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| Lake Sevan |
Traveling solo had crossed my
mind a couple of times in the past but I never thought I’d actually do it. I
mean, I’ve gone to concerts before without company, thrice, but concerts are
short events and do not require a lot of communicating with other people.
Traveling, on the other hand, requires you to talk to strangers, ask questions
and ask for directions. There’s also the eating alone part but I’ve already planned
that out by buying take-aways so I can eat inside my hotel room. In short, I’m just
afraid to travel alone because I’m just too shy to be around people let alone a
crowd of strangers. But hey, this time, I gathered all the courage that I have
and booked a flight for my first ever solo travel. Destination: Armenia.
It was exciting at that stage
where I was still planning my itinerary, booking my hotel and arranging tours.
When all of that was settled and it was just a few days before my trip, it all
starts to sink in and that terrifying feeling is now overpowering the
excitement. I started imagining myself boarding a plane without any familiar
face to talk to, walking in an unfamiliar street, blending in the crowd of
different ethnicity, trying to understand different signage written in foreign alphabet,
and asking questions and giving directions to people who understand and speak very
little English. I was thinking about all these things until I was inside a cab
on my way to the airport.
Communicating with people (co-workers,
family members, friends and strangers) have always been a struggle for me
that’s why it was my main concern for this trip. So I thought God must really
love me because I’ve already had interesting conversations with two people
since I entered the airport and boarded the plane. And they are not Filipinos,
one is an Indian lady and the other one a guy from Oman. I am usually
intimidated by other nationalities but I’ve gotten better dealing with them
over time, thanks to my job. I may not be the one who approached first and started
the conversation but I was grateful enough that I did not dash and ran away.
The guy invited me for coffee though and I was like, uh, NO, THANKS!
My flight landed in Dubai where I
had a connecting flight to Armenia. It was delayed for a couple of hours though
and heaven was like, this girl is not yet ready to travel alone, I’ll send
her someone so she doesn’t have to do things on her own. The angels were
probably thinking, “kawawa naman sya, walang
kasama”. Haha! And voilĆ , I met a fellow Filipina solo traveler while
waiting to board the plane and we found out that we are going to be on the same
tour for three days. Great!
Our flight was supposed to land
at 12:40am but because of the delay and the long line at the immigration for
visa on arrival, I was only able to settle in my hotel room by 4am. The tour driver
was scheduled to pick me up at 9:45am so I had 5 hours to get a decent sleep. I
did not. Or maybe I did. I just didn’t get my everyday caffeine fix for that day.
I’ve learned not to drink coffee whenever I am traveling because it makes me
want to pee every freaking hour. TMI, I know, I’m sorry.
I was picked up last and there
were already four other solo travelers in the car including Liz, the girl I met
at the airport. All of us are Filipinos by the way. I guess the tour organizer
arranged it as such so there would be no language barrier and it would be
easier for us to get along. LOL. There was wifi in the car and I was
comfortably sitting at the back so the lack of caffeine was immediately
forgotten. With the windows up and the fresh and cold breeze coming in,
everything felt and looked better again. It was summer but we were headed to
the mountains so it was still cold. Far from the hot air blowing in the Middle
East.
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| restaurant by the lake |
We visited a loooot of monasteries during the tour
which required a lot of walking and trekking. We had our lunch at a restaurant
by the lake. I ordered pork, of course. I eat as much pork as I can when I
travel out of the country because that’s the only time I can have them. After
lunch, we headed straight to Sevanavank Monastery. I was wearing a black
knitted sweater because I thought it was the day that we are going to Aragats Mountain
– the snowcapped mountain. Hahaha! It was a mistake, I was sweating when we
reached the top of the hill. But it is surrounded by the breathtaking view of
Lake Sevan so it was worth the trek and the sweat. Our last destination for
that day was Tsaghkadzor. We went on an open cable car ride and it was a little
scary at first because I feel like I could fall down anytime. Liz and I tried
to raise our hands and feet like we’re in a rollercoaster but the handle and
the pedal went up as well. Hahaha! We were so scared to move a muscle after that.
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| Tsaghkadzor cable car |
I fell asleep on our way back to the hotel. I was
too tired because of all the trekking and lack of sleep. Liz and I agreed to
meet in the evening to walk around the city but I gave her a wrong number and
so I ended up walking alone around my hotel’s neighborhood looking for something
familiar to eat. People were looking at me so I tried to keep my head low.
Thank God there was KFC nearby. I bought a take away burger and brought it back
to my hotel room to eat.
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| wine tasting at Areni Wine Factory |
On our second day, we were joined by a couple. It
was a quiet tour compared to the first one. We also had a different driver who
drives much carefully but it didn’t matter to me as long as I don’t get dizzy during
the trip. We first went to Khor Virap and I was like, ugh another trekking. But
I was wearing comfortable clothes that time so carry on. The tour destinations
are farther that the first day tour so we only had three destinations – Khor
Virap, Areni Wine Factory and Noravank Monastery. There were actually four but
we opted not to go to Birds’ Cave as it looked like there was not much to see
and we’re so hungry. It was almost two o’clock in the afternoon and we haven’t
had our lunch yet. We had wine tasting before the meal. I liked their white
wine. Too bad I cannot bring a bottle back home.
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| Noravank Monastery |
The tour ended early so Liz and I decided to walk
around the city, eat out, and see the famous Republic Square. It was almost
dark when we arrived but we still enjoyed taking pictures of the beautiful
structures. You will really feel like, yup, this is definitely Europe. There are
people though who were looking at us like they are not used to having Asians in
their country and they would greet us “ni hao” which means hello in Chinese. I was
weirded out by a father asking me to take a selfie with his daughter but I
didn’t want to be rude so I obliged. And just the other day, I was also asked
by another local to have a picture with him. Hmmm, weird.
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| apple tree |
Day 3 tour is my favorite one. :) This time we were
joined by two ladies, both nurses from Dubai. Ladies day it was. We started the
day with fruit picking. We didn’t know we had it in the itinerary so we were
surprised when we stopped on the side of the highway. We got so excited when we
saw real apple trees – red and green. We can pick the fruits straight from the
tree and eat it. Aaaaahhhh! I felt like a kid again. Hahaha! FYI, we don’t have
apple trees in the Philippines growing in our backyards so please understand my
excitement. Hahaha! There were also apricots and it was also my first time to
try it. See, it was just the first destination and I cannot stop myself from
raving about it. We went to two more monasteries where I lost my hotel key
card. I got so lost taking pictures of the monastery with the picturesque
backdrop that I didn’t notice it slipping out of my jean pocket. Goodbye AMD
3,000. I got a lot of good pictures though. It was compensated.
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| the monastery where I lost my key card |
Our drive to Amberd Fortress felt like we were in a
movie with country songs playing in the background. I don’t know how else to
describe it but it felt so… country. We were traversing a narrow road with cows
and sheep crossing and stopping the ride from time to time. Grass starting to
dry and leaves are turning yellow. The sun is up and the weather is a little chilly with mists covering the
mountains. It was quiet and peaceful like there’s not a single house around. And
when we reached our destination it was freezing cold. We ran back to the van to
get our jackets. Hahaha! It was useless though because the trek alone to the
castle ruins will make you sweat. And as if that was not enough, we found our
way to the top of the castle to get to the flag and get a panoramic view of the
place. Stunning! I wouldn’t mind staying there after retirement. :)
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| Amberd Fortress |
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| atop the castle ruins |
For our final destination, we drove further up
until we reached the restaurant below Mt. Aragats. It was super cold that we
could not stay for too long. We didn’t even think about climbing to the top of
the mountain because we did not bring proper hiking clothes. Personally, I
didn’t expect it to be 10°C cold. It was
summer so I thought my denim jacket would suffice. That was another mistake. We
just took some pictures, sit for a while, take in the view and then asked
our driver if we can go.
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| Aragats Mountain |
The ride back to the city was
just as country as it can get. We were again stopped by a whole flock of sheep crossing
the road. We got so excited that we even asked our driver to stop so we can
take pictures. Aaahhhh! Adult life, you will wish that everything is just that
simple, uncomplicated. If only I can freeze that time and bottle it up. *sigh*
Anyway, after that encounter with the sheep, I think everyone fell asleep,
well, except for the driver of course.
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| they tried to block the road :D |
In the evening, Liz and I decided
to visit the Painter’s Vernissage again because the first time we went it was
almost dark and the painters are packing their artworks. This time around I was
able to purchase two items including one which shows the colors of autumn – my
favorite season. I still dream to travel during the fall but my job won’t allow
me. We had dinner and coffee in our favorite restaurant (see, we already have
our favorite restaurant after two days of walking around), watched the dancing
fountain in Republic Square and then went on to search for my luggage bag
replacement. The lock of my old one was broken when I picked it up from the baggage claim,
yeah, it was kind of disappointing because it’s my favorite. :(
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| one of the paintings that I bought |
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| Painters' Vernissage |
Day 4, my last full day in
Armenia. I slept in until 2pm. Yup, this is vacation anyway and you are
supposed to take a rest on your vacation. Right? Right. I did not schedule a
tour for this day and Liz also left for Georgia so it’s just me that day. It’s
the day that I am really on my own. Yay! I’m so nervous to get out of my hotel
room, that’s the real reason I slept in. Hahaha! I was only able to gather my
confidence back in the afternoon so I started my adventure by buying a prepaid
sim card. I hopped into a cab and went straight to Cascade then google mapped
my way to Freedom Square, Swan Lake, did some shopping in Northern Avenue and
ended my day in Republic Square again.
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| Cascade |
My last day was spent traveling
to Georgia by van, thanks to my very helpful tour organizer. He talked to the
cab driver to bring me to the terminal. There, I was seated next to another
female solo traveler from England. See, I’m good at making friends now. Haha!
We talked from time to time so the 6-hour travel did not seem too long. We had
a lot of stopovers though but I didn’t mind. I was enjoying the view outside as
we pass by Dilijan. I wanted to visit the place but I have limited time in
Armenia. If I can come back, I’d schedule my travel in the autumn and I’d book
my accommodation there. It would look so colorful during fall season. Someday,
self, someday. For now, I’ll settle for pictures I see on the internet. Thanks
for being nice to me, Armenia. -C
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| Republic Square |
Lovely entry!
ReplyDeleteThank you, Ate Lara. :)
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