I spent only 24 hours in Yerevan, coming via mini-bus from Tbilisi.
The countryside between those 2 cities is really peaceful, and Yerevan seems like a great city. I’d like to get back there and see more of it/more of Armenia some day.
The border crossing is pretty simple if you’ve done the online visa & printed it out. I was the only person who wasn’t Georgian, Armenian, or Russian, so our process was pretty fast. If I hadn’t had the visa, I would’ve needed to go inside the building, apply, do fingerprints…I’d hold everyone up. We got out, walked through the ‘pedestrians’ lane, the driver went through the car inspection, and we were back on the highway. Easy!
I arrived in the late afternoon and had a bit of a walk to my hostel. Not knowing any of the language or anything about the buses, I had to take a long walk, because the mini-van didn’t drop off where I’d expected / looked up directions to start from.
When I arrived at the hostel, they were overbooked and put me into a shared apartment across the street. The bed was comfortable, and having a kitchen to use was great. The only downside was needing to go up/down 4 flights of stairs and across the street to use the wifi or ask a question.
Happy Cow informed me that Lagonid was nearby, so I walked there. Half the menu is vegetarian, with vegan options a-plenty. I stuffed myself on hummus, falafel & fatoush salad for about $5, since I hadn’t eaten anything more than chips & a popsicle during the day. The lemonade was a nice touch.
The next morning, I was up early and walked through the main part of the city, poked around some abandoned buildings, and had lunch back at Lagonid.
After this, I had to get another van back up to Tbilisi for my flight home. I was a real road warrior in those 24 hours.
Unfortunately, I got on the wrong bus to the bus station, wound up heading to the middle of nowhere, and then had to catch a bus going back before changing from that one to the right one. Good thing the bus drivers drive fast & I’d left with extra time, just in case of something like this.
It was a short one, but I’ll be back some day!
This entry was posted in Armenia, Europe, Yerevan
