4th October: Areni, Armenia to Tbilisi, Georgia
Once again, breakfast was eaten with a view! The guesthouse owner’s son had organised a ride back to Yerevan directly from the driveway, with his babushka who was going shopping, and for the same price as the marshrutka. Before we left, we played with the cats and 5 kittens. The granny joked about the cat having a Charlie Chaplin moustache!
Again, we passed through the de jure Azerbaijani enclave. This time, Armenian army trucks lined up nearby, interspersed with a long line of artillery pointed at an indeterminate location over the hills.
As soon as we entered the appropriately named province of Ararat, almost to the second, the majestic snow-capped peak poked its head over the brow of the hill. Views were astonishingly crystal clear and we looked on agog for the next 30 minutes. The smog-tinted valley looked impossibly flat in front of the double-peaked volcano, as if placed there purely to emphasise what lay beyond.
Bags dropped at the lockers of the imposing Sasuntsi David train station, we hopped on the metro back into town. Our train was already on the platform, 10 hours before departure, such is the dearth of passenger services from Yerevan. Our final half day in the capital was spent in glorious sunshine. We sat reading about China in a park and then sampled more fantastic food from our favourite restaurant – mushroom pasta, Lebanese shawarma, and a vegetable salad. Not that we really needed it, but an amazing apple cake went perfectly with a fitting Chinese tea, as we continued our planning. Rounding off our day of personal Yerevan highlights, we once again watched the sunset from the top of the Cascade. It’s a view you’d struggle to tire of.
Heading back to the train station, we crossed a pedestrian crossing as the light turned green to walk. Simultaneously, and for reasons only known to himself, a police officer waved on 6 lanes of traffic in our direction in the dark with his glow-stick baton. First, I was convinced we were about to be run over. Then, just as surely, that I was going to be arrested after the cars slammed on brakes and I gave him a strong piece of my mind, wishing I knew the Armenian for ‘you f***ing idiot’ but also in hindsight glad that I didn’t. We’ll be glad of no more Armenian death trap road crossings!
We picked up some snacks – zaatar lahmajoun and a falafel wrap – again, the flavours of Lebanon had us longing us to visit. Our final Drams went in the Lebanese Red Cross donation box.
We boarded 40 minutes before departure. Despite a small number of passengers – hardly surprising given the tardiness of booking being made available – we were sharing our compartment. The provodnitsa had taken me aside outside, walked with me so we were a safe distance from her colleagues, and offered to ‘upgrade’ us. She wanted far too much – the minimum I got her down to was equivalent to one whole ticket price! We shared stories with our companion in compartment 5, Dominik from Munich, and bang on time at 21:30 the train jerked forward and away into the night.
Before long we all decided to attempt to get some sleep, as this route has poorly timed border crossings to negotiate overnight. Kaja took the top bunk, and I settled in down below. It wasn’t the comfiest of rides, given the age of the track, but, eventually, I drifted off to sleep on the midnight train to Georgia.
Knock, knock, knock! The provodnitsa wrapped on the door and I awoke to a start. 3:15 and time to leave Armenia. This was straightforward and civilised as border guards came on to the train and, after briefly checking details on what appeared to be a cross between a pocket calculator and an accordion, stamped everyone out of the country. Of course, my Armenia stamps are on top of the Azerbaijan ones. Seemingly this is one of the pettier ways these two warring neighbours compete with one another.
After an hour of incredibly slow trundling along the Debed Canyon later, knock, knock, knock! Georgian passport checks. This time we were told to get off the train, then told off for getting off of the train, then asked why we were back on the train. We joined the queue in the cold, with a cute puppy greeting every passenger (every border should have this!). 10 minutes later we were back on board and the provodnitsa confirmed that the border crossing was finished. By now it was after 5:00 as we went back to bed. Knock, knock, knock! Seemingly the Georgians weren’t happy with two passport checks and wanted a third. The police officer surely noted our looks of tired bewilderment and didn’t even open the passports before handing them back and wishing us goodnight!
Knock, knock, knock! I must’ve fallen back asleep pretty quickly after the border, as before I knew it, we were given a 10-minute warning for arrival into Tbilisi. Sheets wrapped and beds packed, the quiet early morning weekend streets of the Georgian capital honed into view. 15 minutes early, at 7:15, our first ‘sleeper’ train journey of the trip was complete.