Back to Tbisli/PEN

I woke up at my normal time at Yulia’s which was 10am. That seemed to be the standard wake up time. The kids were coming over for their English lessons and I was just waking up with parents all saying, "Hello Good morning." I am in packing, drinking Yulia's famous coffee that I love and still in pajamas.

Good morning beautiful Russians! 

Saying Goodbye to families while traveling...oh that is the hardest part... Denise was in his room and he said goodbye with the saddest eyes and said something really sweet...that I can't remember oh geez. Goodbye to Mano and Yulia and the baby-I knew we would always be friends so it was okay. 

Bus from Gyumri to Yerevan

I sat at the bus station waiting for the mini bus- they were suppose to be coming every hour. An old mini van showed up and the guy said, “Yerevan.” 

I went to look at the trunk and there was absolutely no space for a suitcase and barely a backpack. A Russian backpacker was translating for me as I said that I could pay extra for the bag. He thought extra meant "double the price" and there was no negociation(lets keep in mind we are talking about an extra $3, but for Indians it is not about the money-it is about saving the money. 

I ended up just waiting for a proper van that has some normal trunk space. The men at the bus station do not bother asking me for a taxi as they can tell I am Indian and they know I want to pay the going rate of 1400, which is a little over $3. There is always a “third party” collecting the money and helping to load the vans. He points at the Mercedes van and writes in the dirt on the van- 1600. He shouts “Mercedes, Mercedes.” 

Georgians and Armenians have this obsession with the Mercedes being a symbol of status and the only luxury vehicle that exists. The driver is pretty friendly and he opens the back trunk with a screw driver.  When I pay the third party guy, he smiles and gives me a thumbs up, which was unexpected. I sat next to two nice quality Armenian guys. The one guy shared a piece of gum with me and the other would keep smiling throughout the ride. It was relaxing just zoning out into the music and the beautiful landscapes.

Again, a beautiful day of weather with the sun shining and I could see all the snow on the mountains with the clouds sitting low right over the snow-just spectacular. These views are literally what keep me traveling everytime and especially by bus, train, and always the foot.

Arrived into the WRONG bus station. I was so excited to get on a nice Mercedes van at my price point with a nice driver- I forgot to tell them I needed to stop at Kilkia bus station not central. We had already passed that bus station so i had to take a taxi back a 15 minutes or so-there goes the money I saved lol 

NOW I had to go from Yerevan to Tbisli

Yes this was a lot of transport for one day. 

From Yerevan to Tbisli(brand new Mercedes sprinter) I treated myself to a normal tourist van after having little legroom and my luggage barely fitting in the back. 

The driver had a bad attitude I could tell right away and if I do not like the driver this impacts my beautiful bus experience. He kind of warmed up to me as we made our stops.

Immediately, I connect with a man from Ukraine who lives in Prague and is visiting Georgia and Armenia-he is super sweet and tells me about his friend who is visiting Himachal Pradesh and shows me lots of photos. He seems very care free and has a loud, but cute laugh that you could hear throughout the whole bus. 

His seat just so happened to be right next to mine so we watched the sunset together and it was again, magical. We start making stops and I hear a voice from the back asking, 

“Is this customs?” I tell the American man from Seattle “No it is a food stop.” 

He asks on the next stop, “I say no this is a gas stop.” 

He is from Seattle, he is retired professional taxi driver/writer/poet.

We all spent sometime on our stops talking to one another and by the time we do finally make it to customs-we all feel the same exact way-sick! The driver, who again I did not like, was going through these windy roads and construction zones way over the speed limit. It was hard for me to stop myself from throwing up. The Ukranian finally told him to stop braking like a maniac and he actually listened.

We were standing outside after Georgian customs and we had this funny moment  where again, I was the point of entertainment. The Ukranian guy says that he told the driver I am the one who is complaining and then I joked oh look at me “the American English speaking problem.”

The passengers were all laughing because they could tell the bus driver and I did not quite get along and he did sincerely believe that I was trying to make an issue. Not to mention, I was late coming back from the duty free and he was not happy about that pointing at his watch and saying "Lets go." 

 We were all talking and this hugeeee dog came out of nowhere and stood right next to me as if he was listening to the conversation.

We went back on the bus and after exiting Armenia- most of us realize that we do not have wifi anymore. There is the one Georgian guy in the back staring at his phone intently and I joke, “Well we know who still does have the wifi.”

It was quite funny in the moment again, I need my own reality show.

I am enjoying my pumpkin cake that I bought at a food stop and it taste nothing like pumpkin, but like corn with a slight dash of sugar.The deserts in Armenia do not taste as good as they look-disappointing.

The Ukranian, the Seattle Man and Miss India/USA all take a photo together to remember this moment. The Seattle man was renting an Airbnb in Tbisli for a month and he was writing a poetry book-very nice. 

I was so ready to go to my hotel, take a shower, and relax. Good night!

PRIS

ENTERTAINMENT

NETWORK 

SIGNING OFF.....:)