncker has already announced, that he is not willing to see any enlargement in European Union for the next 5 years, mainly because none of the existing candidate's countries could fulfill the requirements to join EU in next 5 years. Since Georgia is not even a…
Cycling Tbilisi - Night Ride - Tbilisi Old Town
This ride was an extended versions for ride I made a few days ago - Dinamo Arena - Dibude. And again - evening (night), with hopes there will be less people in the streets and less vehicles. Wrong, Wrong, Wrong.Seems, Tbilisi never sleeps - and speaking of night cycling in this Caucasus city- it seems even more dangerous than cycling bt day - in day there are at least traffic jams, making overall vehicle movement slow - by night - there are less cars (of course), but they drive twice as crazy as they do in days.Not to speak about pedestrians - they never watch where are they going, they don't care are they on the pathway or…
Rafting in Georgia - Khertvisi - Aspindza - Borjomi
Some time ago we find some offer on Facebook offering rafting tour in Georgia for 2 days - on Mtkvari river. Tour included raft, safety wests, oars, overnight in tents. It sounded pretty good, and we decided to claim this offer. Said - done!
Our rafting tour started Saturday morning from Tbilisi (minibuss waited for rafters next to Radisson Blue and it was supposed to leave Tbilisi at 9:00 AM)
As usualy doing something unexpected I don't plan it very detailed - for me it was clear - it's rafting, what should I plan here? I'm paying my money - and everything rest is handled by organizators.
We started our trip to our destination place - Khetvisi fortress:
In above map you can see our…
Vazhatravel.com - tours and travel in Georgia
Vazhatravel.com was a Drupal-powered site a built for a friend. Vazha Travel offers one of the best rates for tours and transfers in Georgia. With Vazha Travel you can order airport transfer from Tbilisi airport to the Tbilisi city centre as low as 25 GEL (Most taxis at Tbilisi airport will ask you more), so do you can book a transfer to and from Kutaisi or Batumi airport.
The further developments of Vazhatravel website has been canceled, though the service is still available, feel free to contact Vazha by phone numbers listed in this article or visit VazhaTravel Facebook page, alternatively see: Organized tours in Georgia
This site is built with Drupal 7 under its hood, and its…