Hello Georgia!

Okay, plans became reality at last! Me and my Senior CHC Co-Member, Te Lea, have been planning to travel on our short vacation since January, and finally, we made it! (But if my travel partner wasn't available, I was about to go to Armenia alone! huhubels, thank you Sis Lea!)

So, say Hi to Georgia!

We only had 4 nights and 5 days to stay there, but I guess we managed to maximize our time.

What to bring on your travel? I’ll just give you the basics.

Well, we were just a "Backpackers", so if you wanted to do the same, you need of course to choose a light weight backpack.

• Few pieces of clothes. You don’t have to bring your wardrobe just for the sake of OOTD, haha! One OOTD is enough, and the rest, some comfy clothes. You went there to unwind and to have fun, that’s what really matters.

• Camera (plus extra memory card) or your phone is enough. Power Bank plus charger, adapter and selfie stick besh! :D

• Laptop (optional)

• Shoes! You can just use your bulkiest shoes on board so it won’t add the heft on your hand carry. For me, rubber shoes are best for travel specially if your destination is mountainous, and of course you will definitely roam around the whole day. But it’s up to you, the more comfy you are, the better.

• Wash bag

• Lock for your bag

• Original and photocopy of your Passport & Ticket

• First Aid kit (just few of it)

• Small notebook (I just realized it now, coz it’s better to have one when you’re travelling)

WHY GEORGIA?

If you remember on my previous posts, i looove historical places! and Georgia is one of the perfect place for it. However, not everyone knows this place yet, hence they are still developing and promoting their country as one of the tourist destinations in the future. Europe is an awesome place, been in Switzerland, Italy and Georgia, but they still never fail to amaze me. Each of every country has their own story that you can tell to your friends.

I don’t know but I can’t pin down what exactly Georgia made me startled on. Maybe their hospitality? Their arts & music? Or their preserved old town which will make you stare for a while and just be amazed without a second thought. How I love to wander there, especially at night, the lights added awesome effects on the magnificent streets and buildings of the city.

Everyone are willing to help tourists, even they are just passing by, if they saw you confused on something, they will automatically offer an assistance. (but of course, since you’re new in the place, it’s better to be cautious as well). Oops, and don’t forget to learn some words which can help you communicate with them. 😃 😃

About the whole tour, I recommend having a tourist guide, coz you can have your own time. Good thing about our Tourist Guide (Mr Shioti), he has his new hostel (Hotel Tbilisi 1818) which gave us more convenience. If you’re asking for comfy & privacy, I really recommend this hostel. And take note, it’s really cheap that at first, you will think that it might be expensive coz of its ambiance, and it’s very near to the central. High five to their management and thank you for accommodating us!

Take note, the cost of travel to Georgia is not expensive, especially if you’re from Dubai coz you’ll be Visa Free (Filipinos). And the cost of hostel and foods there are cheap!

HISTORY, CULTURE & NATURE:

History and nature collide outside the city. Old churches are still there, even at the top of the mountains, and some are still in use, waiting and watching silently on the changes and development of the whole country. You can feel the relaxing fresh air from the mountains. *Inhale. . . clear your thoughts. . .exhale*. The landscapes are beautiful and peaceful which are perfectly matched for unwinding. Gosh, can I just stare there for an hour, without thinking about the end of my vacation? Hahaha!

Based on what I’ve seen, they are still preserving not only the structures but their culture as well. Arts and music are everywhere. Well, you can find most of them in almost every corner of the city (Tbilisi). There are lots of vandals in the walls but you'll just be amazed on their creativeness. Old houses/structures were renovated but they don’t totally remove its design. Specially in Old Tbilisi, you’ll just imagine like you're in Noli or El Fili days. >_<

Oh, before I forgot, one thing we loved while we were wandering around Tbilisi are the old books on sale along the streets. We really wanted to buy one but it’s in their language.

FOOD:

You'll never get starve coz you will love their cuisine. It's tasty! They have lots of signature dishes that you can try at every price level. Overflowing meat, fresh salads, bread, cheese, pasta, just choose. And take note, almost every households have their grape vines hanging on their balcony or garden, pomegranate trees are just in the streets, and the smell of fruits were mixed in the air. Their street food? Mixed fruits. We also tried and even brought home some of their traditional candle shaped candy – Churchkela, which were made from grapes-must and nuts. Healthy indeed!

You can see Wine store/lab everywhere, and it’s in reasonable price.

TRANSPORTATION:

They have everything - taxi, trains, buses. Transportation card (like Nol card here in Dubai) can be used as many passenger as you want, just load of course the appropriate amount for each person. Since we have our tourist guide, we didn’t have any difficulties in travelling on the first 3 days. But since the 4th day is our free day, that's the time we used almost all kinds of transportation there. Haha! There are Cable Cars and Funicular available going up or down from the high place in Tbilisi (Which we never missed to try on).

CLIMATE:

We just came there last week (August), and its Summer! The climate is like in Philippines, it’s hot but manageable. Just always carry a bottle of water guys.

So here we go, let’s move on to the tour itself:

PLACES WE'VE WENT: Ananuri Castle, Gergeti Trinity Curch in Kazbegi, City of Love-Signagi, St. Nino Monastery-Bodbe, Jvari Monastery, Cave Town - Uplistsikhe, Svetitskhoveli Cathedral-Mtskheta, we also have some stop over on other sceneries (I forgot the names), and of course I guess we've almost finished to roam around Tbilisi.

Day 1

ANANURI CASTLE:

First destination and it was astonishing! The view of the Aragvi River from the old castle was just refreshing!

Take a look at that, White & Black Aragvi River met in one place!

KAZBEGI:

Though I was so dizzy that time, but going up to 2000+ meters from the town, is worth a try!! You can really be thankful and amazed on God’s creation! Splendid! Superb!

Day 2:

SIGNAGI - CITY OF LOVE:

If you wanted to get married anytime, there is one hall there which is open 24/7! You are welcome!

They said it is one the most popular tourist destination because it’s in the heart of Georgia’s Wine growing region. And you can see from the top of the hill the pastel rooftops and beautiful landscape of the small town down.

ST. NINO MONASTERY:

One of the most Holy place and destination of Orthodox believers all over the world.

Day 3.

JVARI MONASTERY

This is said to be a sixth century Georgian Orthodox monastery near Mtskheta, eastern Georgia

CAVE TOWN – UPLISTSIKHE

My most favorite place. Wow! It’s just a Wow! It’s really like you will feel stepping back in time. I don’t know if they really carved it or it’s just the real formation of the stones.

SVETITSKHOVELI CATHEDRAL-MTSKHETA

It is one of the UNESCO World Heritage Site along with other historical monuments of Mtskheta.

Day 4:

Free day! It’s Tbilisi time! I was not able to take more photos here coz we just wanted to enjoy the scenery. But here are some. (Click the "next arrow" to see the rest)

Day 5 is our Byebye Georgia day, huhu! All in all, now I understand why my friends who've been there wants to go back. 😊❤ We'll miss you and will definitely have a visit to you soon.

#Europe #europetrip #travel #food #vacation #history #cuture