I have blogged about travel around this part of the world.
I have blogged about Mt Aragats.
What about my other impressions of Yerevan and Armenia?
Yerevan city centre appears prosperous. The other parts of the country I saw – all the way from the border crossing in the north, and then getting out to Mt Aragats – seem very poor. The scenery was amazing, however.
For most things, prices are very low by British standards. One example was my taxi to the airport, coming in at 2,500 dram (just over £4) for a 30 minute journey from the northern suburbs to the southern edge of the city.
Then I paid 2,200 dram for a coffee in the airport. It is one of these places which charges “western prices” which are twice or triple the local ones.
I saw less of the city than I expected. Partly this was because it was very warm. It was 28-31⁰c on my first two days. On one of those days I was not feeling well, and hardly left the apartment.
I did have one long wander around the city centre. It is a place of squares, statues, sculptures, boulevards and parks. I enjoyed the experience.
My food impression was very limited. My “unwell” day was not particularly gastric – it felt like I was getting ‘flu – but I was not taking any chances with restaurant food.
I did eat street food at a Mac Truck – nothing to do with McDonalds – and it was great! It was a burger, though.
I stayed in an Airbnb apartment. It is a modern building and offered no particular insight into local life, apart from my regular visits to the corner shop next door. It was great – it stocked most things I needed.
Most locals speak Russian as their second language, but many managed a bit of English too. My hiking guide was fluent in English and openly talked about political life, including the ongoing problem with Azerbaijan, of his own volition.
One reason for spending only 4 nights in the country was I just wanted to get an idea of whether I would like to spend more time exploring it on a future trip. The answer to that is a definite positive.
ⓒ iain taylor, 2019
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