Locations: Lagodekhi, Tbilisi [Republic of Georgia]
Week 37 is over. Let’s see what my wallet’s been up to.
Transportation
On Friday, Sunday, Monday, and Thursday, my travel expenses can be explained by metro trips: $0.19 per trip. Most of them were for language exchanges, but Sunday’s was to see see a friend who left Georgia on Monday. You will be missed…until I see you again.
On Tuesday, a friend and I went to ლაგოდეხი (Lagodehki). The travel expense is from catching a mini-bus after we’d made it most of the way out there. We went hiking in the mountains, but more on that in the ‘other’ section.
On Wednesday, we took a mini-bus back to თბილისი (Tbilisi): $2.70. And we took the metro from where the bus dropped us to the house. The mini-buses / large vans called ‘marshutkas’ by the locals are a cheap way to get around, but they can get rather crowded. This one was no exception as it started off all right, but a few people had to stand towards the end.
Accommodation
The rent on the house is $5.48 per day this month.
On Friday, I payed the gas bill. My portion came out to $1.35. Considering how much we use the kitchen, that’s really cheap.
On Tuesday, the hostel / guesthouse came out to $7.71. Two of us rented a 3 person room, and that’s what my half came to.
Food
On Sunday, I splurged a little for the goodbye party. I ordered trout at a restaurant, and was surprised to find they’d grilled a whole fish! It was delicious though. For reference, the aforementioned trout and a salad, and a glass of wine and some fries at a bar all came out to $11.57. I love it here.
Tuesday and Wednesday involved finding food in Lagodekhi so that’s why they’re a little higher. The food out there is even cheaper than Tbilisi! We ate pretty well.
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: $5.87. It’s called ‘Any Way You Can’, and I expect it to teach me a lot about how my body processes energy. I also expect a rather large portion of it to be dedicated to talking about ketones. I’ve developed a mild fascination with the ‘keto’ thing so it should be an interesting read.
On Tuesday, a couple friends an I decided to take a ‘day trip’: $19.28. It included a tour of a wine bottling factory (as well as a lot of wine tasting), a trip to სიღნაღი (Sighnaghi) which is called the romance capital of Georgia, and a stop along the road to see how Georgian bread is made.
Right before the trip back to Tbilisi, it was about half way to Lagodekhi so a friend and I hopped off. It wasn’t easy convincing him to let us off at the main road to go hitchhiking. I think he figured it was an unreliable means of transportation. But we flagged down a truck driver who took us part of the way, and a mini-bus that finished it. If you’re willing to deal with unpredictable times, you can wait along bus routes, flag one down, and pay a fraction of the price for the whole ride.
Summary
| Week 37 |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Fri |
Sat |
Sun |
Mon |
Tue |
Wed |
Thu |
Total |
| Travel |
0.39 |
0 |
0.39 |
0.39 |
1.54 |
2.89 |
0.19 |
5.79 |
| Lodging |
6.83 |
5.48 |
5.48 |
5.48 |
13.19 |
5.48 |
5.48 |
47.42 |
| Food |
6.05 |
0.46 |
13.96 |
5.59 |
14.45 |
9.06 |
1.93 |
51.5 |
| Other |
14.97 |
9.1 |
9.1 |
9.1 |
29.15 |
9.1 |
9.1 |
89.62 |
| Total |
28.24 |
15.04 |
28.93 |
20.56 |
58.33 |
26.53 |
16.7 |
194.33 |
So, it was a little more expensive than just staying in Tbilisi, but I had a lot of fun. See you all next week.
