Georgia Travel Blog
(September 5-8,2021)
From Armenia , we cross the border towards Georgia . it took us 4 hours to reach there. There were good mountain views on our way, but we were not allowed to take photos as it was prohibited by the government. In the border, there is an immigration office that will check all our things and documents. Luckily , Filipinos on residents Visa in UAE are already announced to enter the country with Evisa. We traveled during Covid , hence they required the Negative PCR test, which we’ve done in Armenia prior to our travel. They also required at least 6 months of stay in UAE before entering their country . In our case, we had our vacation in Philippines December 2020 and back to UAE by January 23,2021. So it’s been 8 months , but they really looked into our stamps of entry and exit in UAE just to make sure. (They really don't trust us though, kidding)
We reached Grand Palace Hotel by 4 in the afternoon . We just rest a bit and unpacked the clothes we need for the following days. Hotel is okay, what’s nice was it was near to Europe square, where there were a lot of restaurants, and tourist spots that we can go to. Plus , the hotel also offer us private hotel driver, for us to pick and drop to anywhere. And just pay the minimum fare. (Lucky us, right?)
It’s getting dark outside by 5 PM, hence, we decided to grab our dinner and just roam around Europe Square.
Day 1: Europe Square
-Metal Tree Artwork
- Peace Bridge
-Hot Air Balloon - We paid 50 gel each- up there you will have a 360 view of Tblisi , though it only takes a few minutes, but for a cheaper amount , it was all worth it. You should also try, at least.
Day 2: Kazbegi
On our second day , we woke up early since we do have our free breakfast in the hotel. After BF we changed and prepared for our tour . We didn’t know that our tour for today is a high-range or mountain area, hence, it was really cold and we didn’t brought any jackets. Good thing, we stop-by to Zhinvali reservoir wherein there were a lot of souvenir items , including shawls. But it was costly.
We had no choice but to buy one, at some point the linen was still worth it. We also decided to buy some souvenirs before we will forget.
Note: Book Breakfast in the hotel (it will save you more) and bring jackets on winter !!
-Jinvali Lake
-Aragvi River
-Ananuri Fortress
-Gudauri View Point - from here , you can opt to try several activities, horseback riding and paragliding. We were suppose to try paragliding , but i forgot my wallet and card in the hotel and I don't have enough cash. (we are really into extreme fun , so we are disappointed that we weren't able to try the same)
Note 2: Never leave your wallet or cards, you’ll never know when you needed it the most
- Russia Georgia Friendship Monument
We had our sumptuous lunch in Gudauri, Dushet'Is Raioni, , it was a buffet hence we were able to eat a lot, given we will be travelling back home late.
Our co-travelers who were fortunate enough to try paragliding took so much of our tour time. So, when we went to Gergeti Trinity Church , we couldn't see anything but Fogs. So even if we want to enjoy, there is really nothing to see up there but the Church only .
It was so dark on our way home , Some roads are narrow and wet, so the driver drive slowly.
We reached hotel by 9 in the evening, so we decided not to have dinner, but instead sleep and rest .
Day 3: Kakheti and Badiauri - Morning
- Badiauri , we experienced their traditional bread making and tasted their local bread , Puri . it should have been nice if we have coffee .
- Bodbe Monastery
- Vineria- we had our lunch here , their food is really great . Superb .
- Vineria kakheti - we also had our wine tasting here, they are generous enough that we were able to taste a lot of wine variety . hence, we decided to buy 6 bottles of wine for us to bring to UAE. You should also try Cha cha . they said its not strong, but for me, it really is . haha
Day 3: Sighnaghi
-Sighnaghi Village or the city of love - i love it here , the place is relaxing , you can opt to walk or ride in an ATV . but we prefer to walk so we can see the beauty of the village , they also have Ziplines.
-Great wall of Georgia - if you started it, you need to finish till the end of the wall . No turning back . So we just did and it’s so worth it.
We reached hotel by 4 in the afternoon , we rest a bit and in the evening we decided to eat our dinner in Pasanauri restaurant , my friends told us to eat pork in Georgia.It didnt disappoint us , it was really tasty and tender. It is something that we cannot have in UAE, sadly.
Day 4: Mtskheta and Old Tblisi
-Jvari Monastery
-Aragvi and Mtkvari Rivers
-Svetitskhoveli Monastery - it was raining when we reach there , and the monastery was under construction , but still we manage to take some shots and left
-Old Tblisi - it was supposedly free on the first day tour, but since we arrived late, so we just did it on the last day , but it was still free, however, we weren't able to try their famous sulfur bath because we will have our flight in the afternoon. But you must try !!
We went back to hotel by 2, checked out and waited for the bus to pick us. We decided to have our lunch in the airport, and waited for our departure back to UAE .
Here are our costing:
0 notes
First Christian Country - Armenia Travel Blog
(September 2-5,2021)
This is not the first time I travelled to other country, given I’m an expat here in UAE but it excites me more now, since I will be travelling for vacation and not for work.
I am not good in making itineraries, especially on booking flights and hotels on my own. I am reckless in that, and I don’t want to take any risks and hassle. Hence, months before our trip, I kept on looking for agencies offering cheap tour packages. And found out Holiday factory offer AED 1600 for 8 days and 7 nights to Armenia and Georgia.
This includes the following:
- Airport Transfers
- Return flights from Sharjah (with 20kg baggage)
- Free city tours and dinner
- Transfer from Armenia to Georgia
- Hotel Accommodations
Holiday factory agent will send the travel documents 48 hrs. before the flight, and Armenia representative will also send the tour brochures for which you can avail if you want, or you can explore the country on your own.
Note 1: A night before the flight, we already prepared our luggage, we also bought our comfort foods just in case we will be hungry in the middle of night during our stay in the country, chargers (make sure to bring adaptors), documents (flight tickets, travel documents, vaccine certificates, negative PCR test result and Passport), and of course our OOTDs.
We woke up 3 am on September 2, 2021, I already booked our carlift in advance because it might be difficult to look for a taxi early morning. And carlift was way much cheaper. We arrived in Sharjah early as there’s no much traffic. We also checked in early with no hassle at all. And waited our flight in the food court to eat breakfast at McDonalds and do the month end reports 😊
By 6 am, our gate No. flashed on the screen, hence we went there and just a few minutes we board the plane. We flew via Air Arabia, travel time is approximately 3 hours, so I was able to sleep. Thirty Minutes before landing I woke up and saw Armenia from above. It gave me chills that at least for the first time ever, I get to travel to another country with my own hard-earned money, and not just a country, but it is the First Christian Country!
I do not have time to research for the history of the country, I’ll give that chance to the tour guide itself when we get there.
When we reached Yerevan Airport, the holiday factory agent was there waiting for us. So, we immediately ride into their van and go straight to the hotel. On the way, the agent discussed the spots and rates they have, if ever we wanted to go with them.
They have the package for 85 USD per person and it includes the following:
- City tour with welcome dinner
- Pearls of Armenia with Lunch
- South Armenia with Lunch
- Additional of 60 USD (for 2) for North Armenia Tour
- And 35 USD each for PCR test prior going to Georgia (this is a must because we travelled when Covid was still at its peak)
Finally, decided to book with them than private tours. We can save a lot.
Note 2: It is a must to convert your pocket money always into USD. Luckily, the hotel have machine, where we can convert our USD into DRAM. Because mostly, their stores are only accepting local currency.
We checked-in at Regineh Hotel and ate our lunch. We also had our free breakfast during our stay there. We don’t expect much for our Hotel, technically, we’ll just stay there, eat and sleep. But we were surprised as there were no Bidet, and as a resident of UAE for 6 years, we were used to bidet.
Note 3: But yeah, portable bidet is a must from now on 😊
We immediately prepared our OOTDs for today’s tour. They said we will be on private tour today to North Armenia, and this covers below destinations. It is kind of boring when there are only three of you in the service including the driver. Note 4: From then on, I prefer going on group tours.
Day 1- North Armenia Tour :
Hovhannavank Monastery (St John the Bapstist)
Kasagh River Canyon (which is only at the back of Hovhannavank Monastery)
Saghmosavanq Monastery (Monastery of the Psalms)
Armenian grand Canyon (back of Monastery of the Psalms)
Abaran (Armenian Alphabet Monument with 39 letters)
Amber Fortress Armenia (Fortress in the clouds)
Vahramashen Church (Vahramashen Surp Astvatsatsin or Church of Amber)
Mt Aragat’s Slopes
We decided not to go to Kari Lake , though we knew it is the best destination on this tour because we are a bit of exhausted and it’s dark already , not to mention the road.
Hence, we asked the tour guide to drop us in the City Center so we can roam around by ourselves and we can grab our dinner somewhere .
Note 5: Try Shawarma in Armenia
Note 6: You must have the Business card from your hotel so you can show to the taxi driver, some local drivers don’t speak English. And you should also know the minimum fare, luckily our tour guide already informed us for the range of fare we need to pay for the taxi from city to our hotel.
Day 2- Pearls of Armenia:
Khor Virap (Deep Dungeon)
St. Astvatsatsin Church (Holy Mother of God)
Mt Ararat - (it is visible behind the deep dungeon) Volcano where Noah’s Ark rested after the great flood
Ararat Valley
St. Grigor Chapel/Orbelian Sepulchre
Narrow Gorge (made by the Amaghu River)
Noravank
Noravank Gorge Areni
Noravank Important Bird Area Cave
We had our free lunch at Areni Village and had our Home-made wine tasting.
Note 7: They have the best PEACH WINE .
Note 8: Lavash partnered with Shakshuka is SUPERB.
The tour was done by three in the afternoon , hence we had some time to Nap and relax , and of course upload some photos on our socmeds.
In the evening , we took the Free City Tour with welcome dinner at Gata Pandok.
Note 9: Their chicken Kebab is delish.
Mother Armenia
Cascade Complex
Republic Square
Day 3- South Armenia Tour
Charents Arch - from there you can see the beauty of Mount Ararat (if the weather is good)
Garni Temple
Tsaghkadzor Ski Resort (where cable car, ATV ride, horseback riding and other activities are located)
Kecharis Monastery - Saint Gregor Church , Surp Nshan Church and Katoghike Church
Lake Sevan -largest body of water in Caucasus region
Sevanavank Monastery
From there , we took our lunch at Ashot Erkat Restaurant- where you will enjoy the view of Lake Sevan , Chicken kebab and the fish also taste good .
Since Geghard Monastery was closed for renovation, hence we requested the tour guide to drop us in Armenian Genocide Memorial.
This is the time , we were lost as there are no taxi nearby , we walk everywhere but found nothing. When i asked some random Armenian teenagers, they told us to go to the mall on the opposite direction but it is quite difficult to cross the road , and it is far. So they had offered us a ride. At first , we were hesitant , but they looked good and we just took our chance , than staying late in the memorial area.
And tadaa, they wanted us to take photo with us . So we did! They drop us at the mall and from there , we were able to purchase several souvenirs and lip balms (our lips were chapped because of the weather).
Then we took a taxi back to our Hotel .
Day 4 - Travel to Georgia
Dilijan Park
On the way , we stopped by Tsovagyugh Supermaket and Food court to take our breakfast and relax for a bit before we will continue our 4 hour journey to our next country.
Costing:
0 notes