Blog Archive: August 2019
Georgia / Azerbaijan Border Crossing by train (Gardabani / Boyuk Kasik)
| Travel guides | 61 seen
When traveling by train from Tbilisi to Baku, there are two border checkpoints (one in Georgia, and one in Azerbaijan) - the total border crossing procedure can take around 2 hours (an hour for each side) and you can stay inside the train during the checkups.
In this article, I'll share some notes from our latest trip to Baku from Tbilisi by train in the start of August 2019
Tbilisi - Baku by Train Ticket Information
It takes about an hour for the train to reach Georgia / Azerbaijan border at Gardabani. Police officers (border guards) will enter the train, collect passports and check if you have Azerbaijani e-visa.
Cold drinks on the Gardabani border checkpoint
During the border checkups toilets are closed inside the train. While in Georgian side you are allowed to left the train and try some cold drink at a lonely kiosk or visit really nasty though free toilet.
Georgian side is not checking customs (obiviouly when departing Georgia) - just e-visa and passports.
Baku - Tbilisi train
Passports are brought back to the train, and the train departs for the…
Algeti National Park Visitor Center Manglisi
| Tourism objects | 31 seen
The main entrance of the national park is located near the Cathedral of the Assumption of the Virgin Mary of Manglisi.
Algeti National Park Administration has a small infrastructural unit – a picnic area with auxiliary buildings and a forest adventure park.
Algeti has been on our radar ever since we discovered Algeti water reservoir while hiking in Birvisi Canyon.
To get here we used Tbilisi - Kojori - Tsalka - Ninotsminda road
Day trip To Tsalka and nearby Villages
Forest adventure park at Algeti Visitors center
From first sight, the forest adventure park looks quite easy. During our visit here in the mid-August 2019, the adventure park didn't seem to be working.
Children playroom inside the visitors center of Algeti National Park
A tourist trail called “Sanepo Ridge” starts from the cathedral and includes a visit to the picnic area. It is possible to hire a guide and horses to enjoy the visit to its fullest. Visitors can visit the national park at any time of the year, though it is much more difficult in winter due to heavy snow.
Algeti National…
How to Get around in Baku by using Taxi Mobile Application Bolt
| Travel guides | 36 seen
There is a very convenient way of getting around in Baku by taxi using mobile application Bolt (formerly known as Taxify). The best, if you have already installed Bolt for some other city, it will work internationally.
How to Get around in Tbilisi by Taxify (Taxi Mobile Application)
Regular street taxi will ask at least 5 manat for shorter distance drive in the city (during my short 3 days visit to Baku, I caught regular street taxis a couple of times, first one - from the Baku Railway station wanted 10 AZN to get us to the boulevard, I managed to bargain down to 8 AZN).
Next time I was already smarter and bargained down from 10 AZN to 5 AZN to get from the Fountain square to the hotel at Flame towers. While in the third time street taxi took from me 7 AZN to take me from Flame towers back to the Fountain square.
Once I opened Bolt app I was surprised to learn I could do all those trips for 2-3 AZN only.
Using Bolt we were able to get to Yanar Dag (Burning Mountains) and back (some 25 kilometers from Baku) for ~ 20 AZN (round trip) and to the airport (also about 25 kilometers from Baku) for ~…
Planing a trip to Azerbaijan: How to get a Prepaid SIM Card with Internet
| Travel guides | 73 seen
I traveled to Azerbaijan for about 3 days in August 2019, our final destination was the capital city of Baku. One of the reasons I was looking for prepaid sim card in Azerbaijan is quite simple - to call a taxi from mobile application.
Unfortunately, or for luck, this time I didn't actually take a sim-card with internet while in Azerbaijan (it was very quite possible to use public and hotel Wi-Fi during our stay in Baku), but I gathered some information, which might help.
There are three major mobile phone operators currently in Azerbaijan: Azercell, Bakcell and Nar . 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.
Azercell, Bakcell and Azerfon are often recommended to tourists due to the variety of tariffs available and the help available in a variety of languages. Other mobile phone operators include Aztelekom, AzEuroTel, Caspian Telecom and Catel Eurasiacom.
While in the Baku city center I visited Bakcell shop to learn more about my options, and here is what I was told:
At…
Top 19 AMD Ryzen Laptop Computers
| Laptop Reviews | 22 seen
AMD is not only great stock for writing naked puts or covered calls (the thing I've been doing lately) but AMD also offers great and budget-friendly processors for business and gaming laptops.
Just like Intel has branded their processors like Intel Core i3, Core i5, Core i7, and Core i9, AMD has Ryzen has 3,5 and 7. In today's article, I've listed top 19 AMD Ryzen Laptop Computers available for sale on Amazon.
Most of the AMD Ryzen powered laptops features full HD 1920X1080 display resolution, while there is a hot topic which is better intel vs AMD, the AMD Ryzen series offers some great and affordable gaming laptops.
A quick note: This article contains affiliate links to Amazon.com, by clicking on links on this page and by making a purchase on Amazon site, I will earn an affiliate income at no cost to you. Prices for laptops listed on this page are retrieved using Amazon Product Advertising API and is updated daily. For actual prices please refer on the product page on Amazon.
Acer Aspire 5 Slim Laptop, 15.6" Full HD IPS Display, AMD Ryzen 3 3200U, Vega 3 Graphics,…Weekend trip to Batumi and other cool places in Georgia
| Travel guides | 7 seen
This is a round-up post for places we visited and discovered during our latest weekend trip to Batumi and nearby seaside towns at the end of April 2019.
During this trip, we stayed at two 5-star hotels (Georgia Palace hotel in Kobuleti and Castello Mare hotel), visited the center of Batumi (did some small shopping there). On our way there and back dinned at local nice Georgian restaurants (Restaurant Antre Batono near Ubisa was amazing)
We also visited some interesting sites, like the Gonio fortress, unfortunately, we didn't find the Batumi Botanical garden this time (but as we have been there during our previous visits, not a big deal). Last but not least, on our way back to Tbilisi we discovered a huge and impressive Black Sea arena
For choosing a hotel in Batumi see: 16 Best Batumi Beach / Seaside Hotels, also see 16 Things to do in Batumi
Explore the beauty of Georgian Black Sea resort towns
Grill&Fish Jomas terase, Jūrmala
| Restaurant reviews | 35 seen
Grill&Fish Jomas terase is another stylish restaurant located on central Jomas street in busy Latvian seaside town Jūrmala.
We visited this place in early May 2019, during a short 10 day trip to Latvia.
Grill bar Lighthouse serves traditional seasonal Latvian cuisine and not only
Soup at Grill and Fish restaurant in Jūrmala
The Grill & Fish restaurant seems is quite popular among locals and visitors. Food choice is OK, prices are pretty high, but taking into consideration that you are dining in the heart of Jūrmala on Jomas street - they are quite ok
Grill $ Fish Jomas terase in Jūrmala
Heydar Aliyev International Airport Baku
| Airports | 15 seen
Baku Heydar Aliyev International Airport is one of the six international airports serving Azerbaijan. The airport is located 20 kilometers northeast of Baku, connected to the city by a modern highway. The airport serves as the home base for national carrier Azerbaijan Airlines and Buta Airways.
I've been flying from this airport back to Tbilisi with Buta Airways in early August 2019, see: About Buta Airways Baku - Tbilisi fight
Two passenger terminals and two cargo terminals operate at Heydar Aliyev International Airport.
There is Vanderlande baggage-handling system in Terminal 1, as well as L-3 equipment for thorough baggage inspection and scanners designed to obtain a layered image of the internal structure of the object.
Terminal 1 operates jet bridges capable of receiving 12 aircraft simultaneously. Two jet bridges are intended for accommodating the world's largest passenger aircraft, the Airbus A380.
Terminal 1 total area is 65,000 square meters. The terminal is designed for 6 million passengers per year. It currently serves up to 3 million passengers annually. The total parking…
About Buta Airways Baku - Tbilisi fight
| Travel guides | 12 seen
Buta Airways is an Azerbaijani low-cost virtual carrier, headquartered in Baku, with its primary operational base at Heydar Aliyev International Airport. It is a fully owned subsidiary of Azerbaijan Airlines.
We fled with Buta Airways at the start of August 2019 from Baku - Tbilisi. The flight was served from Heydar Aliyev International Airport Terminal 2. And that's what I really enjoyed - Terminal 2 is quite small, no need to travel long distances to find gates and so on. Really compact and neat.
We bought three adults tickets and paid about $300 for that. Our baby girl (13-month-old) for the first time in her short flying carrier got a separate seat
Air distance between Baku to Tbilisi is about 450 kilometers (280 miles). The flight takes about 1 hour. Despite labeled as a low-cost carrier - Buta Airways serves free onboard snacks and what's more important has plenty of the legroom. Buta Airways fleet consists of Embraer 190 aircraft., which can take up to 106 passengers.
The E190/195 models are a larger stretch of the E170/175 models fitted with a new, larger wing…
Top Best Selling NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1660 Ti Gaming Laptops
| Laptop Reviews | 40 seen
The GeForce® GTX 1660 Ti and 1660 are built with the breakthrough graphics performance of the award-winning NVIDIA Turing™ architecture.
Get amazing performance and image quality while live streaming to Twitch or YouTube. GTX 1660 Ti and 1660’s dedicated hardware encoders deliver 15% improved efficiency over prior-generation graphics cards and are optimized for Open Broadcaster Software (OBS).
Unlike with PC's where you can extend your computer with a GPU, when choosing a laptop your options are more limited and in general, you cannot change the graphics card.
In this article, I've listed some of the best selling NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1660 TI gaming laptops available for sale on Amazon. Most of the gaming laptops listed below feature either latest 9th generation intel core i7 or AMD quad-core Ryzen 7 processor
- Top 20 Gaming Laptops with NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1060 6GB Graphics card
- Top 5 Best Selling Intel Core i9 (Gaming) Processor Laptops
- Top 10 NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1650 Gaming Laptops
A…
Goodwill Gori Higway
| Shopping Venues | 71 seen
Goodwill near Gori - Tbilisi Highway is a convenient rest area/supermarket/ eatery while driving to Tbilisi (from Kutaisi or Batumi, for example)
Goodwill was one of the first supermarket chains in Georgia. I wouldn't call this store a supermarket in the classic sense, as mostly here are sold long-lasting food items, though there is a stand for fresh products, like milk, eggs and so on).
We keep stopping here, to buy some milk, coffee or Pringles chips and to take some coffee, when returning back from trips to Tbilisi
Goodwill near Gori - Tbilisi highway
There is also located Socar gas station
On the opposite side of the highway (driving from Tbilisi), there is a Wendy's store
How To Withdraw Funds from Deribit
| Crypto | 108 seen
Withdrawing funds from Deribit platform is very easy. Keep reading to learn more.
Disclosure: This article contains affiliate links to deribit.com options trading website, by clicking on links on this page and by making investment on derbit.com, I might earn affiliate income at no cost to you.
I'm not a financial advisor and I don't give you any advice, I'm just sharing my own experience. Investments in stocks, funds, bonds or cryptos are risk investments and you could lose some or all of your money. Do your due diligence before investing in any kind of asset.
Withdraw Ethereum from DeribitLog in to Deribit.com , make sure you have selected Ethereum tab from the upper navigation menu:
Ethereum tab
from the menu on the right side, under your username click on Withdrawal
Ethereum withdrawal from Deribit platform
Warning: Only withdraw directly to your Ethereum wallet, not to other exchanges. Withdrawing to other exchanges might result in losing your funds.
Enter details for Ethereum…
Antalya Aquarium
| Tourism objects | 10 seen
As one of the biggest aquarium complexes of the world, Antalya Aquarium offers inspiration, entertainment and education all at once.
After touring the 40 thematic aquariums, you will come across the biggest tunnel aquarium of the World with a length of 131 meters and a width of 3 meters.
We paid about an hour and a half long visit to Antalya aquarium in June 2019. We booked a trip here while staying at Kirman Belazur Resort &Spa from Pegas Touristik, and paid about $100. The fee included a ride to and back from our hotel for two adults and a baby and entrance tickets at the aquarium.
Antalya aquarium
Antalya aquarium features - worlds biggest tunnel aquarium (length of 131 meters), Snow World Ice museum, XD cinema, Tropical reptile house (separate tickets should be purchased)
Different species of fish at Antalya aquarium
The largest tunnel aquarium of the world will be waiting for you with a length of 131 meters and width of 3 meters inside the main tank with a capacity of more than 5 million liters. Please remember to take a look at the story of the…
July 2019 Dividend Income Report - $247.06
| Investments | 18 seen
Welcome to the twenty-seventh (#27) dividend income report, covering earnings I've made from dividend-paying stocks and peer to peer lending in July 2019.
Hawk-eyed blog readers will notice that I have dropped cryptocurrency lending from the top. And that's true, I have stopped lending crypto online on Poloniex.com, instead, I'm trading crypto options on Deribit.
Our baby daughter last July turned 1, and for that special event we traveled back to Latvia (spent 2 weeks there) - had a nice family gathering and very awesome 1-year birthday celebrations at Baltvilla hotel
Birthday decorations for our baby girls birthday at Hotel Baltivilla restaurant terrace
Disclosure: This article contains affiliate links to mintos.com peer to peer lending and deribit.com options trading websites, by clicking on links on this page and by making investment mintos.com or derbit.com, I might earn affiliate income at no cost to you. Also, I'm not a financial advisor and I don't give you any advice, I'm just sharing my own experience. Investments in stocks, funds, bonds or cryptos are risk…