Georgia 🇬🇪 2 X Play offs day. 13 July 2016

South Africa in the semi finals 53 England 37 yay

The Mother of Georgia (locally known as Kartlis Deda or Mother of Kartli) is a monumental, 20-meter-tall aluminum statue that stands on top of Sololaki Hill overlooking the capital city of Tbilisi. Erected in 1958 to celebrate the city's 1500th anniversary, it serves as the ultimate symbol of the Georgian national characterone hand, for friends, the gift of wine, the other a sword for enemies destruction. We walked up all the steps, there were a lot. 

Beautiful churches and murals as we walk around Tbilisi.

Imposing mother of Georgia

The botanical gardens from a different perspective.

The view from the top of the hill

A castle under the street

We get to Avchala and watch Franch beat the All Blacks, a very tight game.

The Hakka

France 26 All Blacks 22

Go Bokke!!

Georgia 🇬🇪 2 X Play offs day. 12 July 2016

We walked down to the station and cought the metro. Wow it is deep.

Escalator going down, a journey in itself.

At the station

Going back up again.

We got off at Sarajishvili station, the oldest and largest producer of brandy in the region founded in 1884.

Walked to and past the stadium where I got a beer and Michael an apple juice as I thought the match only started at 18:30. I was wrong it started at 18:00. Great hot dog rolls with Jalapeño and cheese and I had another beer while Michael had another apple juice.

Scotland 44 and Argentina 26

Wales 38 and Australia 36

Buildings on our way back in the Bolt rode

Georgia 🇬🇪 Sunday. recovery day for Michael. 12 July 2016

We walked to Rubi Cafe for breakfast, only to find a queue outside the place. As we had walked past a few Cafes, we walked back and stopped at one. We ordered an omelet with bacon and cheese for Michael and another with veggies for me. An americano for me and a hot chocolate for Michael, all together with an added 10% tip cost around R420.

Walking back we walked past museums one is a museum of digital art, would be interesting to see.

Municipal buildings with the EU flag

Walking back to our hotel, we watch the buildings change to older amd less well looked after facades.

Hotel Garnet is perfect, affordable and everything one would need. Huge king size bed and enough space to do the DailyJ with water bottles as weights. A bit worried about people in the room below  as the floor seems wooden so running on the spot.... may be noisy. I will ask at reception. Michael is watching rugby silently on TV as it only has Georgian commentary but they have a rugby channel which is a winner!!

We going to try the metro today R6 for 90 minutes for any public transport. It went up from R3 and the Georgian people complained

Georgia 🇬🇪 Watching the rugby at the Biltong bar, 11 July 2026

We walked approximately 1.5km from our hotel to the Biltong bar. Met some lovely people. Tian, the owner, originally from Riversdale in SA, sold his catering business and moved to Georgia. Nomads from South Africa that travel and the only form of property owned is a camper van somewhere in the US, not liking the political situation in US and originally from SA, they travel to interesting places following SA rugby, instead of staying in the US.

Lindsay and her mom Filicita from Saudi, also originally from SA are in Georgia as their surrogate mum is coming to term. This is their second surrogacy a little girl, the previous was a boy who is now already 1.5 years old.

South Africa beat Scotland so shooters for everyone!!

Many South Africans come to Georgia as it is one of a few countries in Europe in which South Africans do not need  a visa. Such a beautiful country with so much to see.

We finally got back to the Hotel at 1:30am. I dont know when last I have been out that late, needless to say we slept late past 9:30am.

Armenia 🇦🇲 Day 4 of 4 day trip. Yerevan to Tbilisi, 11 July 2026

Monument made up of small crosses celebrating 1700 of Christianity, is the Holy Cross Monument, located at the Armenian Alphabet Memorial Park in Artashavan. Standing 33 meters tall, the giant metallic structure is composed of exactly 1,711 smaller crosses, with a new one added every year to commemorate the time since Armenia adopted Christianity.

Visible from Turkey, it is a thorn in their side.

We stopped at the food court, on our way to the Georgian border. This stopbstarted as clean toilets and then a small shop, now its a huge food court with a speciality bread that is baked in these vats.

Yazidis worship one supreme God known as Xwedê, who created the world and entrusted its care to a heptad of seven divine beings or angels. Preeminent among these is Tawûsî Melek (the Peacock Angel), who serves as the chief intermediary between God and humanity. 

Because Tawûsî Melek's mythology involves refusing to bow to Adam, outsiders have historically and incorrectly associated him with the Judeo-Christian figure of Satan, leading to the false, harmful label of "devil worshippers". In the Yazidi tradition, Tawûsî Melek is an inherently good force and a primary manifestation of the divine. Their faith also highly reveres holy figures like Sheikh Adi ibn Musafir, a 12th-century mystic whose tomb in the Lalish valley in northern Iraq serves as the religion's holiest site. 

We passed a la Verde the place where Marine' our guide comes from, we passed this copper mine where her parents worked their whole life until it closed 

We saw a monument of the MiG-15.

The story goes that, during the Korean War, the United States Air Force launched Operation Moolah, a psychological warfare gamble that offered a $100,000 reward (equivalent to over $1.1 million today) and political asylum to any Communist pilot who defected with a flyable MiG-15. 

The goal was to secure an intact Soviet jet for Western engineers and test pilots to evaluate.The daring gamble succeeded on September 21, 1953, when North Korean Lieutenant No Kum-sok flew his MiG-15 across the DMZ and landed at Kimpo Air Base in South Korea.

No Kum-sok was completely unaware of the Operation Moolah reward, meaning his decision to defect was driven purely by a desire for freedom.

Because the entire radar system was down for maintenance when he crossed the DMZ at 600 mph, his escape was entirely undetected. After landing, he was greeted by base personnel, and his aircraft was quickly whisked away to be test-flown by American experts like Chuck Yeager.

The examination revealed that the MiG-15 possessed an impressive climb rate and altitude ceiling, but also had a dangerous tendency to spin out of control.

Following his defection, No Kum-sok immigrated to the United States, changed his name to Kenneth Rowe, and was paid the $100,000 reward he had previously known nothing about. His original MiG-15 is still preserved and on display today at the National Museum of the U.S. Air Force.

Why was the MiG-15 so powerful?

In 1946, the British Labour government, led by Prime Minister Clement Attlee and Trade Minister Sir Stafford Cripps, unexpectedly agreed to sell dozens of cutting-edge Rolls-Royce Nene jet engines to the Soviet Union.

The sale was made under the strict agreement that the technology would only be used for non-military, commercial purposes.

Joseph Stalin was reportedly astonished by the deal, famously asking, "What fool will sell us his secrets?

As soon as the British engines arrived in Moscow, Soviet engineer Vladimir Klimov dismantled them and meticulously reverse-engineered the entire design. The Soviets manufactured their own exact copies domestically, first as the Klimov RD-45 and later upgraded to the Klimov VK-1.

When the Korean War began, United States engineers were shocked to discover that the terrifyingly fast MiG-15 interceptors outclimbing their own aircraft were powered by clones of Britain's own top-tier technology.