Timdar Travel Blog

Initial impressions of Yerevan are very positive. Much more to come over the next few days.

A few IT issues to solve. Got the eSIMs to work, but had huge difficulties in logging into Yandex (Armenian equivalent of Uber). Then found out that it’s Russian, and Ukraine had just bombed its headquarters putting its data centre out of action. So not down to my incompetence after all.

Anyway, Yerevan has a Cascade which kept us entertained for most of the day and provided some fantastic pictures. Here’s a few.

From the top – that’s Mt Arafat – in Turkey, nearly 17,000 ft and allegedly the site of Noah’s Ark (disputed).

Oh, and it’s 720 steps to the top – after which I discovered most of it can be done by escalator.

You might be able to tell that it’s also part of a huge art museum.

Here’s a lovely place to hang around – only had to wait for about an hour on the Georgian/Armenian border but felt longer.

And made it to Yerevan (capital of Armenia, which I didn’t know before this trip).

Bit of an epic drive (not me, we hired a driver). Picked up at 7.30 and eventually arrived about 5.30. It’s a long way, but we had 3 small detours to see ……. more monasteries of course.

Still haven’t mastered the art of selfies after years of trying!

And then quite a welcome in Yerevan

Sometimes you just get lucky. Sitting in a bar in the late afternoon with a fabulous view and an ice-cold beer, some ice cream with red wine, and some peach flavoured chacha, thinking about where to eat that evening.

And the storm clouds started gathering and the idea of dinner on a terrace was losing its allure. Better, we thought, to trek back through town now to the Pheasantstears winery and restaurant which was right next to our guest house.

Wine fantastic, meal ok, but then the entertainment began – entirely unexpectedly.

View from our balcony

Before that we were enjoying the (very small) town

Another monastery (of course)

Couldn’t resist a nun with a jet spray.

But before that, apparently the bridge in Tbilisi was an inspiration for a Harry Potter scene.

Anyway, after a few days in Tbilisi we’re off on our travels. Signaghi, via the David Garegi Monastery. Eileen found a website where you can hire a car and driver, but you can also ask for detours to famous sites. The blue dot is Signaghi.

The monastery is literally on the border with Azerbaijan.

The very top part of the monastery in the picture is in Azerbaijan, and is out of bounds from the Georgian side. According to our driver one tourist did climb up and was detained by the Azerbaijan police/military.

But an amazing place and well worth the detour.

And then lunch in a “cafe” we wouldn’t have stopped in if we were on our own.

Fantastic home produced cheese, bread and tomatoes – 3 people came to £4.

And the bread was superb

Note how it cooked by slapping the dough onto the side of the oven.

And then to Sighnaghi – exploring tomorrow.

There are a lot of stray dogs in Tbilisi, but they are tagged (apparently if they have a good temperament), are clearly well looked after and healthy, but above all else are obviously very relaxed living on the street!

We knew there were major roadworks in Tbilisi ..

Think Oxford Street or something similar. No account taken of pedestrian access, so muddy shoes are trailed into shops, museums, hotels, and so on.

Anyway, another first – took about 10 times as long to find a museum as we spent time in it once found. But well worth it – probably added to by the amount of effort involved. Actually it’s just a few rooms of a house from a wealthy merchant now as part of the university. So no guide books, post cards, gift shop etc.

Now we’re moving on to Sighnaghi for a couple of days, and time to reflect on Tbilisi. It’s quite strange – feeling privileged to be here and experience the culture, food (fantastic, by the way) and the people, but wouldn’t say we’re actually enjoying it. It’s quite hard work, and it really is decrepit in large parts, so not always aesthetically appealing. It is very friendly and welcoming, but although English is widely spoken, it’s mainly Georgian and Russian which are way beyond us.

One of the great things about travelling is who you meet up with and get talking to – often about travelling.

We met

A Brazilian woman who lives in Porto and travels the world on business as a software engineer

Two young Jordanians who had studied in Tbilisi and decided to stay and work

An Australian couple who loved Georgia, but were soon heading off to China

Sometimes we feel quite unadventurous!

Anyway, getting to know Tbilisi slowly.

Took the fernicular to get the sights and be introduced to “the Mother of Georgia”

And beginning to find our way around the old town.

It’s a mixture of complete decrepitnous and wonderful restorations, so quite a mish-mash at the moment. We wonder where it might have got to in 10 or 20 years.

Today was a half day minibus tour to Mtskheta – the original capital before Tbilisi. Interesting that of the 17 people on the minibus, there were 13 Russian speakers, 2 English (us) and 2 Spanish.

I liked the comment from the tour guide when he was bemoaning the state of Georgian infrastructure – “It’s freedom without discipline. In the old Soviet era it was discipline without freedom”.

As we learn when we go anywhere,there is an incredible amount of history in these countries, and a lot of that in Georgia is very recent.

Anyway, to the tour.

Jvari Monastery

Stunning location.

Svetitskhveli Cathedral

(Absolutely no idea how to pronounce that.)

Another One

Then Eileen had found an excellent restaurant near our apartment (Ninia’s Garden) which was totally anonymous from the street – even with Google Maps we walked straight past it.

First day exploring. Coping with a little bit of jet lag – late arrival plus we’re 3 hours ahead of the UK.

A bit spaced out in the morning as we began to get our bearings, but had booked on a walking tour with Giorgi in the early afternoon which helped us begin to make sense of Tbilisi.

Mainly around the old town, and it was interesting to hear about his grandparents – solid secure jobs under Russian rule – and his parents coping with the fallout and the chaos following independence.

Anyway, plenty of pictures to get us going

And the rather mad (and modern) “leaning tower of Tbilisi”

and the 1500 year old church next door

Plus some fun

EasyJet from Luton to Tbilisi doesn’t quite have the ring of Gladys Knight and “Midnight train to Georgia ” but we’ve made it – to a different Georgia but who cares.

It’s 3 hours ahead of the UK, so a pleasant departure time meant a nearly midnight arrival for us in Georgia. Managed to get a surprisingly decent dinner and a very quick view from our balcony, so clearly a lot of exploring to do.