Soviet Union, which existed as a communist state from 1922 to 1991AD, was the biggest country in the world covering 16.67% of the world’s total land. A single communist party ran this country. In 1991 this big nation was divided into 15 different nations- Georgia, Armenia, Azerbaijan, Latvia, Lithuania, Estonia, Belarus, Ukraine, Tajikistan, Kyrgyzstan, Kazakhsthan, Moldova, Turkmenistan and Russia.
Georgia stands as 27th nations-destination on my ambitious plan of visiting almost all nations. I was there in December of 2019 with my three other friends, me and one guy from Finland, other two from Germany and Norway. We all met in Tbilisi, the capital of Georgia. Georgia is situated in between Europe and Asia as a small but incredible nation having scenic beauty, warm welcome at an affordable cost.
Natural Beauty:-
After spending two days in capital Tbilisi, we headed to Gudauri a two hour drive from the capital located at the height of 2200m from sea level. This city comes as a major place after Tbilisi in tourist destinations. Even though we can’t find tall mountains like Nepal, mountains were covered with snow which reminded us of our home. Geography and greenery environment too were praiseworthy. One can have adventurous activities like paragliding, zip lining, motor racing etc. This is the main ice hockey destination in the whole of Europe. Georgia shares a border with Turkey, Azerbaijan & Black sea. Batumi, a city located on the bank of Black Sea, is a popular coastal destination during summer. Besides, this country has a huge list of UNESCO world heritage sites and we got to visit a few of them located around Tbilisi.
Affordable destination:-
Europe is an expensive continent but so much not about this partly European country. Hotel accommodation, transportation fee and food are available at low cost. Though we paid about 55 euro for food in Gudauri, a tourist destination, the same would have cost about 20/25 euro in Tbilisi area. Likewise, we booked a hotel at Rs 2000, a price cheaper to Nepal standard. Travel and food too was economical for example- Milk 3.38 lari ( Rs 128.36) per litre, water 1.5 liter costs 1.26 lari ( Rs 46.85) and public vehicle about 0.5 lari ( Rs 18.99). Lari is the currency of Georgia. Talking aside airfare and visa processing fee, one can visit Georgia frugally at Rs 10,000.
Food:-
Georgia, as many may know, is famous for wine and food. As soon as we landed in Tbilisi airport, officials handed us a wine bottle as a gift. Georgian think wine is a part of culture impregnated to them by their forefathers in the form of viniculture and wine making. Who else would return from Georgia without visiting the Kakheti area, known for wine factories? Georgia is famous for making different food. Khinkali, Khanchpuri, Khudbari are famous foods, which have gained appreciation from anyone visiting Georgia. One can find lots of Georgian food related descriptions on the internet and youtube.
Though a small country, thousands of tourists flock here. Those bearing sengen visa need not apply for the same again and those who don’t can get Georgian visas through the internet easily. Georgia can be a good destination for wanna be travelers.
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