Kurtisi, Georgia

I’m an expat living in UAE. I’ve been working here for more than 8 years now. In order to create work-life balance, I often indulge myself in different hobbies – Netflix, photography, cooking and travel.

The last 3 years have been very exciting for me. I started travelling twice a year. Even if I wanted to do more, my limited available schedule and budget won’t allow me to. So, I usually make the most out of my holidays.

I often travel with my boyfriend. Most of our travels involve roadtrips into the countryside since we are mostly into nature and landscapes.  Besides, since he is into landscape photography, and the best place to do this is on the country side.

Last May, along with a group of photographers, we scheduled a photo tour to the beautiful country of Georgia during the Eid break. It was a short trip of 4 days since we only made use of the Eid holidays, nonetheless, I can say that it was a fun-filled trip.

Though we were busy shooting and chasing the sunrise and sunsets for 4 days, and though on the last 2 days, we had to skip the sunsets due to rain, we still enjoyed and felt energized to come back to UAE and face our “reality”.

Even after some setbacks that we experienced on the onset of our trip, we still get to appreciate, enjoy and capture some of the amazing places that we visited in Georgia.

If you are thinking where you’d go to spend your next holiday or vacation leave, consider these 5 reasons why you should book that ticket to Georgia!

 

  1. Nature – whether you visit Georgia on a summer or winter season, there’s always something about this country. My first travel to Georgia was right after Christmas in 2015. We spent 3 days in a ski area and 3 days in the city. The time I enjoyed the most was when we were in the mountains / ski area. I tried the ski and it was so much fun! Though I stumbled more times than reaching the finish line, I still find it amusing and pleasurable. It was my first time to actually try skiing on the mountains. I did try Ski Dubai twice but I felt like I learned and enjoyed more when I was out there. Of course, it was a bit dangerous as most of the people there were already pros, so I kept myself safe by staying on the side and making sure that no one is approaching before I start gliding. Summer in Georgia may mean, snow is only on the high mountains and the valleys and plains are filled with wild flowers , sheeps, cows and horses grazing, steady flowing rivers and green grass everywhere. I can’t seem to find the exact words but for me it’s magical and so refreshing to the eyes and senses. Summer also means more places to visit since most areas will be accessible to visitors on normal cars.

 

  1. Food – during our last trip to Georgia, my travel buddies were so new to Georgia delicacies. Since I have visited Georgia before, somehow, I already have an idea of the Georgian local delicacies, so I decided to suggest food that Im already familiar with. I let them try the Khinkhali, khatchapuri, along with soups and some meat dishes. And I must say, whatever I ordered on day 1, my mates kept on requesting for the same menu until our last day! Must I say more? (I realize I hardly took photo of the food! We were so busy reviewing all our shots after we order our meals and we were always famished that no one has actually taken photos of the food during the trip!)

  1. Budget friendly – for expats like us working in the UAE, Georgia is very budget friendly – accommodation, tours, food, etc. I should say this because, it may not be the case for Georgian locals or for other tourists from other countries.

 

  1. Close to UAE – flight from Dubai to Tbilisi airport is only 3 hours. For that mandatory leave or long weekend, Georgia can be your next destination. Apart from that, as UAE resident, we can enter Georgia visa-free. However, as of this writing, try to enquire from the airlines if there will be any issue for your entry. I have written a separate article regarding the ordeal/setback we encountered. I know it’s totally oppose to this article, but I hope that this article serves as only a warning to those planning to visit this beautiful country. I know, a lot of people, not only from UAE, visits Georgia, so I still want to share this positive experience somehow.

 

  1. Adventure – Georgia has a lot of beautiful, scenic locations and interesting activities such as skiing and hiking. Most ski resorts are in higher areas such as Gudauri, Svaneti and Bakuriani among all others. During our photo tour in Georgia this May, we went for a bit of a hike. For us who are not accustomed to mountains and hiking, it took us longer to reach the location. Though we found the hikes we did really challenging, we still enjoyed and the views were really breathtaking and so worth it!

Still need more convincing?

Go and see it for yourself! 🙂