Day 187: bus from Mestia to Tbilisi
June 9, 2024 in Georgia ⋅ ☁️ 19 °C
Time to leave Mestia and head back to civilization. Our next stop is Tbilisi, where the challenges were ahead of us. We will stay in Tbilisi for a month to figure out our onward travel.
Btw, weRead more
Day 195: Walk around Tbilisi
June 17, 2024 in Georgia ⋅ ⛅ 33 °C
A brief walk around in Tbilisi! Went to the ‘Always’ Bridge and the old town. The weather was too hot to do more things in Tbilisi. Probably we were still climatizing :)
Day 200: Mtskheta
June 22, 2024 in Georgia ⋅ ☀️ 27 °C
📍Samtawro Church
📍Svetitskhoveli Cathedral
📍Jvari Monastery (this is not easy go from Mtskheta, we had to hike and cross the highway in order to reach there)
Overall, a nice day trip in Mtskheta
Day 204: National Botanic Garden
June 26, 2024 in Georgia ⋅ 🌬 26 °C
📍national botanic garden of georgia
Not the best botanic garden and you have to pay for entrance
Day 204: Mother of Georgia
June 26, 2024 in Georgia ⋅ 🌬 23 °C
She symbolizes the Georgian national character; left hand holding a bowl of wine to greet those who come as friends, right hand is a sword for those who come as enemies.
Day 206: Didube Bus Terminal
June 28, 2024 in Georgia ⋅ ☀️ 18 °C
Caught the bus to Gori for a day trip to Uplistsikhe Cave Town
Day 206: Gori Bus Terminal
June 28, 2024 in Georgia ⋅ ☀️ 20 °C
a brief transfer at Gori for the bus to Uplistsikhe
Day 206: Uplistsikhe Cave Town
June 28, 2024 in Georgia ⋅ ☀️ 21 °C
Uplistsikhe is one of the oldest urban settlements in Georgia. Strategically located in the heart of ancient kingdom of Kartli, it emerged as a major polotical and religious center of the country. TheRead more
Day 206: Didube bus terminal
June 28, 2024 in Georgia ⋅ ⛅ 26 °C
After a long day in the cave town, we went back to Didube bus terminal
Day 211: Ananuri Fortress Complex
July 3, 2024 in Georgia ⋅ ☁️ 17 °C
This is another fortress complex that is quite well-known. There was a secret tunnel linking the church and the fortress. The army hide in the fortress and got supply from outside with the tunnel. TheRead more
Day 211: Didube Bus Terminal
July 3, 2024 in Georgia ⋅ ☁️ 25 °C
We went back to the bus terminal after the day trip
Day 216: Samtavisi Cathedral
July 8, 2024 in Georgia ⋅ ☁️ 25 °C
Such a lovely cathedral in a small town. We went there because it is a tentative UNESCO world heritage. We got the place to ourselves, which is pretty cool for a visit.
Day 216: Sterlin Museum and Birthplace
July 8, 2024 in Georgia ⋅ ☁️ 29 °C
We visited this as we were on our way to Gori. Very disappointing museum and area to walk around. We learn nothing about Sterlin after visiting. The English description just ended suddenly as well. ItRead more
Day 217: David Gareja Monastery
July 9, 2024 in Georgia ⋅ ☁️ 28 °C
A monastery lies between Georgia and Azerbaijan border. Due to the conflict between the two countries, we could only visit the part on the Georgian side. It is in a very remote place and only oneRead more
Day 218: Russian Transit Visa - Done!
July 10, 2024 in Georgia ⋅ ⛅ 28 °C
After more than 2-week waiting, we finally got our 3-day Russian transit visa that we could move forward! What a relief!!
Day 221: Ortachala Central Bus Station
July 13, 2024 in Georgia ⋅ ⛅ 23 °C
Today was the big day. It was day 1 on our way to Russia. From Tbilisi, we took a 6-hour mini-bus to Vladikavkaz 🇷🇺
Day 221: Vladikavkaz Bus Station
July 13, 2024 in Russia ⋅ ☀️ 28 °C
Amazing soviet-design bus station! Our first impression in Russia is quite good. People are friendly and helpful. Since we have 3 days only, We quickly found our bus to Astrakhan, which is 912km fromRead more
Day 222: Arriving Astrakhan
July 14, 2024 in Russia ⋅ 🌙 21 °C
After 10-hour of bus ride, we are finally here, Astrakhan! We quickly check-in at our hotel and took a quick nap!
Day 222: Astrakhan Kremlin
July 14, 2024 in Russia ⋅ ☀️ 33 °C
After 6 hours sleep, we were re-charged! We did a little bit touring around Astrakhan. This kremlin is a UNESCO world heritage. We were curious about the onion-shaped church!
Day 223: Overnight train to Atyrau
July 15, 2024 in Russia ⋅ ⛅ 35 °C
Last day of our transit visa in Russia! We had to make sure our overnight train to Kazakhstan was up and running before the Transit Visa expired in midnight.
Day 224: Arriving at Atyrau
July 16, 2024 in Kazakhstan ⋅ ☀️ 23 °C
Nice and early! After 11-hour train ride, we are here, Atyrau Kazakhstan 🇰🇿 Finally completed our transit in Russia! Another relief!!!
Day 226: Walk around Atyrau
July 18, 2024 in Kazakhstan ⋅ ⛅ 32 °C
Atyrau is an industrial city, most people will skip it and carry on with their journey. But we chose to stay here for a few days, just to catch our breathe and wait for the train to Aral Sea! OurRead more
Day 227: Leaving Atyrau
July 19, 2024 in Kazakhstan ⋅ 🌙 30 °C
Back to the Atyrau Train Station for our overnight train ride to Aralsk More Station! We tried the 2 people berth on the train with private washroom! It was definitely a lovely train ride!
Day 228: Arriving Aralsk More Station
July 20, 2024 in Kazakhstan ⋅ ☀️ 30 °C
After 17-hour train ride, we arrived at Aralsk More Station. Not many tourists will come here as most of them will visit Aral Sea on the Uzbekistan side. But we would like to break the long trainRead more
Day 229: Aral Sea (Tastubek)
July 21, 2024 in Kazakhstan ⋅ ☀️ 22 °C
It is very difficult to get around in the area as it is close to the desert area. We hired a private driver to bring us to the sea and take a look at the area.
The drying up of Aral Sea is quite sad.Read more