How I fell in love with Armenia?

How I fell in love with Armenia?  How will I not?  I fell in love with this beautiful Caucasian country the moment I laid my eyes on the snow-capped mountains while up on the plane before we descended to Zvarnots Airport.  So, how did I fall in love with Armenia?

1.  The people.  Oh how I love the Armenians.  From the taxi driver who fetched us from the airport, to the homestay family we so love and the random Armenians we met along the way.  There is something about the Armenians that you get to easily love them - warm welcome and hospitality.

2.  The food.  We ate only fresh and homemade/handmade by Mama Nvard from Homestay Yerevan.  This is my vacation that I did not eat processed food but did enjoy one "junk" food - the Lay's Bacon and BBQ pork flavor, oh sooo heavenly.  We had the chance to taste also beer, wine, apricot fizzy drinks, taragon juice and the Armenian tea and coffee.  I love the gata and lavash.

3.  Historic sites.   Armenia is rich in history and culture.  From pagan temples, to monastery and of course museums.  Seeing these structures and knowing their history really make me fall in love with Armenia.

4. Love of the cross and Jesus Christ.  Armenians used to be  pagans but in year 301, Armenia was the first country to become  Christians.  Their  love and passion for the cross is evidenced by the khachkar, the Armenian cross that can be found everywhere in Armenia.  When I came to Armenia, I was undergoing spiritual dryness but the moment I saw the shepherd in one of our trips up the mountains, I felt God telling me, it's all about Jesus, the shepherd.  Rest from all your burdens and negativities and rest on Jesus' love.  The Armenian's passion for the cross inspired me to better love the Lord despite of all the negativities around me.

5. Contentment.  The once Soviet ruled Armenia seems to have moved on slowly to the recent times.  If asked was life better during the Soviet rule, answer would vary depending on the age group.  The oldies would prefer being under the Soviet Union but the young and new generations would prefer to be independent Armenia.  What's important is they are content with what they have at present.

Armenia is LOVE!

How to budget travel to Armenia

Here is the breakdown of our budget travel to Armenia.  

• Air ticket

Whether you are backpacking or budget travelling, there are a lot of airlines that give lesser fare fee when the ticket is bought online months before.  In our case, i have checked the different airlines including Fly Dubai, Air Arabia and Armenian Airline.  Luckily, I have a cleartrip account and purchased an Air Arabia ticket for only 800 AED (Dubai-Yerevan and Yerevan-Dubai).  But six months before that, the fare was only 500 AED but we cannot decide because of leave issues at work

• Visa

Visa for Filipinos in Armenia can be taken upon arrival for only 3000 Armenian dram or about 27 dirhams for 10 days.  It is very easy to get Armenian visa from the airport.  Just remember to change dollars to Dram.  The immigration officers do not accept other currency except dram.  The exchange center inside the airport does not accept dirhams, only dollars or euros.  Always give them exact change or lesser amount at least 5000 drams or exact 3000 drams.  The officers will give you a "Russian eye" look if you give them 20,000 drams.

• Accommodation 

There a lot of accommodation booking sites online.  Always check the rating for these accommodations even for hotels.  For homestay and hostels, you can find on the following websites:

Air BNB

Booking.com

We had the best time in Homestay Yeravan.  The host family is very accommodating.  The food is great and the place is very near to the city center.  For only 372  dirhams for 5 days/4 nights with free abundant breakfast daily, what more can you ask  for?

The beautiful view from the balcony of Homestay Yerevan

• Things to do in Armenia for free or lesser budget

We love finding out things on our own, so we did not depend on any tours and beside, the tours are just too limited to know the country.  Before we left Dubai, i had planned our itinerary by the day.  Most if not all were fulfilled.  We only had 1000 dirhams as our pocket money and I am so proud to say that it was more than enough for all our DIY tours, food and even a 12,200-dram leather jacket on sale.

Another tip is to find other tourists to share taxi fees or transportation fees with you.  Luckily, we met several Filipinos who were travelling.  Some were on package but no tour included, so we asked then to join us in our plan.  They were so thankful that they joined us because what we had was more than a tour package.

Day 1:  Free walking tour (covered most of Yeravan) - we gave a tip of 10,000 drams and souvenir from Dubai.
           Dinner at Rossia Mall - Pork shawarma, fries and drinks - 3000 drams

Day 2:  Mountain tour                       80,000 drams for four persons
           Khor Virap
           Khor Virap cemetery
           Noravank
           Stone henge
           Tatev - Guinness book of world record

           Snacks and drinks                  1500 drams

           Dinner at Queen burger           2100 drams - three pork steak, fries and veggies

Day 3:  Churches, monastery and pagan temple             20,000 drams for four persons


      Etchmiadzin Cathedral 
      Roasted chicken dinner and half liter of beer each (street side) - 5500 drams for two

      Central Armenian Aposttolic Church where we found the first letter of our one true love :)
      Garni temple
      Geghard Monastery
      Vernissage market
      Republic square at night
      North ave
      Karabala statue
      Public market

                  
Day 4:  History tour                              15,000 for two persons

            Armenian alphabet monument
            Genocide museum
            Tsirani Restaurant complex       16,000 drams for three persons
            Mother Armenia
            Say cheese
            Sunset at Cascades
           
           Dinner at KFC                                   1450 drams for two persons


Day 5:  On our way to the airport           5000 drams

        The red piano inside the airport
        Airport sunrise

   

Cemetery

• Food

When budget travelling, do not eat in fancy restaurants.  We dared to eat local foods and most food in Armenia are handmade.  When on your feet, do not buy water from street kioks as it cost 300 drams for 500 ml mineral water.  There is a drinking fountain everywhere that you can drink free.  They said it is very clean and safe but since we do not want to take chances, we buy bottled water.  You can buy water, coffee and softdrinks from vendo machines also.  Water from vendo machine is only 150 drams but if you can go to SAS supermarket, a liter of water is only 200 drams, that saves you much.

Eat from small cafeterias and eateries.

Restaurants in North avenue is far more expensive compared to other branches out of North avenue.

There are a lot of fast food chains around Yerevan but there is no McDonald's and Starbucks.  You can find starbucks coffee for sale in SAS supermarket.

Buy the bread - puri, lavash, gata - they are very filling.

Remember to always eat your FREE breakfast from your accommodation.

• Friends

To lessen the burden for fees, be sociable.  There are other tourists who do not have plans and you can mutually both enjoy each other's company with a lesser budget.

New found friends

• Memories

Charge all your gadgets and get ready with a power bank.  Do not miss the memories.  You only travel once in a place and make the most out of it.

These are just few tips on how to budget travel to Armenia.  They may also be applicable to other places.  The most important thing in budget travelling is having fun with a little less budget.  Seize the moment for we you only live once.