Location: Tbilisi [Republic of Georgia]

Week 44….

Transportation

All travel costs this week were via metro: $0.19 per trip. It’s super convenient.

Accommodation

Rent for the month comes out to $5.67 per day.

Food

Nothing exciting happened here this week. Between grocery runs, and occasionally eating out, costs are pretty low.

Other

Travel insurance: $8.64 per day.

VPN: $0.13 per day.

Amazon Prime: $0.33 per day.

On Monday, I did some online shopping: $66.12. Most things can be found anywhere in the world, and are generally cheaper than in the West. However, there are a few rare items that are difficult to find. Among these are collapsible water bottles (I can find normal water bottles easily enough, but I want a ‘fancy’ one); waterproofing spray (so I can spray a shitty looking jacket; a good part of theft deterrence is to look like you don’t own anything worth stealing); a collapsible backpack (this was an impulse purchase, because it just looked awesome, and I can compress it down when not in use); and a few specialty carabiners (these are sooo useful; you can use them to clip things onto your baggage or person, keep keys together, they’re just all around nice to have). Yes, I paid Western prices, and getting them shipped out to me won’t be cheap either, but certain products need to be top of the line (or just the way you want them); particularly when you own almost no physical objects. Any experienced traveler will tell you that one of the best things to do is travel light! It’s far cheaper and easier to manage when all you have is a carry-on bag.

Summary

So this was a little more than last week, but that’s primarily due to the Cyber Monday shopping. See you all next week….

Location: Tbilisi [Republic of Georgia]

Week 43….

Transportation

This was very low. I only used the metro once: $0.19. The rest of the time, I walked which is very easy to do here.

Accommodation

Rent on my room for this month comes out to $5.67 per day.

Food

Nothing too crazy happened here. A good reference point for spending would be when I went out to eat with some friends last night. There were 4 of us, and we ordered: 20 ხინკალი (khinkali: dumplings with meat), 1 კაჭაპური (kachapouri: cheese and bread) in the მეგრელური (megrelian) style so it was kind of like a cheese pizza without the tomato sauce, some greens to go with everything, a salad, and a bottle of wine. Split 4 ways, we ended up spending $9.33 each. And we ate like kings! Less than $10 for a fancy meal? Yes please!

Other

Travel insurance: $8.64 per day.

VPN service: $0.13 per day.

Amazon Prime: $0.33 per day.

On Friday, I bought a book: $9.79. Gut: The Inside Story of Our Body’s Most Underrated Oragan came recommended by a friend so I thought I’d check it out. I’ve been looking into nutrition and digestion a lot lately.

Summary

So, another great week has come and gone. What will I spend next week? You’ll find out next Friday.

Locations: Tbilisi, super small (population less than 100) village [Republic of Georgia]

Week 42, here we go….

Transportation

On Friday, Monday, and Tuesday, I used took the metro for $0.19 per ride.

On Saturday, some friends and I went to a tiny village 60 km west of თბილისი (Tbilisi). 5 of us got a taxi out there; my portion of which was $2.99. Not bad for an hour and a half ride.

Lodging

Rent for the month is $5.67.

On Monday, I paid the utility bill for electricity and water. My portion came out to $3.73.

Food

So…typical food bill. Of note is we bought groceries for our time at the village on Saturday and Sunday. Our bill came out to $9.33 per person for two days; and we weren’t cheap. We bought a lot of the pricier food, and a good deal of alcohol. Have I mentioned I love საქართველო (Georgia)?

Other

Travel insurance: $8.64 per day.

VPN service: $0.13 per day.

Amazon Prime: $0.33 per day.

On Friday, I bought two books written by Alain de Botton (a modern philosopher). On Love: A Novel was $9.63. The Course of Love: A Novel was $12.83. These aren’t exactly the cheapest books, but I figure they’re well worth their price since they deal with philosophy. I think we could all use a little more philosophy in our lives.

Summary

So there we go. Another decent week. My wallet is really loving this country. See you all next week.

Location: Tbilisi [Republic of Georgia]

Week 41….

Transportation

Friday, Monday and Thursday are metro trips at $0.19 per trip.

On Sunday, I stayed out until the morning, and ended up taking a taxi home. The driver charged me 50% more than what the most expensive fare should have been (which is itself twice what a normal fare is). So I basically paid 3 times a normal rate. I was very annoyed.

Accommodation

The rate for this month is $5.67.

Food

I was actually pretty surprised. With all the debauchery on Sunday night, I figured I would have spent a lot more. What can I say? Georgia is cheap.

Other

Travel insurance: $8.64 per day.

VPN service: $0.13 per day.

Amazon Prime: $0.33 per day.

On Monday, my local phone carrier renewed my pay-as-you-go plan: $0.50.

Also on Monday, I forgot to pay the balance on one of my travel cards, and was slapped with a late fee of $25. Ouch! I need to set a reminder or something so that doesn’t happen again.

On Tuesday, I topped up my data for my local carrier: $11.64 for 15G of data. I’m not complaining….

On Wednesday, had a few bank statements printed: $1.49. More on that when I write part 2 of Banking in Georgia.

Summary

So it wasn’t terrible, but it also wasn’t fantastic. I blame my own stupidity for forgetting my credit cards have payment dates. Next week should be better. Until then….