World’s first Christian nation

Leaving Delhi

My taxi collected me at 0045. Leaving the Paharganj area at that time was interesting. Being a summer evening, there were people sleeping on tables, stalls, tricycles and beds (on the road). The journey to the airport only took about 30 minutes.

Check-in had already opened when I got there 3h prior to the flight. Each queue was only about 3-4 deep but it moved slowly. For me, with a connection to Yerevan, the staff weren’t quite sure about visa requirements and took forever to check things out.

It left me over an hour at the large but deserted lounge on the airside before boarding my Aeroflot flight bound for Moscow Sheremetyevo.

Flying the Russian Icon

The flight was quite full, with many people, both Indians and Westerners, connecting to western Europe. Presumably, it is cheaper than flying nonstop or through the Gulf.

I asked a crew member before my 0410 takeoff if there were many spare seats left further back. She came back and told me there was a spare row not far behind and I moved immediately. It turned out it was limited-recline (and allocated as a last resort) but by setting myself up horizontally across three seats immediately after takeoff, I had a great flight.

I sat up briefly for the meal service. It was tough dry chicken with some tomato sauce and rice, accompanied with two kinds of bread roll plus salad and cold cuts. I think it was Russian food prepared by Indians; it would have been better serving an Indian meal!

In no time I was in Moscow going through transit which involved quick immigration formalities even though I was airside. The two hour connection allowed about an hour in the lounge where I fed and watered myself.

The next flight to Yerevan boarded through a remote gate. The meal on the 2h50 flight comprised of cold salads and bread which was actually nicer than the hot meal.

Conclusion about the Russian icon

Overall the Russian icon was OK to fly with. The crew are helpful and cheerful enough when there is interaction but they don’t go around smiling ear-to-ear the whole time. The food appears hit-and-miss; I’d happily fly with them again bearing in mind the price difference compared to other carriers.

My original hope had been to make the entire trip to Scotland with only short flights. Aeroflot’s connection (long plus short flight) turned out cheaper and more quicker than all other options through the Gulf (two shorter flights but with worse connections).

A new country

Armenia is a new country to me. It is the first Christian country in the world; Ethiopia tries to make a claim for that title at times.

I had to change some money to pay for the visa-on-arrival. It was about NZD10 for a 21 day visa. Official taxis to the airport were expensive so I chanced it with an illegal taxi tout for half the price; it should have been slightly less than that but I’m foreign after all.

I had booked a private room at the Envoy Hostel. Their dorms aren’t cheap and their rooms even less so. Expecting to be sleepless and tired, I thought I deserved it.

As it turns out, the hostel was clean and well setup. It is owned by Iranian Armenians who now live in Australia. I didn’t really need a private room after all so it is a bit of a treat.

Night tour of Yerevan

After a nap and a light dinner, I forced myself to stay up for the free night walking tour of Yerevan that the hostel puts on. The guide was humorous and knowledgeable. It appears many Armenians are well qualified and under-employed (eg. science graduate works as taxi driver).

We had the chance to ask plenty of questions about Armenian life.  I asked what Armenians thought of Kim Kardashian!  Their view is akin to mine … while I don’t really follow her, all I know is that she’s the one that does silly attention-seeking stunts and makes a fool of herself.

The 90 minute walking tour covered the two main squares, namely the Opera area which is home to plenty of garden cafes and the Republic square area which has some Soviet-era buildings which have a surprising amount of character (with Armenian decoration). The streets were full of locals enjoying the summer night air. I’m sure it would be very different in the subzero temperatures of winter.

My observation was that there was nearly no Cyrillic script around.  Everything is in Armenian and Roman (English) script.  I was told that Cyrillic/Russian started disappearing from various signage (both public and commercial) around five years ago.