2021 in Review: Another Year in Georgia

When I arrived back in Tbilisi in February 2020, I never could have imagined I’d still be here in Georgia almost two years later.

I spent every minute of 2021 (minus the 3 hours or so I needed in Armenia to reactivate my visa-free stamp) here in Georgia. That’s the longest continuous period of time I’ve lived in any country outside of Australia.

And you know what? I didn’t miss travelling one bit. There were opportunities to leave, to fly somewhere else or jump on a train, but I didn’t take them. I decided to travel around Georgia instead.

I experienced the country in every season, lived in two different cities, met some truly amazing people, visited places I’d never been before, and watched lots of new and exciting businesses and projects get underway. I also wrote a few dozen new guides for my growing collection (at the time of writing, I now have 140 Georgia posts on the site – you can find them all here).

So while 2021 maybe wasn’t as exciting in terms of travel, it was a fulfilling year in other ways. And all things considered, I know I was incredibly lucky to be able to travel at all.

Here’s a quick recap of the year that was, and a preview of what I have planned for 2022.

---

Please note: This post contains affiliate links, meaning I may earn a commission if you make a purchase by clicking a link (at no extra cost to you). Learn more.

---

My first real winter in Georgia

2021 got off to a slow start. Even though I’ve been in Georgia during winter before, this was my first full winter – my first time seeing proper snow in Tbilisi, my first experience of bitter February, and my first time watching winter fade into spring.

Georgia started the year under a strict lockdown. The annual Christmas markets and other events were cancelled, and with things the way they were, we didn’t have much to celebrate. So Ross and I continued working unhealthy hours and didn’t really emerge from our little Soviet-style apartment in Avlabari until February.

Since Ross is teaching for a Chinese company, Lunar New Year has become our new annual holiday. In February, we both took a week off work to road trip around Kakheti. The vines were gnarly, the earth was bare – but we got lucky and had beautiful warm weather and blue skies. We had a fabulous time staying at Tsinandali, Lost Ridge Inn, and doing a private wine degustation with John Wurdeman from Pheasant’s Tears.

We got back to Tbilisi in time for our first wedding anniversary and one-year-in-Georgia milestone. I can’t even remember what we did to celebrate, but it probably involved ice cream. To commemorate the latter, I released a free guide ‘365 Things to Do in Georgia’ which has since been downloaded more than 2,000 times. I’m planning something special to mark our two-years-in-Georgia anniversary – I’ll reveal more in February!

In spring, I travelled to Mtskheta with Friendly.ge and joined a wine tour with Eat This! Tours. 2021 was a year of successful partnerships and these two companies are among those I’m lucky enough to be working with.

Border dash

Just before New Year’s Eve, the Georgian government announced it would re-extend clemency for tourists who had overstayed their visa-free period because of COVID. We had until the end of June to exit the country. (We could have stayed on and paid a fine, but we were being cautious.)

At this stage we hadn’t been able to get vaccinated yet, and since Australia was not (and is still not) on the list of nationalities that can enter Georgia with a PCR test, we had to make alternate plans.

We both wanted to return to Tbilisi, so I ended up applying for the ‘Remotely from Georgia’ permit in order to get back in. We hired a driver and hopped across the Armenian border. It should have taken us five minutes, but due to some confusion, we ended up in immigration limbo for three hours. We got back to Tbilisi eventually, sat out our mandatory hotel quarantine, then continued on with fresh stamps in our passports.

Our second annual summer road trip

By summer, the virus situation had calmed down somewhat so we took the opportunity to do some travel. We rented a car again and drove from Tbilisi to Kutaisi via the lesser-travelled southern route, stopping off in Kvemo Kartli region and Javakheti, and at Vardzia and Abastumani.

This was our second annual summer road trip and I hope to make a bit of a tradition of it. Honestly, summer is my least favourite time of year in Georgia, but the long days and quiet roads mean it’s great for driving.

Moving to Kutaisi

There are lots of reasons why we decided to base ourselves in Kutaisi, Georgia’s third-biggest city, for the rest of the year. The virus was a big factor, but also the pollution and traffic in Tbilisi was getting a bit too much. I love Tbilisi, but I do find it a bit overwhelming at times. There are too many distractions and the constant pressure to be outside doing ‘something’ is terrible for my productivity.

Kutaisi is more my size. My style. My tempo. We arrived in July and I felt at home almost right away. A lot of things are changing – new roads are being laid and there’s a lot of construction going on. But it’s still the same beautiful little city I remembered from my first few visits. I’ve grown more and more fond of Kutaisi with each passing week. After six months living here, I think we made the right decision to relocate.

Plus, now we get to go back to Tbilisi for ‘holidays’. We’ve made two short trips back and I must admit it’s nice to experience the city as a tourist again.

I’ve been using my days off to explore Kutaisi and indulge in my new favourite activity: sitting in the park with a takeaway coffee. That pretty much sums up the pace of life here. I’ve been able to get a lot of work done and still treat myself to some great trips around Western Georgia, by far my favourite part of the country.

Travels around Western Georgia

Top of my agenda was re-visiting Tskaltubo to write up a big guide to the abandoned sanatoriums (read it here), and re-visiting Chiatura for the first time since 2017 to ride the new cable cars (see my updated Chiatura guide here). We also enjoyed a couple of quick weekend getaways to Sazano Winery and Sairme resort.

Kutaisi really is the perfect base for exploring Georgia – the Black Sea, the mountains of Svaneti and my favourite regions, Guria and Samegrelo, are all only a few hours’ drive away.

The highlight of our late summer was definitely spending my birthday at Glamping Tago. Upper Adjara is incredibly picturesque and the isolated setting amongst the misty mountains is something really special that I have never experienced in Georgia before. We hope to return next year.

Christmas in Tbilisi

This year we had a friend visiting Georgia from the UK so we decided to do some travel for the holidays. After a failed attempt to get up to Kazbegi on Christmas Eve (the road from Gudauri was closed because of heavy snowfall), we opted to head back to Tbilisi instead. We ate a delicious Christmas lunch at Chveni and explored the Christmas Markets, which far exceeded all my expectations.

Tonight, we’ll be seeing in the new year at home in Kutaisi, watching the fireworks from our little balcony.

Highlights of 2021

I had low expectations for this year after 2020, so I’m pleased to say I hit some pretty big professional milestones.

This year was by far the biggest to date for my blog in terms of traffic, income, and every other metric I use to measure my progress. But the best thing has been receiving so many messages from my readers. I’m lucky enough to get a couple of emails every day now. I’m so grateful for every piece of feedback – especially the criticisms and corrections.

A big highlight of 2021 was appearing on the Amateur Traveler Podcast. When we were wrapping up, host Chris told me it was one of the longest episodes he’s ever recorded – whoops! Once I start talking around Georgia, I can’t stop. I also landed some pretty exciting freelance assignments this year, including writing about Georgia and Azerbaijan for National Geographic Traveller UK.

Having my blog featured on Georgian TV this summer was one of the coolest and strangest things that’s ever happened to me (especially since the station didn’t think to tell me about it). I’m extremely flattered though, and it was a huge help in spreading the word about my work.

Last summer, Ross and I spent a few weeks in Pankisi Valley researching, writing, filming and taking photographs for my friend, Nazy Dakishvili. A few weeks ago, the sum of our work, the first ever travel guide for Pankisi Valley, was finally published with help from USAID. I don’t do much volunteering these days, but being able to create this guide and hopefully encourage more people to visit Pankisi and support the Kist community is something I’m extremely proud of.

And finally, I have to mention getting Pfizer-ed this past summer. As non-resident foreigners, we obviously had to wait a while for our vaccinations. I’m extremely grateful to Georgia for allowing us to register.

My plans for 2022

We are currently tossing up whether or not to go to Istanbul in February. There are a few things we desperately need to buy (new laptops and medication that’s difficult to find in Georgia), and I need to get my camera lens that’s been out of commission since winter 2020 fixed. It would be nice to have a short break from Georgia and revisit Turkey, but I’m still not sure if it’s the right time to travel internationally. We will probably wait a few more weeks before making our decision.

Apart from that, I haven’t thought ahead much further than spring. We have our apartment here in Kutaisi until at least April, then we’ll need to decide whether we want to stay put or relocate. There’s still so much I want to see and experience on this side of the country so I’m in no rush to leave.

No matter where I end up, I know 2022 is going to be a big year work-wise. There are a couple of new projects I’m finally putting into motion, including making more videos and releasing my first ebook. If you haven’t yet, please consider signing up for my monthly newsletter – it’s always the first place I share announcements. This coming year, I’ll be offering discounts and other perks to my subscribers. I’d hate for you to miss out.

Thank you as always for your support and readership this year. Wishing you a happy and healthy start to 2022!