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Buying a car in Riga
A few years ago I wrote an article on how to buy a used car in Georgia, now it is time to write about our experience buying a used car in Riga Latvia. For the past couple of years, we were using mostly car rentals and enjoyed it a lot - I mean no headaches about servicing the car, someone brings your car to the airport, you drop it at the airport. Quite nice, also quite expensive. It was agreed we could buy some used car and use it for some two…
Gudaleti Monastery Complex
Gudaleti monastery complex is located in the village of Gudaleti on an elevated spot, on the edge of a high gorge on the river Gudaleura. The church is located about 1 hour and 20 minutes drive from Tbilisi. The complex includes the Church of the Assumption and a tower fortress. We discovered this church by chance while driving through the village of Gudaleti to visit a friend who has bought a house in the same village. Seems the church is…
Bristol Hotel and Spa Bakuriani
Bristol Hotel and Spa Bakuriani is offering accommodations in Bakuriani. The property provides ski-to-door access and ski storage space, as well as a restaurant and a bar. The hotel features an indoor pool, sauna, karaoke and a 24-hour front desk. We booked Bristol Hotel and Spa Bakuriani hotel at the end of January 2022, for a two night stay, paying about $250 (breakfast included) When visiting such hotels it's always about personal, not…
Spice and Herbal Garden No7 near Bentota, Sri Lanka
Spice and Herbal garden No7 is located next to the Galle - Hambantota - Wellawaya Hwy near Bentota in Sri Lanka. We visited this place during a day trip from our hotel (Taj Resort & Spa) to Madu Ganga river when returning back to our hotel. We didn't have any special plans to visit this place, but our driver (s) just took us there. Once here I didn't understand how this works and thought - oh, nice we are enjoying a nice excursion at the…
Kosgoda Turtle Hatchery Sri Lanka
Kosgoda Turtle Care program aims to protect sea turtle eggs and increase hatching rates. I had a chance to visit Kosgoda Turtle Hatchery in Sri Lanka at the start of January 2022, during a day trip from our hotel at Bentota. After returning from the Madu Ganga riverboat safari our guides took us to the Turtle hatchery. Arriving on the site a guide come made a littlec excusrion on the site, telling the story how turtles are rescued, hatched and…
Bentota Beach in Sri Lanka
Bentota is a small coastal resort town, about a 2-hour drive away from Colombo, Sri Lanka. We visited Bentota and Bentota beaches at the start of January 2022, while staying at the 5-star resort hotel Taj Bentota and Spa It is said that Bentota has been the water sport capital of Sri Lanka with the hoteliers in the area actively promoting water sports from adrenaline filled speed boat and jet ski riding, wind surfing, boogie boarding, water…
Bandaranaike International Airport / Colombo, Sri Lanka
Bandaranaike International Airport, commonly known as Colombo International Airport is the main international airport serving Sri Lanka. It is named after former Prime Minister S.W.R.D. Bandaranaike and is located in a suburb of Negombo, 32.5 kilometres (20+1⁄4 miles) north of the nation's longstanding capital and commercial center, Colombo. It is administered by Airport and Aviation Services (Sri Lanka) Ltd and serves as the hub of SriLankan…
Villa Park Gori
If there is a reason to visit Gori in Georgia, then a visit to Villa Park Gori restaurant in Georgia would be at the top of my priorities. Villa Park Gori is an elite-class restaurant in Gori, with comfortable spaces and a variety of dishes. Located on Tskhinvali highway a few kilometers out of the Gori town. My friend David took us here at the end of January 2022 Tasty Georgian and European cuisine. Live music. English speaking staff. Awesome…
Cinnamon Island, Sri Lanka
Cinnamon Island is situated in Bentota in Sri Lanka. This is a little, but a charming island that offers a few fun activities for you. Here you will be able to learn about cinnamon cultivation and if lucky will meet a monkey or at least a dog. We visited Cinnamon Island at the start of January 2022, during our trip to Sri Lanka, and in particular during the Madu Ganga River Boat Safari. Cinnamon Island is situated in the Southern Province in…
Taj Bentota Resort & Spa Hotel Review in Sri Lanka
Taj Bentota Resort & Spa - is located in Sri Lanka's Galle District, offering breathtaking views of the Indian Ocean. Pampering spa services, an outdoor pool, and 5 dining options are provided. We booked this 5-star hotel for a 3-night stay at the start of January 2022, while traveling near the Ocean in Sri Lanka. For a 3 night stay here we paid about USD 580. The room seemed a bit small at the first glance, but after all it was quite…
Royal House Gori
The Royal house is said to be a 4-star hotel located in Gori, Georgia. I booked this place for a one-night stay at the end of January 2022. The pictures on Booking.com and reality are totally different. Luckily the price I paid was just GEL 64 (that's about EUR 20) and the stay was only one night. Now, the so-called hotel is decent, there is a bed (a lot of beds) heating, shower. Just hard to call it a 4-star hotel, more like a hostel or a…
Galle Face Green
Galle Face is a 5 ha (12 acres) ocean-side urban park, which stretches for 500 m (1,600 ft) along the coast, in the heart of Colombo, the financial and business capital of Sri Lanka. The promenade was initially laid out in 1859 by Governor Sir Henry George Ward, although the original Galle Face Green extended over a much larger area than is seen today. The Galle Face Green was initially used for horse racing and as a golf course, but was also…
Sulfur Bath N5 in Tbilisi
Sulfur Bath N5 is located in the Tbilisi Bath district of Abanotubani. We have been heading to these bathhouses a lot in the past (back in 2011-2013), since then we have changed our location, visiting other, not so fancy ones on Kyiv street, but lately again, we have started to visit sulfur bathhouses in the old town district. Chreli Abano Sulfur Bath in Tbilisi This time we visited Bath house N5 The bathhouse is located near the Heydar…
Independence Memorial Hall in Colombo
Independence Memorial Hall is a national monument in Sri Lanka built for commemoration of the independence of Sri Lanka from British rule with the restoration of full governing responsibility to a Ceylonese-elected legislature on February 4, 1948. It is located in Independence Square (formally Torrington Square) in the Cinnamon Gardens, Colombo. It also houses the Independence Memorial Museum. I first visited it at the start of January 2022…
Restaurant at Georgia Gold Hotel in Gori
Georgia Gold is a 4-star hotel located just in the heart of Gori, Georgia. Seems this place has been opened to the public just recently. Anyhow, we didn't stay here for a night, but come for a breakfast and got some of the most delicious ones. We stayed overnight in Gori at another, Royal house hotel, but in the morning decided to check out early and look for some fancy breakfast place. I remembered about this place and here we come. We…
Galle Fort in Sri Lanka
Galle Fort is located in the Bay of Galle on the southwest coast of Sri Lanka. The port was built first in 1588 by the Portuguese, then extensively fortified by the Dutch during the 17th century from 1649 onwards. It is a historical, archaeological, and architectural heritage monument, which even after more than 432 years maintains a polished appearance, due to extensive reconstruction work done by the Archaeological Department of Sri Lanka. We…
Gori Railway Station
Gori Railway Station, a small stop on the Georgian Railway line, is an intermediate station on the Tbilisi-Batumi route which sees more than a dozen trains passing through each day. Whether you are looking to travel to Gori from Tbilisi by train or just prefer wandering about Soviet Architecture, the Gori railway station might be the answer. The train station is located in southern Gori, 2 kilometers from the city center and away from all of…
Cinnamon Bey Beruwala Hotel Review
Surrounded by coconut trees and vast green lawns, Cinnamon Bey features bright and spacious rooms with a private balcony. It provides an outdoor pool and 6 on-site food and beverage options. We booked this 5-star hotel at the start of January 2022, and for a 3-night stay here we paid about $540. By accident, we booked a superior room, but I was able to get a free upgrade to a deluxe room, which was amazing and included access to deluxe pool.…
Viharamahadevi Park Colombo
Viharamahadevi Park, formerly Victoria Park, is a public park located in Cinnamon Gardens, Colombo, situated in front of the colonial-era Town Hall in Sri Lanka. We had a chance to discover this lovely park and try some mango drinks in the park at the start of January 2022, when a tuk-tuk driver showed us some of the top sightseeing places in Colombo. It was built by the British colonial administration and is the oldest and largest park of…
Gorijvari
The ancient church called ‘’Gorijvari’’ stands between the Trialeti Mountains and the river bank of Mtkvari close to the Gori town in Georgia. The church was named after Saint Georges, which was originally built in the 12th century. It was burned down by the Turks, rebuilt, and destroyed again by an earthquake in 1920. The current church was built in the 1980s. It was at the end of January 2022, we were traveling around Gori town and were…
Tsunami Honganji Vihara
Tsunami Honganji Vihara is a Buddhist Monument in Hikkaduwa, Sri Lanka We discovered this place at the start of January 2022 while taking a local driver for a trip from our hotel in Bentota to Galle. Our driver told us the tragic story about Tsunami taking more than 35,000 lives in Sri Lanka back in 2004. This place is a memorial to the over 35,000 Sri Lankans killed by the Tsunami on the 26th December 2004 This Buddha statue was opened on the…
Barberyn Lighthouse
Barberyn Lighthouse (also known as Beruwala Lighthouse) is a lighthouse located on Barberyn Island some 800 meters offshore from the town of Beruwala on the southwest coast of Sri Lanka. I noticed Barveryn Lighthouse from our hotel (Cinnamon Bey Berawula) and one day when at the beach, a local tour seller offered me a trip to the island and lighthouse. Our agreed price was USD 30 (two adults and one kid). From our hotel the boat ride was about…
Gori Fortress
Gori Fortress is a medieval citadel in Georgia, situated above the city of Gori on a rocky hill. I've visited Gori several times, and several times have seens this impressive fortress, once I even made a nice photography with impressive warrior statues in the footsteps of the fortress, see: Gori Fortress & Memorial of Georgian Warrior Heroes It was back in January 2022, I visited Gori again and decided to make a nice photograhy with the…
Colombo Town Hall
The Town Hall of Colombo is the headquarters of the Colombo Municipal Council and the office of the Mayor of Colombo. Built-in front of the Viharamahadevi Park, Colombo, Sri Lanka, it is the meeting place for the elected municipal council. I discovered this awesome architectural place a by an accident, by taking a tuk-tuk ride around Colombo city at the start of January 2022. In 1921 renowned Scottish town planner, Professor Patrick Geddes,…