Cliff(y) Goes Travelling

Tbilisi - Kutaisi (5h 30m) ETD: 9.00am (GMT + 4)  ETA:  2.30pm (GMT + 4) Happy Chinese New Year to those celebrating the festive season! Let's continue with our adventure in Georgia. As mentioned in my earlier post on Gori Downtown , my BFF and I took train no. 18 from Tbilisi Railway Station on two consecutive days, stopping at Gori and Kutaisi respectively.

Tbilisi, Georgia Tbilisi, known as Tiflis in the past, was founded in the 5th century by Vakhtang I Gorgasali, the monarch of the Kingdom of Iberia. As the capital and the largest city in Georgia, Tbilisi is home to a population of approximately 1.5 million residents at the point of writing.

Mount Mtatsminda, Tbilisi, Georgia Mtatsminda Park is an amusement park in the capital city of Georgia that shares the same name with the mountain where it's standing at. Occupying an area of over 100 hectares, it's situated at the altitude of 770 m, which is the highest point in the city.

Sololaki Hill, Tbilisi, Georgia Daily: 24 hours In conjuction with the 1,500th anniversary of Georgia in 1958, the statue of Kartlis Deda (lit. Mother of a Georgian) was born. The 20 m tall aluminium figure of a woman in the national dress was conceived by Elguja Amashukeli, a prominent local sculptor at that period of time.

Narikala Hill, Tbilisi, Georgia Daily: 24 hours An ancient structure on Narikala Hill overlooking the capital city of Georgia, Narikala Fortress was once a Persian citadel established in the 4th century. Parts of the fortress were badly damaged and subsequently demolished in 1827 after a big earthquake. Some remain intact, thankfully.

Noe Jordania Bank, Tbilisi, Georgia Rike Park is a popular public recreation area in the capital city of Georgia. Situated along the eastern bank of Mtkvari River, it's a nice place for a stroll with adequate facilities to accommodate young children and the elderly.

Elia Hill, Tbilisi, Georgia Daily: 10.00am - 6.00pm Affectionately known as Sameba Cathedral by many locals, Holy Trinity Cathedral of Tbilisi was constructed between 1995 and 2004. It's the main cathedral of the Georgian Orthodox Church, which is the third tallest Eastern Orthodox cathedral in the world at the point of writing.

64 Merab Kostava Street, Tbilisi, Georgia Daily: 10.00am - 6.00pm Founded in 1927, Tbilisi Zoo is the oldest and largest zoological park in Georgia. Prior to the massive flood that happened in 2015, the zoo had approximately 300 species. It's such a pity that quite a lot of its inhabitants died, while others were on the loose.

24 Queen Tamar Avenue, Tbilisi, Georgia Hotel City Centre (4*) in the capital city of Georgia is a relatively new player that's strategically located not far from Tbilisi Railway Station. In general, the staff are friendly and professional. Many people have commended the service rendered on the Internet.

BAH-TBS (3h 5m) Airbus 320-214 ETD: 1.30am (GMT + 3)  ETA: 5 .35am (GMT + 4) I've always loved that feeling of excitement mixed with a bit of apprehension whenever I'm about to visit a new country. Originally planning to explore more of the Middle East, I found out that Gulf Air has just recently started a route from Manama, Bahrain to Tbilisi, Georgia and vice versa. Without thinking twice, I booked the flight to that country in the Caucasus region.