Welcome!

I am Baia, the girl behind this blog along with my husband, Oto, who mostly likes to be behind the camera 🙂

We bring you city guides, destination inspiration, and photo spots in the countries we travel to. 

Let’s get personal, shall we?

I’m from Tbilisi, Georgia, a charming country with a perfect mixture of modern and ancient Europe and Asia, delicious cuisine, and amber-color wine! 

My love for traveling and experiencing new cultures, traditions, and customs made me realize that I want to make traveling a big part of my life. So in 2017, I decided to shift my career slightly, and from working as a journalist, I became a freelance travel writer.

I created Red Fedora Diary as a space to share my experience, travel stories, practical information, tips, hacks, and, most importantly, to inspire you to travel this colorful world on a budget. Along the road, Oto joined me on my travels as a loving and supportive husband, who takes pictures of me and helps out a bit with travel planning and blog management.

9 Facts About Me:

  • Aside from writing, I am a passionate photographer. Almost all the pictures you see on the blog are mine. 
  • I love cooking and try to make those dishes I have tried during my travels 
  • I have a BA in Mass Media and Communications from the University of New York in Prague 
  • Turkey was the first country I traveled to, at the age of 10. Since then, I have been to 20 countries. 
  • I am terrified of snakes and rats
  • I have a ‘twin,’ my best friend, Mariam. She was also born on 13.11.87. I am just 8hrs older 
  • My classic cheesecake is an all-time favorite among friends
  • I wanted to be a director, shooting video clips of sorts. But I ended up being a journalist/writer, and I LOVE IT! 
  • I am a wife and a mommy of a Jack Russell Terrier named Louie, whom I would love to take with me all the time, but traveling with a dog has its restrictions and is topic for a whole blog post…

Publications I have written For:

And if you are interested in my travel articles, check out my portfolio

About 1

What is Red Fedora Diary about?

The blog is about exploring the world on a budget, especially off-the-beaten destinations like Azerbaijan, Georgia, parts of Turkey, and Eastern Europe, to name a few. However, we do also travel to famous countries and cities, so we provide budget-friendly destination guides.  

We hope to inspire and encourage you to get out of your comfort zone and travel to places you have dreamed of or have seen on Instagram.  

How it all began…

As any backpacker travel blog story goes, this one started after I managed to pursue my dream and spent #213DaysInAsia in 2014, with a very close friend of mine-Mariam.

We started from Nepal and moved to Southeast Asia, covering mostly Thailand and bits of Laos, Cambodia, and Malaysia. I started this blog back then, but with a different name and purpose…. 

The current one, Red Fedora Diary, comes from this trip. If you’ve been to that part of the world, you know how hot it gets. So to protect my health and body, I wore a red hat.

My travel to Southeast Asia was life-changing and full of good and bad adventures. I wanted the name to remind me of those moments I spent there. Hence, came the name.

Why should you listen to me?

Our trip to Asia was overwhelming, unorganized, and penny-less most of the time. With thousands of kilometers walked and traveled, we ended up spending 108 days due to inexperience. 

Thanks to that trip, I gained so much more than I could have ever imagined. 

But you don’t have to go under so much stress and make the same mistakes I made!

That’s why I am here to give you the advice, share my experience and practical tips for your next adventure.

We don’t share anything that Oto and I haven’t tried and experienced until otherwise stated. If the post is sponsored, we disclose it; if the hotel or a restaurant hosted us, we say that too, but at the same time, we give our honest opinion and review.

Got interested in partnering up with Red Fedora Diary? Check out all the details and statistics

And if you have any questions, do not hesitate to ask – I will be more than happy to help you out!

It’s easy to reach me, say hi on social media, or email me at info@redfedoradiary.com