Happy Sh*tting in Armenia

So it has been a year since our trip to Armenia. As usual, we had bloopers and misadventures which I would love to tell you all about. Our (Laika and I) desire to go on trips to explore new countries and their culture prompted me to check on cheapest flight out of the country.  Every. Single. Day. Thus, our trip to Armenia. 

Statue of Mother Armenia

I am the one who always gets to discover cheap flights and seat sales because I make it a part of my daily routine to check the websites of the usual airlines that we fly with. This is no exception. When Flydubai went on sale, I immediately rang my friends and they agreed to book tickets to Yerevan.

As traveling requires planning, what better way to do it than talk about it over dinner at our favorite Korean Restaurant - Hankook. (Insert Jhun and Benie)

Before diving into more details about the trip, check out the video we made. It is a bit shaky because I did not have a gimbal. I will do better next time. 

Okay, let me tell you first about how I got my ticket to Yerevan for free. I took advantage of my credit card points! I normally use my credit card for transactions and pay all the bills on time so I don't get any interests at all. The advantage is you are getting points out of your purchases. So for about 3 years, I have not redeemed any points on my card and it accumulated to more than 100,000 points. It was a good thing that I was able to check the credit card's website and I found out about their partnership with Flydubai. It turns out, you can redeem your points in exchange for Flydubai vouchers. Every 10,000 points get you a 100 dirhams. So I exchanged my 100,000 points for a 1,000 voucher. Through that I was able to book a flight to Yerevan without spending anything. Amazing!

Airline

Our airline of choice for our flights so far has been Flydubai. They are the sister company of Emirates Airlines so we were at ease when we first flew with them to Georgia. Their regular fares are still cheaper than most other carriers and when they do seat sales, prices go down to even up to 50% less than usual. You just have to be patient until you learn they are on sale.

Hotels & Tours

Since there were eight of us, searching for a good travel agency was not hard. We put our heads together and ended up choosing Best Travel, Armenia.

I was able to contact Anika who is the Managing Director. She was very accommodating and we agreed to book everything with them from Airport pickup and drop off, to accommodations, and tours.

They sent us a Driver/Guide for the entire trip. His name is Sergey, he was very nice and friendly. He was very patient with 8 crazy tourists. He got very concerned when we got sick. (Spoiler Alert!)

Day 1

It is not uncommon for an airport to be far from the city center that is why we set our tour to start right after we landed in Yerevan.

Armenia already looks great from above.

The flight was in the morning and we had to travel from Abu Dhabi to Dubai way too early. This is why the Laika and I are wearing our haggard looks while waiting to alight the plane.

Excited or Exhausted?

Our first stop was the Etchmiadzin Cathedral. It was under renovation at that time so we did not get to take a picture of the cathedral itself. Here is one from the grounds instead.

I am the one behind the camera :)

The second stop was at the Zvartnots Cathedral Ruins. It was a beautiful cathedral which was destroyed by an earthquake some years back. They were not able to rebuild it because the people have already taken the stones that made up the cathedral.

You only see the pillars and what is left from the earthquake.

The two places above are just very near the airport. After that, we headed to the city and checked in to our accommodation, Arm Hostel, which by the way is located on the 5th floor of a residential building without an elevator. Imagine our faces carrying our bags and luggage up the stairs. Haha! If you're like us who are not used to taking 10 flights of stairs on a daily basis, please do find other options for your stay. 

Start climbing ladies!

After checking in, we went to Best Travel's office and paid for our whole trip. Finally, Sergey dropped us off at Kara's Restaurant in the city center where we had dinner. We walked a bit and bought sim cards for us to contact each other just in case we needed to and of course for mobile data. It was quite cheap, 1GB data was just 1200 drams or 10AED. 

Day 2

We had a long day planned so we woke up early. However there was a problem with the vehicle to be used for that day so we had to make a change in the itinerary and we had some chill time in the hostel.

Mt. Ararat was supposed to be visible in the background but the camera did not catch it.

After everyone bathe and dressed up, we decided to go for a stroll towards the The Cascade. It is a giant stairway in Yerevan linking the downtown area to their Monument neighborhood. Inside or underneath the Cascade, there are rooms and escalators that make up the Cafesjian Museum of Art, which we were not able to visit because it was still way too early.

The Cascade on the background.

We did not get a chance to go up the stairs because at this time the agency called and our transportation is ready. We made a quick stop at the Armenia Opera Theatre as it was just along our way back to the hostel where our meet-up point is.

Laika probably does not like this picture but I am posting it anyway.

The first official stop for the day was in Lake Sevan. It is a lake with breathtaking view. From there you can climb the stairs towards Sevanavank Monastery which is overlooking the lake.

Good job Fuji for putting panorama on your cameras. Please excuse Natz's head here.

Laika & Rissy at the front of Sevanavank Monastery.

Panorama from the back of Sevanavank.

We don't know where the others went.

Laika's orange top matches the view.

The travel crew is complete at last!

After Lake Sevan, it was time for lunch. We went to Burmunk Restaurant, we ordered greens, pork, fish and wine. We were not disappointed, the food and wine was great and it was not expensive. Plus our dining area was situated at the top with a view.  

Lunch

After our sumptious lunch, the next stop was Tsaghkadzor Ropeway, it is a ski resort but it was not winter yet so we ended up riding the ropeway, took pictures and videos and went back down through the ropeway again.

On the ropeway. No snow though.

The first jump point. We did not go all the way since there will no point if there's no snow.

We must have gotten tired that we were able to sleep on the trip back to the city, gaining energy to walk around at night and stopping at the Republic Square to watch their dancing fountain.

Dancing fountain at the Republic Square.

Republic Square. I was calling the others.

Day 3

The next day we headed southeast of Yerevan towards Khor Virap Monastery. It is a monastery where Gregory the Illuminator was imprisoned.

Here's Laika climbing down the narrow tunnel like stairs.

That's the prison.

The church.

Mt. Ararat in the background.

Posting a photo of me for a change.

I have some crazy friends.

Love the fields.

Rissy makes the best wacky pose.

Khor Virap Monastery with Mt. Ararat in the background.

After Khor Virap, we headed farther east. We stopped at Areni Winery for a quick wine degustation. 

We loved the Armenia wine.

So this is where it gets interesting. After tasting Armenian wine, we started for our next destination. However before going, we bought wines to be brought back to Abu Dhabi and something for the road. Then we stopped at a roadside flea market where we bought some churchkhela and ate some too while drinking wine inside a moving vehicle. I will tell you what happened.. later.

The road to Noravank Monastery was very interesting. There were mountains on both the left and right side of the road and the view was just uh-mazing. Unfortunately I did not get to take pictures. But we enjoyed the view so much. 

You have to climb up to go inside.

Here are my friends attempting to climb. Rissy did not proceed.

The surrounding area.

Group photo taken by Sergey.

From Noravank, Sergey made a stop for lunch at Edem Restaurant, its along the Arpa River. As he got accustomed to us from the last 2 days, he ordered grilled pork for us pork-deprived creatures which by the way was quite fatty. But we devoured the food anyway and took the leftovers for take-away.

After what seemed like a very long ride farther east and higher up the mountains, we arrived at the Wings of Tatev, this is a cable way between Halidzor and Tatev Monastery which is our intended destination. It holds the record for the longest non-stop double track cable car. It's a 12-minute ride inside the cable car but if you take the car route towards the monastery it takes hours and hours.

Here we are waiting in line to get on the cable car ride.

Tatev Monastery.

Inside the monastery.

One of the steep rides towards Tatev Monastery.

After Tatev Monastery, we went to our service car and ate the leftovers from lunch. Our metabolism rate is quite high since we are very high up and it is very cold. Plus we had to wait for Sergey cause he did not make it on the cable car ride back.

Food is life!

After eating, Sergey gave us a little bonus, he took us to Satanayi Kamurj (Satan's Bridge) and went down the hill for this;

The place is very quite and untouched and as what we call it in Bisaya, it might be "hilan" or enchanted.

After this quick side trip, we started our very long ride back to Yerevan. We all probably fell asleep right away so nothing much happened. However about halfway through our ride, Jhun, the only thorn among the roses, asked Sergey to stop the car as he was not feeling well and wanted to puke on the road. So he did. After what seemed like 30 minutes, I asked Sergey to stop and I puked too. We continued on but then after awhile I felt the need to puke again and almost did not make it out on time to do so. Sergey got concerned but we assured him that we are all fine. We got back to the hostel with no other bumps. Thankfully.

When Sergey dropped us off at the hostel, there was the matter about the 5 floors worth of stairs that we had to go through. We got through that without problems but when we got to the hostel, we were all very tired already. Everyone seems to have gotten sick. It could be because of all the food and wine we took, it could be because the food was stale. Or it could be because of that enchanted place, or just tired. But all of us got sick. Some puked and some had loose bowel. I mean very loose bowel movement.. very very loose.. I don't remember eating that night.

Day 4

I wish we did not get sick because we were not able to enjoy this tour much. Our first stop was Temple of Garni and everyone was too weak to explore the majesty of the place.

Weak faces.

We can't seem to find the others. Again.

Inside Garni Temple.

The next stop, we went to Geghard Monastery.

Sick, tired and grumpy.

Got her to pose and smile despite the current condition.

And more pics.

Not very good at it but we try to take pics as much as possible.

After Geghard, we went for a stop for lunch. Although we cannot seem to remember the place because we were still not feeling very well, it was beautiful. We probably pooped in the restaurant too.

The next stop was Sagmosavank Monastery. We did not know what to expect. The others thought it was just another monastery. Since they were already tired, some did not go out of the car anymore. As for me, I did not bring the GoPro to take documentations. I only took what I had which was the camera. Man was I very disappointed with myself.

This is what you see from outside.

And this is what is behind the monastery! Breathtaking. My picture does not do it justice.

The view was just amazing! It turns out there is a canyon behind the church. We did not know this and I certainly did not see this on my research. It was too late for the others. We were not able to call them because it was quite far and we were tired. We just proceeded to our final stop.

The Alphabet Park

One last stop before going back to Yerevan.

The Alphabet Park is exactly what it says it is. Alphabets but Armenian. hihi We just made a quick stop and then headed back to Yerevan still tired and feeling very sick.

When we got to the hostel, everyone went to the toilet and did their own thing. It was embarrassing as the common toilet is not very good and small. If other people come inside, they can definitely hear and smell it. Sorry! 

Bennie could not take it, she and Natz transferred to a better hotel in order to properly rest and use a good toilet. I on the other hand went to the nearest SAS store and bought rice and eggs. I made some porridge and that is what Laika and I ate for dinner.

Fortunately, Laika and I felt a little better so we were able to go for a stroll that night. We were very determined to make the most out of it because we thought it would be our last night there.

Back at the Cascade.

Pretending to have a conversation. 

Love on top of the Cascade.

Nice designs on the Cascade.

Day 5

Early the next morning, we are all packed and ready to go. But before heading for the airport, we have a few stops to go to: a quick souvenir shopping at Vernissage and we went to Victory Park to see the statue of Mother Armenia, a female personification of Armenia that symbolizes peace through strength.

Buying some souvernirs.

Locals upping their chess game.

Victory Park.

Sergey was always game for a picture.

Mother Armenia

Overlooking Yerevan

Me

One last stop before we leave for the airport, the Tsitsernakaberd Armenian Genocide Memorial Complex. It is a memorial dedicated to the victims of the Armenian Genocide that happened between 1914 - 1923. It was a solemn place and upon reading what has transpired in history, I didn't notice I was already tearing up. The pictures and video in the Genocide Museum was very sad. It makes you wonder why humans always end up hurting each other. We wished we did it on the first day as it was a depressing place and we should have learned about their history prior to doing any other tour of the country.

Armenian Genocide Monument.

Armenian Genocide Monument

Final stop, the airport. Said our goodbyes to Sergey, who has been a very good driver/guide.

Sad to say goodbye to Sergey.

All ready to get back to reality, we checked in and grabbed a quick lunch, chilled in the waiting lounge. But lo and behold our flight got cancelled because one of the wheels of the plane got damaged and they had to fly one from Dubai to fix it. As a normal practice the airlines have contracts with hotels for cases like this. So we had one more night in Yerevan. Yay! FlyDubai provided transportation and great accommodation. Our group was taken to the Hyatt Place Hotel, great service and great food.

They got tired of waiting for our flight.

Next thing we knew, we are inside the hotel. Time for everyone to poop!

Having eaten, rested and pooped, we went out.

This was the entrance to our hotel.

We are in the middle of the Republic Square!

Holding the flower we bought from a nice old lady.

We slept soundly for the first time since arriving in Armenia that night. We were in a hotel room with a decent bed and a quiet place. haha (never getting in hostel again?) 

One last picture before getting in the plane the next day.

Finally..

Hello Dubai!

*I hope you enjoyed reading this. I call it happy sh*tting because we were happy despite the part we got sick.