General impressions about Armenia

This time I want to start with general impressions. The fact is that Armenia is a rather contrasting country, not only relative to others, but even within itself.

Yerevan is full of active life – tens of thousands of cafes filled around the clock, a lot of people on the streets from early morning until late at night. You will not see anything like this in other cities, not only in Armenia itself, but in many countries of the world. In addition, Yerevan has a unique color of buildings, because of the pink tuff used in construction.

But as soon as you find yourself in Gyumri, the second most populated city in Armenia, you get a feeling of intimacy and comfort. And the black color of the buildings seems to transport you to another part of the world.

Border

Crossing the border with Armenia, the first thing they said: "Brother, pay for the ecology and drive through." In a separate window, customs accepts payment (1100 rubles, and they accept it in rubles). A completely ridiculous tax, which in fact turns into three receipts - one remains with the car owner, the second is paid upon entry into the country, and the third - upon departure. But as they say, their country is their rules.

In addition, it is necessary to make compulsory car insurance in Armenia. The cost for a week was about the same as the tax - 1600 rubles. You can do it in any of the houses after crossing the border.

It turned out that the entrance and exit were at different border points. One from Tbilisi is in Bagratashen, and the second is near Bavra. There were no problems anywhere, but at the second point, the Georgian side was inspected as thoroughly as possible, and even the body was tapped. Near Bavra, I did not see sellers of insurance or SIM cards on either side. Perhaps tourists do not pass through this border checkpoint so often.

Communication

Russian is spoken quite well in Armenia and they are very friendly everywhere.

In stores, more than half of the goods are from Russia. The largest mobile operator is Viva MTS, and you can find familiar ATMs on the streets. Everywhere you can exchange rubles for drams, and in many places you can even pay with them.

There was an interesting moment, the road to Yerevan was blocked by the police at one of the sites. An officer came up to me. He was holding a skewer with a barbecue in his hand. Chewing on another piece, he said with a smile from ear to ear: "Welcome, join the table!" Politely refusing, I found out that the road was blocked, I had to go back 300 meters and turn onto the bypass. Such simplicity and openness were pleasantly surprised.

Fuel

At a gas station in Georgia, I was told that fuel costs less in Armenia, but it turned out to be completely different. A liter of diesel in mid-May cost 540 drams, which is about 123 rubles. We add exchange rate differences - 150 rubles. In addition, there is almost no good diesel anywhere (we had this problem 20 years ago, and in many Middle Eastern countries the diesel fuel is so bad that it is simply impossible to go there by diesel car), so we had to look for certain gas stations. According to the recommendations, I refueled at CPS gas stations. There were no complaints about the fuel. The tanker said that they had Ecto technology, which immediately gave away the Lukoil brand. But he refused to confirm it directly – it turns out to be a secret. Fuel prices vary – there may be a gas station nearby with a price of 480 drams. But as in Georgia, the fuel quality of each brand is different. It was not part of the plan to repair the car.

Roads

There is a more or less good road from the border to Yerevan, as well as the part between Yerevan and Gyumri. Why part of it is because the highway is under construction. There are excellent stretches of road in other places as well.

But still, mostly the roads are of average quality – there may be holes somewhere, patches somewhere. There was no manhole cover at all on one of the streets of Gyumri. But this problem is nothing compared to the local driving style.

I will be happy to come to Armenia again, but definitely not in my own car. It is better to rent with full insurance. The main problem is chaotic driving and endless undercutting. It is impossible to distract yourself for a second, because a car passing nearby can abruptly stand in front even on an absolutely empty road, then just as abruptly stand in front of another car, which, in order to avoid an accident, will press the gas instead of the brake and sharply turn the steering wheel into your lane. And here they can abruptly fly into oncoming traffic, driving around another pit or patch, just drive across a rarely seen marking. There are an incredible number of accidents from all this. A little later, after returning to Rostov-on-Don, I met a car with Armenian license plates that just stopped at an intersection. The driver got out with the papers and calmly went about his business without even turning on the emergency light. Everyone who was driving behind him couldn't see him coming out, so they continued to stand there, thinking that there was a traffic jam ahead. This is the order of the day here.

The country is still trying to deal with these problems — not so long ago, very strict fines for speed violations + a point penalty system were introduced. For example, the excess by 10-30 km.h. is 20,000 drams (4,600 rubles), there are many patrol cars that catch violators in the stream, and tow trucks are operating in the city. But if someone knows that there are no cameras or police in this place, lawlessness begins.

Car traffic reminded me of Egypt, where in many places the only rule is that whoever honks the horn first goes. By the way, they honk everywhere and around the clock.

Nature

Armenia is magnificent for its nature. The north of the country is surrounded by dense bright greenery. The serpentine from the border to Lake Sevan is especially beautiful. And in the west there are endless steppes, opening a view through the plains to the mountains. 

The views are especially beautiful against the backdrop of majestic Ararat.

An interesting point is when you visit several countries in a row, sometimes there is confusion and it is difficult to remember where this or that moment was, but Armenia differs so much in everything from both Georgia and our North Caucasus, which I studied a week after returning, that it is impossible to confuse.

These are the general impressions. If you have not been to Armenia, it is definitely worth visiting this country. Depending on your preferences, you can have a great time in the city, try the author's and national cuisine, explore interesting sights or spend time on the shores of the purest Lake Sevan.

Next, I will tell you about the cities and some interesting places that I had a chance to visit.