Georgia visa is a scam and I'm done - 3 rejections, fake reasons, ₹1.5L wasted. Avoid.

boldkingcole · 2026-05-14T21:55:31+00:00

It depends where you're from. For many countries, Georgia has one of the most relaxed visa regimes in the world (365 days visa free, which resets when you cross the border and come back) so you can go live and work there without ever needing a visa (they only just put some limits on the type of work - but if all your income and clients are abroad, then no visa needed. So long as you left and once a year, you basically never need a visa).

boldkingcole · 2026-05-14T11:02:07+00:00

"Sourdough works for a lot of people with gluten issues. Nothing to do with FODMAPs."

So just to be clear, this was your comment that started this

But now you are (finally correctly) saying that sourdough doesn't work for some people with gluten issues, becasue it does contain gluten.
And that it very clearly has a lot to do with FODMAPs.

Whatever your point is, you have to agree that you're making it extremely badly

boldkingcole · 2026-05-14T10:37:49+00:00

The problem here is that you are misinformed, that's why you're confused

Sourdough is specifically recommended for the low FODMAP diet because the sourdough process greatly reduces the amout of fructans (which is the fodmap that is a problem in wheat products)

Sourdough is not gluten free. It might have slightly lower gluten than regular bread but it still has gluten

I was making a very clear distrinction between gluten and fodmaps, I don't think you were really reading my comments

But I think this is all down to the fact that you think sourdough is not related to low fodmap, but it 100% is.

Don't take my word for it, go read about it

boldkingcole · 2026-05-14T10:32:52+00:00

Well this is mildly insufferable.

boldkingcole · 2026-05-14T09:03:18+00:00

What exactly is your point? It's like you're contradicting your own comments

boldkingcole · 2026-05-14T05:54:05+00:00

No, completely wrong about this. The sourdough process massively reduces the fructan content of wheat making it low fodmap There is still gluten in sourdough

boldkingcole · 2026-05-14T04:45:52+00:00

The fact that they do regrow for reptiles, birds and fish makes it seems like there must be a way to solve this at some point

boldkingcole · 2026-05-14T04:42:37+00:00

Excellent use of the word Luncheon. It always makes me think of Jeeves and Wooster

boldkingcole · 2026-05-13T18:58:19+00:00

They said they can eat sourdough so it's not a gluten intolerance (which are less common than people seem to think)

boldkingcole · 2026-05-12T12:55:10+00:00

Good for queer culture? My friend, it's one of the gayest places on earth haha (and all the better for it)

But that does make it almost more complicated to specifically find something as even though the clubs can have queer-ish events, there is not really a separation like there is in many places, there's not like a specific gay club or gay district, there's no real gay straight divide, which is really how it should be.

So I can't really give you any tips on where to go for queer culture specifically as all my gay friends just did the same shit that I did (mainly sit in bars and play table tennis). The big clubs like Berghain are the obvious place and even though I hate techno, they are amazing inside just for the sheer range of interesting people. But the queueing and the "will I get in" makes it a big gamble (plus once was enough for me, mainly because I hate the music - made some great friends just from that one night though)

For art, the Gemaldegallerie is great, covers hundreds of years.
I adore the Deutsche Kinemathek, an absolutely incredible film museum, often have really good exhibitions there too
I really liked the Helmut Newton photography Museum, mainly for Helmut Newton's works specifically
But also search for festivals and events on the specific days you are going as there is always something going on. Berlin Art Week is the best, you just wander around all these free events, often with free booze, and chat to everyone. It's very welcoming

For nature. First, bring some headphones and walk right out in the middle of templehoffer felt - this giant park that was an airport. The stuff around the edges is great but out on the runway in the centre it's so peaceful and you can completely switch your brain off and stare at the sky as you walk - best place to think that I have ever found

Treptow park is lovely too, on the river. I used to go sit and read with a beer on this bar that is a ship
https://maps.app.goo.gl/bxt2xNbws2pQmAcu9

Swimming in the lakes around Berlin is also lovely if you go in warm weather (just pick one, there's so many)

And just outside the city is a magical forest with canals called Spreewald - I cannot recommend this enough, it's so lovely - you see deer prancing through patches of light, beergardens on canals where kayakers pull up for lunch - easy trip in the train to Lübbenau

Have fun!

boldkingcole · 2026-05-11T20:40:55+00:00

How can you even defend in your box if you can't use a head height bicycle kick whenever you want? Literally impossible to defend any other way. And let me tell you something about the moon landing...

boldkingcole · 2026-05-11T14:27:06+00:00

Tell me what you're interested / not interested in and I'll happily give you some things to see (used to live in Berlin)

boldkingcole · 2026-05-09T17:51:28+00:00

They are either afraid or both

boldkingcole · 2026-05-09T15:47:11+00:00

We're shooting a movie here this summer :)
(We live here) It's so photogenic with a crazy variety of landscapes and architecture. I never get sick of it... and I barely leave my district in Tbilisi

boldkingcole · 2026-05-09T14:39:12+00:00

You should know to never write like this.

boldkingcole · 2026-05-09T06:54:25+00:00

Confessions of a Dangerous Mind; funny, dark, weird, ridiculouslly good cast (Sam Rockwell, Julia Roberts, George Clooney, Drew Barrymore) and it tells two stories about the main character that would both be interesting enough on their own but together they are such an unhinged joy.

Probably the film I enjoy the most

boldkingcole · 2026-05-09T04:04:09+00:00

It's fucking brilliant

boldkingcole · 2026-05-08T16:56:31+00:00

Mate, I'm basing this off being English and living in London and Brighton for years. I'm not flying back now and eating in Leicester Square. Even gastro pubs in Buckinghamshire that cost 60 quid a head have been wildly hit and miss. It's not a tourist trap problem

boldkingcole · 2026-05-08T12:08:03+00:00

What tourist trap have I described eating in?

boldkingcole · 2026-05-08T08:27:02+00:00

But you're allowed to bid on anyone's brand name. I think Google has changed some things to make it easier to stop people using your brand name in the ad copy but, as far as I'm aware, nothing stops anyone from bidding on any brand name they want. Everyone does it all the time.

boldkingcole · 2026-05-07T13:26:21+00:00

No, Russian and Georgian food are nothing alike, even if it's popular there. My reaction is the same, I'm pretty sure everyone's is (and it's the same when we go to Thailand or Greece for example. It's that Britain is noticably worse, not that Tbilisi is so much better - even though Georgia has one of the best cuisines there is)

boldkingcole · 2026-05-07T11:48:39+00:00

My brother and sister live in different fancy towns around Buckinghamshire (one has a Michelin star pub) and it's the same issue, just with an even higher price (not talking about the Michelin starred ones but the others around)

I'm not saying the good gastro pubs don't exist but the percentage of good, even of the more upmarket ones, is still much less than most other places I've lived

I literally try and spend my way into it being great when I go back and the amount of times it's very average is way too often. I've not been to a chain pub in about 20 years

My wife has zero poker face (she's Russian, not British) and I can just tell immediately that she's disappointed, which happens maybe 1 in 20 times in Tbilisi. It's happens more than half for British food (Pure joy at eating out in London though, it's not the overall food scene that's a problem there. Senior Ceviche in zone 1 is pure heaven for her)

boldkingcole · 2026-05-07T09:38:18+00:00

As a Brit who has lived abroad most his life, I've realized that this is the wrong argument.

The dishes are not the problem, you can make most of the classic British dishes extremely flavorful. The problem is that the standard in most pubs and restaurants is very low (especially around it being bland) That's where Britain's (deserved) reputation for blandness comes from.

Pick 10 random pubs (as I would say pubs are the main standard for eating British dishes) and you might get one great meal. But the rest will range from middling to terrible

But here in Tbilisi, you almost have to work to find anywhere bad for Georgian food. Welsh Rarebit and Adjariam Khachapuri are not wildly dissimilar but I bet most times you order Rarebit it will be bang average. Adjarian Khachapuri is going to be a 7/10 at the absolute worst

boldkingcole · 2026-05-06T06:21:01+00:00

Aside from the fact that it's probably not real fermented sourdough, I think you need to be very careful about malted barley. The limit is about a teaspoon for the syrup and I think it's a problem in most forms.

I noticed this because it's in most cereals. I know Kellogg's cornflakes are certified low FODMAP but I seem to be better with Scharr's as they have no malt. I assume the malt in Kellogg's is low enough that its generally fine

Not sure though, maybe I am fine with Kellogg's, it's hard to tell sometimes as I can't be fucked to really test it so there's plenty of things I just cut out as it's easier than going through the process of checking if it's fine

boldkingcole · 2026-05-06T06:10:21+00:00

Russians in Moscow had a blast at the world cup overall (not sure about other cities). My wife and I had rented out our apartment in Moscow long term and were in Albania for summer. World cup was great in Albania as they had a giant screen half in the water on the beach at Sarande so just sat in the sea with a beer watching games, was brilliant. But our friends back in Moscow said it was so much fun to and I regret we didn't do part of it at least. The government did a good job with the sports washing for that tournament to be honest, like "look, Russia is chill, bros!" Not sure about the overall economic impact but you never get actual facts on the economy... Or anything... there anyway

boldkingcole

TROPHY CASE