Envoy Hostel Yerevan

... pro 16 nás cestovalo 30. Po chvíli se jednomu z místních zželelo mého kroucení pod stropem a pustil mě (Doldu) na 10cm sedačky.
Tak po hodině jízdy jsme dorazili do Gorisu.Tady už si nás po chvíli našel taxikář (i když s Iránskou agresivitou vyhledávání cestujících se to nedá srovnat) a po dokoupění potřebného proviantu (včetně místního koňaku) jsme vyrazili na Noravank.
Na Noravanku byly asi nejzaj ...

Twice a year there is an Indian expo here in Yerevan, where you can find all kind of Indian things!
Though I've never been to India, every time I enter this expo, I feel like I'm already there!
Scarfs (silken, woolen, cachemire...),shawls, aromatic objects of all possible flavours, carpets, bedspreads, Indian seasonings, spices, cremes for skin, hair, knives and other supplies to kitchen, even their national colthing! In one word - everything you can imagine of India))

... January 6th), Old New Year(January 12-13) (I know it sounds strange). So actually we are celebrating New Year and Christmas until about 20th of January. Then we celebrate Armenia's Army day (28th January). After which comes Surb Sarkis (February 14th) which is Armenian variant for St. Valentine. Then comes Trndez (February 13th), includes jumping through the fire (don't be afraid it's fun).

Yerevan, Yerevan, Armenia eleoshka

I hopped of the marshrutka, the taste of Georgia fresh in my mouth, expecting Armenia to be of a similar vintage. Though my first hitch off the highway left me with several shots of quite palatable home-brew vodka in my belly there was an unhealthy feeling about Northern Armenia. I couldn't put my finger on it, but it was like the air had been replaced with gaseous depression. Within a few hours I was yearning to escape this dark dour little hole I'd ...

... But at least LonelyPlanet claims there is a marshrutka #94 to Orchatala *starting* at nearby Borjomi train station. However it's a bit unclear where exactly and so before it comes I'm totally wet. Right after I get in, the downpour changes to just a rain. And so I undress and happily get into my secondary dry clothes. On the way the cars sometimes literally flows through the streets, surrounding buildings are being splashed two meters high. My ship lands at Orchatala...and it rains ...

... into stones marking where each king or monk or artist is buried. Aside from that the general feeling is that you are always discovering something new, whether a small carving on a wall or a seminary chamber around the corner or a differently-patterned one thousand year-old khatchkar. Another feeling that comes across is the age of the structures, but you feel as though you've stepped back in time, as the churches are still in use and the buildings are in good condition ...

... most people they are more interested in the cars themselves than they are about what is inside. After taking a few pictures with the border guards at their request and giving the head honcho a Nav-N-Go hat we said our good-byes. We had successfully negotiated leaving Georgia in less than an hour and we knew ahead of us was the attempt to enter Armenia. Entering Armenia was not as pleasant an experience as leaving Georgia but all in all it was not bad ...

... leggur í skrautlegar steinkistur međ ámáluđu loki og hefur ţćr til skýja sem píslarvotta. Sem ţćr ţó eru engu síđur en ţessi. Kirkja númer tvö er stađsett í heilmiklu frćđasetri prestaskóla og pretláta, sennilega biskupssetriđ ţeirra ţarna. Ég nenni ekki inn í kirkjuna og nenni ekki heldur ađ hlusta á leiđsögumanninn, sit bara úti í sólinni og mynda allt sem hreyfist og líka ţađ sem ekki hreyfist. Viđ bíđum eftir prósesíunni sem lćtur bíđa eftir sér og ađ lokum ...

... So, after the Manuscript Museum this morning, we had a concert just outside Yerevan, and then returned to Yerevan to go to the Genocide Museum. We went back to the church to drop off bells, and then headed off to lunch. After lunch, we went to the Refugee camp. This was extremely hard for us, because it is difficult to see people living in such poor conditions. It seemed as though these people were really greedy, and at the time I think we were all a little annoyed to see ...