Category Archives: Series
Paris: A Rememberence
The first time I visited Paris was my first real trip abroad unchaperoned and fully in control of my own destiny. That journey helped start me on the path to who I am today. I have a lot of great memories of that trip. Now I’m back for a few days and I’ll try to find out what’s changed – both here and within myself – and rediscover my younger self in the process. This is part of a series of my reminiscences of Paris.
It’s December 31st, 1999 and a 22-year-old me stands in the Paris night watching the millennium count down on the Eiffel Tower. The crowd, standing together tightly enough that most are sweating despite the chill, bubbles in anticipation like champagne when shaken. It hits 0…the year 2000 has dawned. The cork holding the crowd is released and a hundred thousand bodies jump, dance, scream, throw up their hands and complete the metaphor. A new year…century…millennium has dawned; a thousand years has ticked off the clock in a second.
My Worst Flight Ever?
I’m on the worst flight of my life. I have traveled a lot and am happy to report things have never been this bad. It’s exciting in a way! I shall report on my situation in excerpts from my mental travelogue. My hope is that either posterity will know what was my woeful fate or that we’ll all have a laugh together.
I had an inkling things might be not go so well when the majority of people at 6am were checking into last night’s 10:30 flight that had some delays. And on the board every flight since that one proudly called out that it had been delayed before it departed. Why display flights that are gone already, especially when they make you look bad? I dunno. But they did. Luckily mine checked in and started boarding on time. Well, on Armenian time which is to say nobody was in too big a rush to be punctual.
Some things are not the airline’s fault. I mean this Armenia, which is more European than Europe in its people’s befuddlement of the winged train-like object that makes the ground shrink and move underneath you. Using manners perfectly alright for train travel like getting up to walk around as the mechanized wonder is departing, so they can grab the stinky cheese and meat from the overhead, meanwhile the cart of apples spills down the aisle picking up nearly enough speed on the plane’s ascent to breach the back. Things that work on trains just don’t work on planes though. I’m half wondering if there haven’t been more than one confused European who tries to open the door at 30,000 feet to smoke or to find the restaurant car.
There is the old guy who’s never been on a plane next to me. He is testing everything to see if it does something and how it works. That includes the armrest, pulling it up, finding that it lifts and putting it down again before trying the one on the other side. Sure enough it lifts too. On to the tray table for a while then back to the armrests. I can only imagine his sense of wonder when yet again they lift.
Every drink or food tray that comes down the aisle he anticipates and times to make sure he will be served. Leaping towards the aisle to grab at whatever Precious resides within the steel contraption. He reserves the same zeal for darting toward the window to peer at the sea of clouds below.
Then there are your standard bad mannered airline folk on board as well. Like the prototypical screaming kid right behind me. He starts with “I’m MAFIA” and banging his tray table (my seat back) up and down. After a few minutes of this civilized behavior he gets bored and starts kicking the seat and yelling louder. Then his mother says something at him (not to him) in a loud tone enough times that he starts screaming, alternating between shrill bursts and wailing. Then he quiets himself briefly, talks calmly and starts again. The cycle is about 30 minutes long so it should be easy to time the flight.
And once again my arm is crammed into my shoulder before my elbow slides off. It’s more of a yanking upwards than I described above I guess. The way only old men who have done manual labor all their lives can manage. With strength that comes from sinews tightened from years of wrenching loose rusted bolts, plowing fields or maybe pulling locomotives. I don’t know, but the motion is spastic and strong.
But this strength and dexterity fail him when they hand the hot goupy tray on top of the slick box of food. This soon becomes a hot goupy lap full as you might imagine. Two laps full because he has shared his lunch with me. Now I can’t fully blame the old guy for this maneuver, I mean who puts a nuclear hot metal tray on top of a slick paper box and hands the whole contraption over a row of people in a sardine tray?
Armavia, that’s who. The national airline of Armenia would probably be the envy of the 1957 TWA with their modern jets, bulky stewardesses and ability to skillfully save space. Cram six seats in a space most airlines waste on five seats. So much room is wasted on the aisles on other airlines that the carts luxuriously parade up and down the plane, hardly banging anyone on the knee or elbow. Not so Armavia. And why pamper baggage with a regular size overhead compartment? I’m sure on a full flight all the bags will fit in sideways…oh nope I guess they didn’t. Delay while we put check some luggage, hopefully to reemerge either plane side or at the carousel at the destination. Their one luxurious row of first class is protected by a curtain that sits in the chair of a row of cattle class, making it unusable. And the announcement in French sounds like somebody held their phone up to the speaker during an air France announcement and recorded it.
So in my cramped seat I sit, wishing that the air vent worked. Listening to the sweet serenade of “I’m MAFIA” and commiserate with my seat which is taking punishment from as many sides as I am today. The aforementioned hot meal served was hardly a respite, with a date carved into the foil of a week ago exactly. I wasn’t sure if it was the date it was made, supposed to be served or when it would go bad. In any case it was an indicator that I should adopt my strategy of staying alive at third world restaurants and become a vegetarian. So I was able to eat one slice of cheese and one of cucumber, as well as the mint. The chocolate snack looked like the Baby Ruth bar in Caddyshack – slimy and turdlike so I avoided it and withheld my urge to yell “doody!”
…
Perhaps an ill choice of words. Not more than two hours after lunch it smells as if one of my nearest neighbors has shit himself. I’d blame the kid but he hasn’t let up in his game of trying to snap his tray off. Whereas the old man has gone very still all of a sudden.
…
Well it turns out to be the kid behind me. What I felt as the pulling on the tray was just his mother changing him on it. He didn’t quite fit – you know they don’t make those trays as big as they should to change your 2 year old. I was suddenly worried that my decision to even eat the cheese and cucumber might have been a bad one.
…
We circle the city for a while. This is always the worst. Like when the person just in front of you in line takes an interminable amount of time owing to some complaint or error on their part. Or worse over a small amount of money thy are trying to talk the cashier out of. We finally come to the ground and applause erupts as if Nadia Comaneci has just won the gold. Really, planes and pilots do this several times every day. Not once every four years. It’s not an amazing feat of heroism.
As soon as the cheers die down we pause briefly on the tarmac awaiting ground instructions. And we are nearly bounced back into the air by the force of the humanity jumping out of their seats. As per standard practice someone comes on the intercom – Armenian only, they know who it is jumping up. That does nothing except to make the standees talk louder to be heard. And a stewardess walks back as far as the first bunch, telling them to sit again. They look at her, dismiss her with a motion and she returns to her post. Their surprise is audible as the plane lurches forward again to continue to the terminal. Their faces seem to say “How rude to move the plane like that after you’ve stopped it. Don’t blame us if you parked so far away the first time.” The former hero captain now reduced to an idiot in their eyes.
And that is the end of my journey. I have lived again. And with story in hand I head to print it for all the world to read. And maybe to clap at my own feat of heroism and restraint.
How to Stay Dry on Vartavar – Armenian Water Day
Today is Vartavar in Armenia. It’s the pagan holiday which celebrates the goddess of beauty and water, Astghik. The original legend tells of people showering the goddess with roses. Today they use water, for unknown reasons. And they’ve also turned it into a Christian celebration – it is 98 days after Easter. The idea is that you go around splashing everyone or squirting them and everyone has a great time. In practice, though, it’s an excuse for horny teenagers to run around and dump buckets of water on busty young women. Kind of like a religiously sanctioned, country-wide wet t-shirt contest. Maybe that’s too harsh an assessment, but based on observations that’s what it seems to have become.
As I was sitting at the Cafe Central in Yerevan (they roast and grind their own coffee, by the way!) I watched the chaos. As the gangs of kids were running around splashing women, I noticed that some women were accosted and others weren’t. So I came up with some rules for staying dry on Vartavar.
- Walk with a man, child or older person. Single young women or groups are more like to be hit.
- Walk confidently. Keep walking, don’t stop and don’t back down. Stopping lets others catch up or surround you and emboldens them.
- Tell them no. Look would-be attackers in the eye and tell them no (or ‘che’ in the local language).
- Be alert. If you’re on the phone or otherwise distracted you are more likely to miss the attack.
Avoid them. Cross the street when you see them farther down, and avoid places where there are ample supplies of water like fountains. You can duck into a shop if you see them and wait for them to move on or to go after someone else.- Look for signs. If you see lots of women dripping water coming toward you, or if you see wet patches you may be approaching a danger zone. The gangs tend to stay in the same place.
- Take a taxi and keep your window rolled up.
But even these tips may fail you, so it’s best to be ready.
- Don’t wear or carry things easily damaged by water.
- Bring an umbrella to block some of the water that hits you.
- Wear your bathing suit under your clothes.
Or for an alternate, you can enjoy and take part in the fun. Grab a pail or gun, dress down and enjoy the cool water on a hot day!
A Tale of Two Brandy Factories
Armenia is famous for it’s brandy, which rivals some of the best in the world. The tradition of the two main brandy makers in Armenia goes back only to 1887, but they have a rich reputation. In 1902 an unlabeled bottle won first place at a brandy contest held in France, and was reportedly the only non-French drink ever awarded the right to call itself Cognac (though later legislation forbade this). Churchill favored the 50% Dvin style over all other brandies. And the Kremlin Award brand is the one used in official Russian state ceremonies.
Brandy is a distilled spirit made from fruits. In this case, nearly all of the Armenian brandy is made from grapes – a fruit which grows in great abundance here. Glass pipes transport the cognac between barrels. As cognac ages it is moved to older barrels, enriching the flavor. Once it has matured sufficiently, the liquid from each barrel is tasted, blended with others and mixed with water until it reaches the desired flavor and strength. Then the brandy is aged for a few months to allow the different flavors to marry with each other. The age marked on the bottle is the average age of each spirit which goes into the final blend. French Cognac is also made this way, but has the added distinction of having been born in the Cognac region of France and so can apply the trademarked label to its bottles. French Cognac also marks the bottles with a rating system which describes the youngest spirit in the blend, rather than the average. When drinking, you should always use a brandy snifter. The proper amount to have is just enough so that when you tip the glass on its side, it comes to the edge, but does not spill.
Today Armenia’s two main brandy factories sit across the road from each other. Having once been a part of the same company, their stories are intertwined and often confusing. But each factory site tour is interesting in its own right. So for you, dear reader, I have gone to the trouble of examining both and reporting back.
Common History
In the 16th century, Erevan Fortress was built just outside what is modern day Yerevan. In 1887, the fortress was turned into a winery. In 1902 the first brandy was bottled and won the aforementioned first prize. In 1920 the factory was one of the first to be nationalized by the state, and during this state-run period vodka production was begun as well. In 1945, Churchill enjoyed the spirit at the Yalta summit and Stalin sent him a case every month for the rest of his life. It’s said that when the flavor changed, he complained to Stalin who had to quickly retrieve the master distiller from Siberia where he had been recently exiled. In 1953 a new factory was built and brandy production moved to this new facility. In 1998 the brandy factory was sold to Pernod Ricard (rumor has it for a price less than the value of its assets) and at some point the original factory began making and selling brandy under a different name.
This split is what makes the history so murky. The current day location of this new factory houses the Yerevan Brandy Company (commonly called ArArAt), whereas the original location in the fortress is called the Yerevan Wine Company (commonly known as Noy). Since both companies have a similar lineage, both claim it proudly but ignore the elephant across the street, as it were. So it’s a bit hard to piece together the history into one single story. Each factory claims to be THE original brandy lineage and it seems each has a pretty good claim. So the real question then is how were the tours and how is the brandy?
The original Erevan fortress has been restored several times and is now in fantastic shape. There’s a legend about an old bell that one of the previous owners, Shustov, would ring after each batch of wine had been made. A replica has been incorporated into the building. The first stop on the tour is a large room with many bottled brandies in glass cases, along with some of the awards. There are photos all around of the new owner doing things and of the dignitaries who have visited. It seems very self-important and a bit pompous. There’s a large oil painting of the owner that looks over the room like in some creepy Scoobie Doo episode where the ghost is looking through the eyes of the painting. We were asked to wait here for 10 minutes while another group passed through and our guide went off to chat with her friends.
After being alternately rushed and asked to wait through a few more places telling the story of the place, we were taken down to the cellars. We had a special treat in front of us – the opportunity to taste a 1924 Madiera wine! It was very nice and smooth, and you could really taste the aging. I’m not sure I’ll ever top that again for sheer age of a beverage. It was impressive. They have enough old wine in the barrels down there to last visitors about a hundred years, they claim, since they don’t sell the wine.
Next we saw a couple of old caverns. Apparently they were dug by prisoners at some point, and were allegedly to bring in grapes from the surrounding areas to keep them cool. But that explanation didn’t make a lot of sense, because the grapes would have to come many miles before hitting a cavern. Instead I suspect that they were dug as escape and supply routes in the event that the fort were ever sieged. More recently they may have been made for more nefarious purposes, as one leads to the US Embassy.
Finally to the tasting. We were seated at a table with some difficulty – there were more people than places and this baffled our guide who spent a few minutes looking at the table, the people and you could almost see the gears turning. So with some difficulty the non-drinkers were asked to sit at another table (purgatory) while the rest of us enjoyed water, juice, fresh fruit and chocolate. Other than the logistics the tasting was quite nice and an Iranian group next to us took great pains to try to communicate with us and emphasize that they like America a lot.
This tour focuses on everything but the brandy. The factory, owners, old wines, etc. We were continually told to stop and wait while other groups either caught up or were given priority. And we were rushed through the brandy tasting too quickly to enjoy it. Overall I give the tour a D, the building and grounds a B+ and tasting an A+. If you’re planning to go, I would recommend you call ahead and reserve an English guide: +374 10 547048
Yerevan Brandy Factory (Ararat)
This is the factory originally built in 1953. The tour here begins and ends in the gift shop. In comparison with the Noy tour, this one focuses much more on the making of brandy. And of course highlights the common history and modern differences. For instance, it’s at this distillery that visiting heads of state are given their own barrels of brandy to age and wait for the proper time to be bottled, as a present for the dignitary.
The guide went to a great length to make sure we all understood what she was trying to communicate. Both tour guides had obviously received training from a script, but the script here is much better and the guide seemed a lot happier to tell us about things. Always smiling and chaperoning us around in a well choreographed way.
The guide also told us many of the Armenian legends involving wine or brandy. One I recall was that tiny devils dance on the top of brandy glasses. When you clink glasses some fall away but what fall in your glass are what make you drunk. It’s not your fault nor that of the brandy, it’s just the devils. Another saying is that you should only ever have three glasses of brandy: “The first glass is only to slake thirst. Second is just joy. Third is happiness. Fourth is craziness.”
I would give the tour here an A, the building and grounds a B- and the tasting a B. Call ahead for reservations here too: +374 10 540 000 You can likely take care of both tours on the same day.
Who Are the People In Your Neighborhood?
You can run into lots of interesting people in such a small city that’s so important to the country. For example, there’s a guy who keeps his girlfriend company at the flower shop just outside my door. He’s been to Atlanta once, he said. In 1996. As an Olympic boxer. The guy still retains his size and muscle, looking imposing standing around. I always make an effort to say hello and I hope he thinks kindly of me, I’d hate to think it was the other way.
The past week the apartment above mine here has been rocking. Music plays starting in the morning around 8am and continues until well after midnight. And occasionally this is accompanied by loud thumping. What’s going on up there? Another interesting neighbor I suppose.
Now, this isn’t the first time I’ve heard music coming from above. Usually there are faint piano sounds. Sometimes these are really basic, like someone practicing scales, and sometimes it’s more like someone rehearsing a piece. It’s always very quiet and I have to strain to hear it. Occasionally there is recorded music that sounds like it’s Arabic or Persian – it’s hard for me to tell.
But starting about a week ago activity increased. The music was louder and more frequent, often going the whole day and late into the night. And the aforementioned thumping started up. I’m not an expert in the region’s music, but it sounded like the same song over and over again. In between playings I’d sometimes hear people talking.
One night the music and thumping was especially loud. Dishes started rattling from all the thumping and it sounded like the ceiling was going to collapse. It was like living below an earthquake. So I went upstairs to see what was up.
I banged on the door trying to overshadow the music. It must have worked because the music stopped, the locks turned and the door swung open. I’m not sure what I was expecting to see behind it, but the sight surprised me.
When I opened the door I was greeted by something much larger and more intimidating than the boxer outside. A guy stepped out, about 6’5″ tall and with a lazy eye looking down at me, his mouth smiling. His shirt off, sweaty, out of breath and very muscular, it was a bit alarming, despite the big smile on his face. I don’t think I physically jumped back but in my mind I did.
I used my diplomatic tools to throw on a smile and speak first. “Do you speak English?”
“Hello. Hello. No English.” He reached out his large hand in a gesture of friendship to shake my hand. I took it.
Motioning to the ground with my other hand open and facing downward I said “It’s very loud.” Hopeful that I’d made my point, and relieved I’d managed to get to this point without physical harm I was bolstered a bit.
“Sorry. Sorry.” He offered his hand again, nodding, panting and still smiling. “Sorry.”
Nothing left to discuss at the moment, I bid him goodbye. He slipped back inside and I went back downstairs. The music resumed, but had quieted noticeably and the thunder seemed more distant too. “What was going on?” I was left to wonder.
I’ve made a few conjectures, but have no real evidence for my theories. From what I can make out, I think the guy above is a performer. Probably some kind of a dancer. I think he must have been practicing for an upcoming performance. Probably with a group, judging by the traffic up and down the stairs. The music has since subsided, so I assume that he’s done his thing and is back to learning piano.
I hope to run into him at some point and try to talk with him. Seems like an interesting person and if I’m right, I’d love to see him perform or something. Or at least satisfy my deepening curiosity. Like I said, you can meet a lot of interesting people in a place like this, and this person is particularly interesting
Taking the Metro in Yerevan
If you’re a veteran subway system user you probably won’t have any issues getting around on the Metro in Yerevan. It’s a lot like the ones in other former Soviet
Though there are only about a dozen Metro stations in Yerevan, they’re easy to find. Each has blue signs usually labelled in English on one side and countries, so if you’ve mastered those, this system will be a breeze. But for those who haven’t, read on.
what looks like a large flying “V”, marking the location. But barring that, look for the oddest Soviet modern art looking small building around and that may be a station. There aren’t any great maps I’ve found overlaid with the city. But you can print out and carry around something like the Urban Rail map of the Yerevan Metro system which might help you navigate around, especially when you’re on the line. I’ve also created a Google Map of the Yerevan Metro line, embedded below.
Here’s a typical trip on the Metro. Follow the signs and enter the door marked in green. Head over to the small window and buy a token by handing over some money (100 Dram at the time of this writing) and asking for one token – you can just use an upturned index finger. Then walk over and drop the token in the turnstile, walk through and descend on the escalator. It moves fast, so get on and off quickly and carefully. Follow the tunnel on around until you get to the platform.
There are signs on each side indicating the next stops. In many stations the signs are in English, Armenian and Russian, but in some English is omitted. So it helps to know how to pronounce Russian so you can sound out your station and find your way. On the wall of the platform where the train will be heading there is a clock that displays both actual time and the time since the last train left. This is handy, since trains come about every 5 minutes or so.
When the train comes in it will be rattling and clanking loudly. Feel free to put your fingers in your ears, as some of the locals do. Board and you’re quickly on your way. When you’ve reached your stop, disembark, follow the crowd up the escalator and to the exit. You’ve arrived – simple as that!
Tips for Traveling with Technology
There was a Twitter conversation with Martin McKeay and Jerry Gamblin today talking about how geeks handle traveling with all our technology. Jerry suggested that Martin write a blog post, but I decided to beat him to the punch. 😉 This is part of an upcoming series of posts under the heading of Traveling Skills: The Art of Packing. In this post I’ll describe how and what I pack as a geek who travels with technology, as well as why.
My Travel Kit
These are the pieces of technology I pack with me wherever I go. Basically it’s my laptop, phone, camera, earbuds and a few cables and accessories.
- Apple Macbook Pro, with charger
- iPhone and USB cable
- 16 or 32 GB USB thumb drive
- 8 or 16 GB SD card (can double as a thumb drive in a pinch)
- SD to USB adapter
- Mophie Juice Pack and USB cable (iPhone battery/case)
- Dual USB wall adapter
- Mini dual USB car adapter
- 3-foot 3.5mm male to male audio cable (for car Aux input)
- Nikon prosumer DSLR with Nikkor 18-200mm VR lens (usually, but not always)
- Shure E2c (old mid-grade) earbuds with Comply Tx-100 foam tips
- Fenix E05 flashlight and one non-rechargeable alkaline AAA battery (these last way longer in storage than the rechargeable ones do)
- iPad (usually, but not always)
- Special mention: 3G Internet card (I used to travel with one of these and they’re great, but I don’t anymore)
I like to keep it simple. I keep all the cables and accessories in a clear ziplock bag so I never have to dig too far for things. The earbuds I usually keep in an exterior pocket of my bag or in my pants pocket.
My Support Kit
There are a variety of things I keep at home to support my travel kit. Most importantly are my chargers. The Nikon rarely runs out of juice, so I don’t have to worry about that. I also have extras of the cables and accessories, in case I lose one on the road I’m not without it on my next trip. I also have a battery charger and use rechargeables. They’re a bit more expensive, but worth it in the long run. All these things would be nice to have, but I really don’t use them often enough to justify bringing them along.
That brings me to my first philosophical rule of traveling with technology…
When in Doubt, Leave it Out
Equally as important as what I bring is what I don’t bring all the time. These are things that are either too heavy, or used too infrequently to justify bringing. If I know the job will call for something special then I’ll bring it, but normally I try to leave as much as possible at home.
Most people want to be prepared for whatever situation they may find themselves in. For geeks that means a lot of technical equipment. Phones, laptops, tablets, portable hard drives, external speakers, adapters, cables, chargers, batteries, antennas, and potentially dozens of other “can’t do without” items. And that doesn’t even include clothing, shoes, bags, books, and everything else. But all this stuff gets heavy and odds are you won’t end up using most of it. Here’s what I always ditch.
- Small portable speakers. I have a couple of great pairs, but I don’t use them often, they’re heavy and whenever I go to use them I find the batteries have already died.
- Extra laptop battery. I have replaced the battery once and it may be time to do it again. But I’d rather spend a little extra to have a fresh battery than lug an extra one around for months without needing it.
- Lots of camera lenses. I just use the one. It was more expensive than going with several lenses, but it’s a way more portable option. Plus, I treat my DSLR as a point-and-shoot anyway – I just want to whip it out and start snapping, not mess with lenses and such.
- Battery chargers. I only have one thing that requires a battery and I carry a spare. My DSLR has never run out of juice on me while I was on the road. Even on multi-week trips with hundreds of photos!
- Bigger flashlight or headlamp. I chose this one because it fits on my keychain, is bright and runs on a standard size battery. I don’t use it often and so it’s a compromise as compared with a headlamp or a big maglite or something.
- External hard drive. Do I really need access to 1TB of movies, songs, funny videos, or whatever? No. Do I need to backup everything over the course of a week? No. (See below for backing up on the road.) These things are bulky, require special cables, heavy and hardly ever get used.
- Extra laptop. Even when I was traveling for work and forbidden from doing personal things on my work laptop, I never brought a second one. I found that if my phone and iPad weren’t enough then it could usually wait until I got home. (See the next section for ways around that.)
Here’s a tip from my article on adopting a minimalist packing philosophy: Start packing with absolutely nothing, then ask. If the answer to 3/4 is “yes” then bring it. If not, leave it.
- Do I know it will be difficult, expensive or impossible to buy there?
- Am I positive that I’ll use it as much as I think?
- If I don’t bring it, will my trip be substantially worse?
- Do I use this every day at home?
Consolidate, Standardize and Compromise
Standardize on batteries and cables. Use interchangeable plugs and cables (for example, I have this dual USB adapter) to charge your devices, rather than a specialty one for each device. To the degree you can, get devices that run on standard size batteries so you can just buy new ones rather than having to lug a charger. That also helps in case your proprietary battery dies. And use the same size batteries across devices if you can so you can simplify things.
Ditch point-and-shoot cameras. Annie Leibovitz recommends the iPhone to a point-and-shoot. So do I. They’re way simpler and more portable, and you can share the photos right away. If you don’t like an iPhone, the one you’ve got will probably do just fine. And if not, I’m revoking your geek card. 😉 If you’re a serious photographer there may be no getting around a DSLR, but these days I often leave it at home unless I know I’ll be going somewhere photogenic.
Use the Cloud for everything you can. Yes, cloud security is an issue, but you can find ways around that. Crash Plan or Jungle Disk can replace your portable hard drive for incremental backups. Tablets and smart phones can replace a lot of what you’d need a full size computer for. Google Docs works fairly well for simple editing, and CloudOn is a full-blown Microsoft Office instance accessible through an app. If you ever find yourself seriously in need of a computer, the iPad has apps for that too. Consider LogMeIn to remotely connect back to your desktop at home. Or OnLive Desktop will provide you with a virtual Windows desktop.
International Tips
Get multiple power adapters, rather than one universal one. They’re usually smaller and easier to pack, plus you don’t have to carry them all if you’re not going everywhere. I bring 2 of these small European plug adapters and one of these multi-plug European plug adapters, as well as a 220/240v power converter (make sure you read up on how to use it) for devices that won’t handle that much voltage.
Your Tips
Have I missed something that you always take with you? Is there a good idea that you want to expand on? Let me know what you think.
Dan Pink’s Travel Tips
Dan Pink is an author and speaker. His books include Drive: The Surprising Truth About What Motivates Us, A Whole New Mind: Why Right Brainers Will Rule the Future (a great read on Audible), and The Adventures of Johnny Bunko: The Last Career Guide You’ll Ever Need. One of my favorite talks of all time is one he gave on motivation that was animated by RSAnimate, embedded below.
Dan has travel tips on his blog. Here they are, shamelessly stolen from boingboing where I found them.
Tip #1 — Never get sick again
Tip #2 — The magic of earplugs
Tip #3 — Four road food rules of thumb
Tip #4 — The rule of HAHU
Tip #5 — More hygiene!
Tip #6 — Staying connected
Tip #7 — Zipping through security lines
Tip #8 — One thing you should never do in a hotel room
Tip #9 — The secret(s) to beating jet lag
Tip #10 — The first thing you should buy
Tip #11 – The hidden benefits of Mickey D’s
Tip #12 – Never get sick again…again
Enjoy!
A Stroll Above the Cascade
I took a walk, starting by hiking up the Cascade in Yerevan. I should explain that the Cascade is a man made feature here that has steps, terraced greenery and at some point will probably have several water features, turning it into a waterfall of sorts. At the top it leads to a large platform from which you can look out on the city and, more impressively, Mt. Ararat beyond.
Just past the top of the Cascade is Victory Park (Haghtanak Park). Slightly worse for the wear since the collapse of the Armenian Soviet Socialist Republic, it is still a serviceable green space. There’s also what they call an amusement park with the feel of a carnival – cotton candy, ice cream, shooting games, small rides and the like. The highlight is the Mother Armenia (Mayr Hayastan) statue, brandishing a sword and looking out towards Turkey to the west. Reinforcing the subtle point are several tanks, mortars, missiles and planes facing in that direction. All seeming to say “we’re ready to do this anytime you are.”
Kept walking down General Babayan St. which has a few embassies and other nice houses. Then through the Arabkir district. It’s a mostly residential area, with apartment buildings, small markets, beauty salons and the like. Some kids followed after I stopped to buy some fruit. They started shouting broken English – some of it rude – but eventually I turned and looked at them at which point they scattered.
Walked back along Marshal Bagramyan St. Stopped into a bizarre place called the Sherlock Holmes restaurant. Decorated in a style reminiscent of, but not quite capturing, an English Pub, a loud karaoke song greeted me. Before I had time to turn and run I was greeted and whisked to a table. The atmosphere turned out to be not too bad. The singers were ringers and it was not karaoke after all, despite the looks of it. I know because they charged $2.50 for it. And the wait staff were friendly and spoke English fluently. The food was alright. Not world beating but not awful.
One Month in Armenia, and Counting
I’ve been in Armenia about a month now and I’ve seen it go from miserable to welcoming. The weather has become very pleasant and with it the people are warming up as well. With the growing grass and budding flowers I find the city growing on me as well.
Yerevan is one of the easiest cities to navigate that there is. Laid out on a grid system with a perimeter encircling it, the city center is a small enough to get across easily by foot in a half hour. And taxis in Yerevan are plentiful and insanely cheap – it’s $1.50 minimum, which covers 5km. The Yerevan metro is alright for reaching the outskirts and is about $0.25 per trip.
The cost of living in Yerevan for other things is also quite low. There’s a market with fresh foods open every day, where you can get anything and everything and very cheap. Chain grocery store prices range from modest to outrageously expensive, depending on what you’re buying. But they also carry other necessities like toilet paper and Starbucks coffee.
The expat community here seems to be just the right size. It’s not massive like in many capitals, but it’s large enough to sustain many different groups of people who get together often. That’s nice because it means there’s usually something going on. Just about everybody knows each other or knows of them, and they’re all very receptive to new people, whether here to live or just passing through.
What’s not to like? Well I do have a few gripes.
Seems like people are hit-and-miss about ripoffs. I’ve got to review every bill to make sure somebody hasn’t added extra stuff or overcharged for things. Like the double espresso that was marked up as a double-double expresso. And the random things added to the bill every so often. Also I have been quoted prices in dollars, then they use a way low conversion rate. So I always have to confirm those prices in Dram before I agree. And sometimes when you go to pay, if you don’t have exact change they will just raise the cost. Sometimes they say it’s because they don’t have change, but sometimes they don’t try to make any excuses.
And certain things seem to be decades behind. Like smoking. Smoking is allowed just about everywhere – restaurants, bars, offices, public spaces, etc. The decor dates from between 1960-2000. It’s actually hard to find stores that sell modern looking things. The metro, even though it was built in the early 1980s seems to date from the late 1950s. Maybe the equipment was hand-me-downs from other Soviet countries. And the busses are also old and belch black smoke.
But all-in-all that’s not much to complain about. It’s a good place to be and I’m really enjoying it!
meanderingwoods 