The Armenia Trip
The following is a series of journal entries for each day that I was in Armenia, paired with some photos. Much of it is my sporadic random thoughts, so I apologize if the transitions are nonexistent and if the tense keeps swapping from present to past. I won't be editing them much in post since I want the original emotions to be preserved through my rambling.
I will not be writing in Armenian in this post. Instead, I will use an Armenian form of Romaji to make it more accessible. For example, instead of writing Հայաստան I will write Hayastan.
Do not read this post if you are hungry, or want to avoid becoming hungry. You have been warned.
June 13, 2026
Had a decent flight. I watched Puss in Boots: The Last Wish with my brother. I also watched Avatar: Fire and Ash and The Devil Wears Prada. An excellent set of movies. The flight was over in an instant. The only part that sucked was my inability to sleep through any of it at all. I just can't sleep on planes. Best I get are 30 minute naps.
Now it’s time to wait 6 hours in Germany for our layover, until our 4 hour flight to Armenia. I saw a kid wearing a cool math shirt. The shirt had a bell curve on it with text that said, "Don't be average. Be significant." I do love me some statistics. I said, "Hey kid, nice shirt." He said, “Thanks!” with a smile. I said, “Do you know what that means?” He said, “Yeah, mean means the average.” Not bad. The kids gonna be alright.
Got a bit drunk with shit flavored beer and an OK tasting sausage. Hella mid German cusine at the Frankfurt airport. The food was ass and the beer was worse.
The passengers clapped when we landed in Armenia. These are definitely my people. They still think it’s 1995. You just can't take it out of em. Me and the young girl sitting next to me giggled.
June 15, 2026
(Yes, we skipped forward in time.)
The first thing that hit me was the smell. I can't believe I remember how it smelled. Last time I was here was 14 years ago, back in 2012. It's an interesting smell. I can't describe it well. It's like... Maybe like... think of the freshest air you’ve ever inhaled, then mixed it with cigarettes and manure.
We drove to our place. As we got closer, childhood memories rushed into my mind. I spent many summer breaks here on this street, in this apartment building. Looking at the road, the people, the buildings… I felt overwhelmed with joy, nostalgia, melancholy, and other emotions I couldn't properly comprehend. I was just taken aback by it all. Last time I was here was when I was a child, almost half my age. My brother, cousin, and I took a walk outside and it felt magical.
After reminiscing with family, we went out to explore again. This time, towards my late grandpa's plot of land. He cultivated the land there for his whole life, saying that it was meant for his kids and grandkids to enjoy. We ate red cherries, sour cherries, and mulberries, picked straight from the trees. The taste was incredible. Didn’t get more organic than that.
This made me realize something. Nearly every tree in town had some kind of fruit or nut growing on it. The fruitless-to-fruitful tree ratio was like 1 to 9. It was crazy experiencing it as we walked through the town.
We kept walking around town. My brother and I bought a pork shawarma wrap for 900 dram (pronounced “Duh-ROM”) which converts to about $2.50. That same wrap in LA would cost us $15 minimum. It tasted phenomenal. We would end up getting this exact same wrap another 5 times throughout the trip.
I also couldn't help but realize that quite literally everyone around our block was giving us looks. Starting from the shoes, all the way up to the hair. Studying us. It's like they had some psychic ability to determine that we didn't live here. We didn't dress particularly different. We were speaking clean Armenian. But they still knew. And for them, we were a curiosity. Something new to gossip about. Or perhaps they were all trying to figure out if we were scammable. Idk. (Now that I think about it, the town we stayed in didn’t really get many tourists, so everyone figured out who you were the moment you arrived.)
As we walked around Ashtarak, my mother's hometown, I couldn't help but feel conflicted about my surroundings. You'd walk past a normal looking house, then an extravagant mansion, then a dilapidated abandoned building, and then a worn-down wooden shack with solar panels on it, all in that exact order. Like, what the fuck is going on? Is this a poor country or not??? My guess is that the nicer houses belonged to people who had relatives that lived in better off countries who would send them money… or maybe they were just corrupt officials of some sort. You just can’t make that kind of money in this country living an honest life. But also, why so many abandoned buildings? It kinda spoiled the atmosphere. Not fully, but enough for me to feel conflicted.
There are stray dogs everywhere. I remember playing with them as kids while our parents yelled at us for touching them. The stray dogs in Armenia are treated just the same as you’d treat pigeons in the US. Just ignore em completely and let them do their thing. As much as I wanted to pet some of them, there’s a great chance they'd be absolutely covered in fleas or lice. No one touches or approaches the dogs. Even the children. So, I keep my distance.
June 16, 2026
I had the kebab flavored Lays. They were fine. Wouldn’t have em again.
I had another shawarma wrap. Chicken this time. Even cheaper. Even tastier. We are being robbed in America man.
The roads here are dangerous. The pedestrians don't have the right of way. Or at least, that's how it feels. Drivers here seem to be possessed by some kind of demon or have the madness curse from Elden Ring. They all drive like absolute fucking animals and don't give a rat's ass about anyone else on or near the road. Once they are behind the wheel, they begin to hate everyone, including other drivers, and especially pedestrians. Gotta be careful. In Armenia, the horn is not used to show other drivers how angry you are. Instead, it’s used as a warning that the driver is going to continue down their chosen path without stopping, so you’d better move out of the way. But it can also be used as a thank you. And sometimes it’s used when you want to ask to merge. I don’t know man. Everyone is honking at everything. Driving here would give me a panic attack.
I went to the church that was near our place to make some progress reading A Game of Thrones since the weather was nice outside. The church has a beautiful garden. I found a bench there under some shade and took a seat. There were a handful of people also sitting around. I started to read. Then, the oldest woman I've ever seen walked past me and stopped in place. She turned around and asked if I was reading the holy scripture. I said, “Yeah.” I really didn't feel like trying to explain what it really was. She then went and started a conversation with another woman at a nearby bench. I overheard her saying that it was so nice to see the youth reading scripture. I actually have read The Bible plenty in the past, so I didn’t feel too bad about lying. After a while, she came back and asked me for my phone number as she handed me her ancient Nokia phone. I told her that I don't have a phone. I didn't feel like saying I was from America and that I don’t have an Armenian number. Then she offered me candy and I politely refused. Thank you old lady. I wont forget you. I spent the next hour reading my book. It was damn good.
I explored a bit more, had some excellent barbeque with my family, and headed to bed to attempt to fix my sleeping schedule.
June 17, 2026
I finished reading the first book in the Game of Thrones series. The ending really wasn’t much of an ending. It was just a series gigantic cliffhangers. I am absolutely gonna continue reading though.
Went on another long walk, right in the middle of the day. It was fun and the surroundings were interesting, but the sun was beating down on us. Could've picked a better time...
It's a common sight to see storks nesting on top of power poles in Armenia. Some villages have roads were every single power pole has a giant nest on top. The parents take turns guarding their young while one goes off to find food. These birds are enormous.
I played backgammon with the fam. I kinda cooked. This game is great. I’m not sure why more people don't play it. It’s easy to learn, hard to master. That being said, sometimes the luck plays too much of a factor and the dice make me rage.
We went to Davtashen to visit a relative. Davtashen is a town in Yerevan, Armenia's capital. The place felt quaint. It was a serious of apartment complexes arranged in the shape of a cul de sac. There was a playground and tennis court in the middle, as well as a tiny grocery store. I’d estimate at least 500 people lived in that cul de sac area since each apartment was at least 10 stories tall. Tons of kids and adults were playing and hanging out. The vibes were powerful.
June 18, 2026
You don't wear seatbelts in Armenia. Every car has them, but you don't put them on. If you're sitting in front, then maybe, but especially not if you're in the back. It's sometimes seen as an un-manly thing to do. So choose. Emasculate yourself by not putting your life in danger, or don't and be cool and tough. Lmao. Thankfully, this mindset is starting to die down since more and more people are realizing how much of a lifesaving tool a seatbelt can be. Also, the police are starting to crack down on it a bit more. One more thing. Every single driver is on their phone. I have yet to witness a single driver that leaves their phone untouched on a ride. So if you're grabbing a Yandex (Uber in Armenia), all you can do is pray to God that you'll get to your destination in one piece. Thankfully, we always did. These people really know how to text and drive.
Now, we finally meet up with the bride, groom, and their friends and relatives! This is the main reason we came to Armenia. We came to tour the country with them and have a wedding! My half-Armenian half-Russian cousin is getting married to a British fella!
Our first stop was the famous NOY distillery. Long story short, it was an ancient fortress that ended up being converted into an alcohol production facility. Our tour guide took us into their wine cellars that seemed to go down forever. The strong smell of alcohol permeated the air.
We got to taste incredibly old wine. The first bottle was from 1924. It smelled like dried dates. The taste was excellent. It also had a caramelly aftertaste. I’m not much of a wine guy, but DAMN it was good. The next bottle was even older and even sweeter. Too sweet actually. I preferred the other one. Then, the last wine we tried, was absolutely ancient. Holy shit. It was the sweetest liquid that I have ever tasted. WAY too sweet. But an amazing experience nonetheless.
Then we took a peek into the secret escape route that was built into the fortress in the 6th century. There was an elevator that lead to the floor that this route was in. This entire area felt like it came straight out of a Dark Souls dungeon.
We finished the tour by sampling their cognac at the most Armenian table of all time.
We walked around Yerevan and grabbed drinks with our new English family. We also got a quick glimpse of the Cascade, one of Yerevan's main attractions.
We found ourselves at a restaurant called Getap (which means Riverbank). The scenery was next-level. I’ll let the pics talk for themselves. Every single person at the table said a toast, and we celebrated.
Finally, one last trip to Yerevan at night. The nightlife here is something else man. Every seat in every restaurant for blocks and blocks and blocks is full. This entire town is awake at midnight.
My legs are falling off now.
Goodnight.
June 19, 2026
My life has become an endless series of picking friends and relatives up form the airport. My job is to be the translator. It's fun, but tiring. An Armenian wedding, even a small one like this, is a lot of work.
We met another friend who is Bengali. Her father speaks fluent Russian. It's become comedy at this point. We got people translating from English to Armenian, from Armenian to Russian, from Russian to English, and there are yet even more languages being used here and there. It felt awesome actually. It took a moment to really sink in. I love seeing all of these people from wildly different cultures and backgrounds all interacting with each other even without having a language in common. Everyone is having a great time too. I'm so happy that my relatives and extended family are so excited to converse.
We went to Geghard, which was a monastery built in the 12th century. It’s said to house the spearhead that stabbed Jesus on the cross. Part of the monastery is actually carved right out of the mountain next to it. I can’t even begin to imagine how people just carved the interior of a church from a mountain.
Next, we went to the nearby village Garni, which has a temple that was built in the 3rd century. This was back when Armenia was still a pagan country that worshiped the sun.
Right next to it was a place called Symphony of Stones. It felt like I was walking through an area that can’t be real. I have no words to describe how natural and unnatural it felt at the same time. I was awestruck.
Then we went to Hayk’s Place, which is a restaurant next to Lake Sevan. Turns out we are family friends with many extremely rich old dudes that own an unfathomable amount of wealth and businesses, one of which being the place we were dining at. I instantly became a class-traitor and gave a toast to the billionaire for serving us lobster tail kebabs, which I did not know was a thing that actually existed up until that point. That was insane.
Alright. It’s time for some real shit. One of Armenia’s premiere desserts is a type of doughnut called a ponchik. Our cousins were raving about a place called Ponchik Monchik (I really love the name) that serves the best ponchik I’ll ever eat in my life. Well, we went and got some. We tried all three flavors; vanilla, chocolate, and strawberry.
These ponchiks were immense. They are not supposed to be this huge. They were the size of grapefruits. Turns out, it was mostly air inside, with the cream only being a thin layer spread on the bottom of the inside. Overall… they were okay. Fine, even. But absolutely over-hyped. I will be having a word with my cousins when I’m back.
June 20, 2026
There’s a billboard that we keep driving past too quickly for me to grab a good picture of it. It features a set of cartoon characters with VR headsets on. One of them is a bunny with a speech bubble that says, “Ari VR-enk!” Which essentially translates to “Let’s go VR-ing!” I find it amusing.
Today is the day of the wedding! I’m confident in my ability to dance to Armenian music, so I will not disappoint the crowd.
Hello. I am drunk as fuck. I translated a toast from like… the governor?? and like a couple of hella insane old asss dudes that are rich as fuck . Wtf man. But anyways, awesome wedding, incredible. Fantastic, I danced like a mf. If anybody said the boys didn't dance, they lying through their TEETH. I danced tf outs my mind. Amazing. Those English boys can drink!!!!!!!!!
I am so genuinely proud of my cousins. Their achievements have left me speechless. The language barriers they have crossed are a milestone for our family. I am so proud of them. As the oldest cousin, they are my pride and joy. God bless.
June 21, 2026
Fellas. Today is the day. I head for Kor Virap.
Kor Virap is a monastery located near the Lusarat village which my mother was born in. It’s extremely close to the border that Armenia shares with Turkey. In the pictures, you can see the measly fence that divides the two countries. It made me a bit sad. The mountain range that has represented us as a people for thousands of years isn’t in our territory anymore. The sheer amount of literature that we have dedicated to it is uncountable. Perhaps one day it will be returned to Armenia.
I have a close relative that works at Kor Virap. Actually, the current “Ter Hayr” or “Head Priest” that resides over that church is his son!
Kor Virap, before it’s chapel was constructed, was notable for being the prison that housed Grigor Lusavorich for 13 years. In the fourth century, Armenia became the first nation to adopt Christianity as it’s religion. During this time, plenty of people still praised the sun, including the King. Since Grigor (his assistant) preached the Christian religion, he decided to imprison him. I don’t want to get too far into the lore. He ends up surviving, the king get’s turned into a literal pig or something, and a buncha other junk happens.
There are two prisons dug deep into the ground. One is small and the descent is short. The other has a long descent into a much larger prison area (it’s just a hole in the ground). Both of the entrances are narrow as hell. As a kid, I went down into both of the prisons. This time, I only got to go down into the small one. The big one had a huge line. And honestly, I'd already had my fill with the other one.
Next, we visited the genocide memorial. Armenians simply refer to it as Tsitsernakaberd. I hope I don’t have to teach you much about this. If I do, boy have you got a lot of history to catch up on.
We got dinner an another stunning riverside restaurant called Tavern Yerevan. Check it out.
Interesting fact. There are people that catch some of the stray dogs around the more densely populated areas and spay/neuter them. They also put a tag on the dog’s ear. The tag can be one of three colors; red, yellow, or green. Green is for super friendly dogs. Yellow is for chill dogs. Red means you probably want to stay away.
I got a chance to sit inside one of the "Chinese Teslas" on a Yandex that I ordered. It was the Hongqi E-QM5. It just felt like a slightly cheaper Tesla. Nothing else to report. Just a decent car. The price is what shocked me the most. It costs around $18,000. I can see why America doesn't allow imports. Tesla would be run out of business.
June 22, 2026
Full day of relaxation. Ain't goin nowhere. I am tired as shit. Me and my dad decided to grab a ton of local beer and try each of them out.
Dargett Weizen review:
Great. Seriously great. Beautiful color, vibrant taste.
Dargett Stout review:
Pretty good. I love stouts though so, not surprising. A hint of coco or coffee or chocolate or something. Not a huge fan, but decent.
Gyumri Beer review:
Very light. Seemed identical to Corona. Is aight.
June 23, 2026
I recall passing by an Ajarski restaurant during a walk or two within the past week. The walks were very unorganized and I wasn't paying particular attention to the map. I approximately knew the area it was in though, so I went to go get some.
During my walk, I realized that it's actually much, much further than I thought. I opened Google Maps to double check. Not only was the store not on there, there also wasn’t any street view available. In fact, 90% of places aren't even listed. I can't check what there is around me. I just gotta pray my sense of direction is good enough. Thankfully, this problem doesn't exist in Yerevan. However, just be aware that the moment you leave the capitol, you will just have to ask for guidance from locals. I got to the store and... They said that their bread delivery hadn’t arrived yet. Awesome. Oh well... Another day of Shawarma.
A tip for shawarma enjoyers. Typically, shawarma restaurants only serve beef and chicken. They avoid pork due to religious practices. However, Armenias have nothing against pork. So if you are lucky and have an Armenian shawarma restaurant nearby, treat yourself to the rare delicacy of pork shawarma.
We went to a restaurant called Stone Bridge to celebrate my aunt’s birthday. The area itself was called "Heen Jraghats" which means “Old Watermill.” It was fantastic. We got our own private room adorned with antiques.
At Armenian celebrations, toasts are extremely common. For example, at my aunt's birthday celebration we had 15 toasts. People stand up and talk for at least a minute about literally anyone and anything. It can get tiresome, but I think it's necessary. Each of them holds meaning, communicates important emotions, and creates strong memories.
We danced and ate till midnight. Nearly 7 hours.
June 24, 2026
Shopping and exploration day across Yerevan. Just me and my dad. We went to Tashir Pizza. It was horrible lmao. We went to GUM Market. It was interesting, but I’ve been to plenty of open markets similar to it, so it wasn’t too exciting. That being said, I saw so many Asians there. I even saw an entire tour group being lead inside. Not sure why. That place is notable, but not THAT notable.
I bought some really thin jeans. They feel so light. Nearly all of the jeans sold in the US are quite thick, so I ended up buying a ton because of how comfortable they felt! They only cost like $25.
So far, the coolest place was a mini shopping center located in an underpass. Real shady looking area, but it was great. I'm a fan of perfectly circular glasses and I cannot, for the life of me, find any in LA. But in Armenia I was actually able to find some! I bought three pairs. I pray the UV protection stickers on them are legit, or else I'll be saying goodbye to my retinas in a year or two.
In the Tashir Street Underground Shopping center, there's a seriously impressive hobby shop. I spent 6500 dram ($18) on a single Pokémon card booster. This shit CANNOT be fake due to that insane cost. So now I got the Armenian pack (from the UK). I'll open it on stream later.
Ended the day with some sujuk shawarma. It tasted great. Throughout the day, my dad kept pointing to buildings and streets. He recalled past memories; good, bad, and mundane. I listened intently. I’ll never forget when he said, "Wow. Can you believe it? Me and you. Walking through Yerevan without a care in the world. At our own pace. Who would have thought?"
June 25, 2026
It’s time to visit relatives at some gyughs (villages). We went back to Lusarat. First, we visited my mom’s uncle’s house. To find their house, we had to ask a random local that was walking down the road. They instantly knew and pointed us in the right direction. This is real village shit here man. Somehow, I we able to remember the entire layout of their house and backyard. Last time I was there was 14 years ago. Actually… It might have been over 20 years ago. I’m shocked that I was able to preserve this seemingly random childhood memory. I still remember playing with their baby turkeys and chicks around their backyard. It's known lore that the chicks we ended up playing with were roughhoused too much. They ended up dying right after we left.
Next gyugh was Armash. It’s common knowledge in Armenia that this village produces the best fruits that can be found across the land. Not only do they taste the best, they also ripen up weeks earlier. I picked and ate mulberries straight from the trees. The black ones tasted pretty good. The white ones were very sweet.
Wait. Hold on a sec. What’s going on? Some of these village homes we’ve gone in have fucking enormous living rooms. Dude. They are huge. The photo doesn’t capture it well enough. Those rugs in the picture are FULL size. I wish we could find affordable places like this in LA.
We went to pick apricots straight from my dad’s cousin’s orchards in Armash. Sadly, many were ruined from a recent hail, and the ones that survived weren't fully ripe. Regardless, I picked straight from the trees and ate them. Even in their non-ripe form, they tasted way better than any apricot you'd find in America. I am not kidding. You have no eaten a real apricot until you try one from Armenia.
I never really thought about my dad's side of the family in Armenia. It was always my mother's side that I was in contact with. Most of my dad’s closer relatives are here in America. I thought that was basically all there was to them. So when I saw these “new” relatives from my dad's side, I felt a feeling that I’m struggling to describe. When I heard a kenats (toast) given to our last name during the dinner, it felt surreal. There are people sitting next to me that share my surname, who I’ve never seen before, telling me how proud they are of me. They told countless stories about our elders. About the men and women that struggled in order for us to have the life we have. I don’t know what to say.
There were also many heartfelt discussions that they had about their sons participating as combatants in the constant war against Turkey and Azerbaijan. It was painful to hear what they went through. Felt even worse coming from their mother’s mouths. For some, it made the war feel even more necessary. There was no peaceful way out of it. For others, they couldn’t believe that they had once felt proud sending their child to war. Given what they know now, they’d do anything to prevent their child from being forcefully enlisted. But I'll leave it at that.
Dilijan Gold Review:
Passable. Not preferred. Maybe even a lil bad.
June 26, 2026
Went to another gyugh in the Armavir Province called Mayisyan to visit extended family. Before the area was a province, it was split into smaller regions. Mayisyan used to be in the Hoktemberyan region. I’m writing all of this so that I don’t forget! And since sometimes the older members of family refer to these places with their outdated names, it’s useful to be aware.
Kilikia Lager Review:
Meh. Bitter, but in a bad way.
June 27, 2026
Chillin’ again.
Ararat Lager review:
Decent. Pretty good even.
Checked out another huge resort that had a distillery. It was in a place called Art Village. It looked chill af.
June 28, 2026
Went to the circus! The performance was called Eternia. It took place in the Tashir Arena. It was legit. My aunt’s husband was one of the people playing instruments in the live orchestra! You can just barely see him in the third picture glowing bright cyan from the spotlight.
More gyughs. Went to Avshar. Chilled out big style.
This dog’s name is Steve.
Krombacher Review:
Normal. Good. Slightly bitter beer.
June 29, 2026
The trip up to Gyumri (sometimes called Leninakan by the older generation) has such beautiful scenery. Endless rolling hills covered with flowers. Bright red, bright blue, bright yellow, bright purple. I wanted to walk through them, but we didn’t have time.
Gyumri is my dad's hometown. He has many old friends that live in this city. He kept telling me how he was trying to avoid being spotted, because if they found him we’d actually be stuck here for weeks lmao. He pointed to so many spots, commenting on how it had changed or stayed the same. He was very happy.
We saw the wreckage that still remained of the building that collapsed and took our aunt back in 1988. There’s a particular natural disaster that every single Armenian knows about. Even Armenians like me that were born a decade after it happened, in a country on the opposite side of Earth. When an Armenian says, “The Earthquake,” we know exactly the one they are referring to. Thirty-eight years ago, there was a magnitude 6.8 earthquake that tore Leninakan to the ground and took countless lives. It’s hard to find an Armenian who didn’t have at least one relative there that it affected. It was devastating. I’d have two aunts instead of one if it wasn’t for that natural disaster. I can’t imagine, nor do I want to know how it felt when my dad lost his sister. He ended up leading the effort in building a large cement area, as is custom in Armenia, to have her gravestone be set. I made sure to give it a visit when I was in Armash.
On a lighter note, we were told by our cousins that the Ponchik Monchik in Gyumri specifically was the best ponchik of all time. After the disappointment in Yerevan, I'll have to try it here as well. I am not too optimistic. It's like saying the Five Guys tastes better in San Diego than LA. But who knows. Let’s give it an honest shot.
The review is as follows. It was pretty good, but nothing to call home about. Half of my bites didn’t catch any of the cream. It took getting halfway into the ponchik to actually taste the vanilla. But once I did, it was good. Idk. Feels like it could be better. Btw, we had to wait 30 minutes for the ponchiks to arrive. We also ordered a cappuccino which never came, even after waiting 40 minutes and reminding them twice. L restaurant man.
The Bazaar is a lifeform in of itself. An ecosystem. An incredible human construct. There are shopkeeps saying random shit to not just passersby but also other shopkeeps. Some old lady said a joke and vendors across her stall laughed out loud. Everyone's yelling at each other asking how much the cherries are, how much the mulberries are, how much the rotten cheese is, how much the sujuk is, how much the apricots are, how much the corn is, how much the tomatoes are, how much the green beans are, how much the bread is. Stray cats and dogs running around everywhere. The half-cement half-dirt half-gravel road with water flowing down every crack and crevice. One wrong step could twist your ankle or worse. The moment you take a single step approaching any vendor, they jump forward advertising the quality of their wares. Alleyways leading into alleyways, sometimes to more stalls, sometimes to living areas. This is a real bazaar my friends.
One thing I don't like is being watched in a store by an actual person. I'm talkin’ like, oblivion NPC type watching. Makes me extremely uncomfortable. Every corner I turn, they turn to maintain the trademark Bethesda eye-contact. Can't afford cameras I guess. I found some extremely real Pokémon cards that I paid 8 bucks for. Awesome.
Went to a dumpling place that my relatives said was crazy good. The dumplings ended up being quite good! But nothing crazy.
We found Armenian beyblades. My dad had em when he was a kid. He was stoked to see vendors selling them.
We went to the edge of Gyumri, to the Ani district, which was built right after the earthquake. The vibes were immaculate. Many people there spoke in the local dialect. I could still understand and communicate with them, but I could definitely hear the difference. My dad was having the time of his life talking in their dialect. He sounded so funny.
We found a great spot to get some food. The place was called Pirajok, which is a type of Russian baked bun. The meal was FANTASTIC. My dad got a chicken sandwich that was fire. My mom got an incredible lahmajo. Me and my brother got a chicken shawarma that left us stunned. Excellent food. Like damn. Maybe the best shawarma I’ve ever had.
June 30, 2026
I'm tired man. I'm too lazy to take notes. Here's more food.
Went back to Yerevan with my dad for more shopping and sightseeing. We decided to take the metro. The escalators going up and down were not only extremely long, but also extremely fast. When I stepped on, I almost needed to brace myself for the speed. It was so fucking steep. I felt a bit dizzy just looking up and down. The station itself was decent, but the car we got on was OLD AS SHIT. My dad was like, “Yo, this thing is from my time. Some real Soviet-era vibes.” The windows were open. It was LOUD. But we got there in one piece. Plenty of people were on it too. Young and old. Mostly young actually. Had a great time exploring with my dad.
Paulaner Hefe-Weissbier Review:
Fantastic. Excellent. Refreshing.
I tried Yandex with a bunch more US banned cars. BYD and Changan. They were good. Nothing to complain about. Nice cars. The BYD model we tried felt luxurious with all the nice looking trim it had inside. The Changan model had neon lights across half the interior next to the leather trim. It felt a bit like a limo. Which is to say, it felt a bit tacky. But whatever man, they were all the same shit more or less lol. The coolest part was that all of them had a sunroof that covered the entire ceiling of the car. China might be goated I’m afraid.
We went to my aunt’s husband’s recording studio that he built in the basement under the apartment he lives in. His homies were chillin there. It was sick. I need an art studio like that. A chill pad...
July 1, 2026
We visited a monastery in Tsaghkadzor. It housed the bodies of some ancient Armenian kings.
But what really caught my attention was the stunning nature. The name Tsaghkadzor literally means valley of flowers, and there really were tons. I asked us all to stop near a random field of flowers just so I could go out and enjoy the sights. What I wasn't expecting was to also enjoy the smells. It smelled like a flower store. Every breath I took not only felt like the freshest air to ever enter my lungs, but it also smelled absolutely lovely. There were bright blue butterflies and caterpillars everywhere. HUGE wild poppies. Purples flowers. Pink. Yellow. White. BLUE. NATURAL BLUE FLOWERS. This is what I adore the most. Not curated, man-made mini gardens. I love wild landscapes. Flowers everywhere. Animals. Fields you can walk across for miles. If I wasn't worried about snakes and random holes in the ground, I'd run through these fields.
The pictures I took were so beautiful that I might just open another page on my site just for wallpaper downloads. I could swear I passed by the famous Windows XP wallpaper.
Dilijan was equally stunning. The forests and mountain ranges were bright green. The views were indescribable.
Dargett Apricot Ale Review:
Good. Pretty good.
We went to Dilijan National Park! The first thing we saw was Parz Lake. Spoilers. It was not parz (clear). There were restaurants, boats, a zipline, and tons of activities. It was too much of a playplace in my opinion. But there were actual hiking trails. We just didn't have the time or the right clothing to go hiking. Overall, nice place but didn’t feel the need to visit again.
We stopped at a couple more spots because I just had to see the nature up close. It was too beautiful.
July 2, 2026
Woke up early in the morning. It’s our last day and I want to finish doing a couple important things. First, a trip to Grand Candy Ponchikanots, for what my brother tells me is the best ponchik I'll ever eat. Gotta get the caramel flavor.
Excellent luck. I came in as they were baking a fresh batch of the caramel ponchiks. It's time to eat what might be the best ponchik I ever eat.
It was fuckin fantastic. Excellent taste. It was hot, freshly baked, but just perfect for eating. Definitely the best ponchik I've had in recent memory. I’m already a huge fan of caramel, so combining it with one of the best desserts is brilliant. Worth coming here again.
They also had a special flavor of the month. Cornelian cherry. Tried that too. It was decent. Not bad even. Curious flavor.
We passed by a smash burger place playing Father Stretch My Hands, so obviously we had to walk in and try Armenia's take on smash burgers since they clearly seemed to be playing the right music.
It was aight lmao. Way too expensive. I enjoyed the music more than the food.
Time to hit up Yerevan's biggest bazaar called Vernissage. It's a lot less grimy than the other one I was at. The one in Gyumri was real af. The one in Yerevan caters to tourists and has more expensive products on offer. But it's a bazaar nonetheless. Let’s explore.
It's pretty neat. Old Armenian books, ceramics, endless jewelry, chess and backgammon boards, traditional clothing, etc. But also, unfortunately, a ton of mass market junk and even some AI garbage. Still, a decent place to walk through.
I got some bartering practice in. I think something in my genes or perhaps some ancestral perk activated within me because I did it without even realizing I was doing it. I wanted a stack of coasters, but they only came in bundles of six. Dude saw me looking, ran up, and started to yammer. "Whachyu looking at, I got it all, this one's high quality, that stack you have in your hand is 6000 dram," so on and so forth. I don't break a sweat. I was like, "You got a stack of twelve or so?" He said, "Well, just get two stacks of six brother." I instinctively said, "True, but the price ain't all that for twelve." Light work, no reaction. He said "Aight then, gimme a good price, something that makes sense, be reasonable and I'll hand it over." This is when I snapped out of the Avatar state and realized I was in the middle of a bargain. I was like, "Hmmm... 8k." He said, "Bruh, I said reasonable." I was like, "Whudya mean, I'm basically paying full price for one stack, and half price for the other." He said, "Then that'd be 9k." I said, "9k." He said, "Done."
And that right there is the art of the deal. Now the fact of the matter is that I still got hella scammed. That shit he was peddling probably cost him 300 dram a stack (less than a dollar). He was still making insane profit. He could've sold each stack for 1k and still made 3x profit. But that's just not how it's gonna go down here. The vendors at this bazaar aren't desperate for sales. If they can't scam one tourist, they'll wait for the next. So I probably got close to as good as I was gonna get. It was still a pleasant bit of entertainment, but it does make the bartering a bit less fun. True bartering is where the real fun happens. When both customer and vendor desperately need the purchase and the sale. There needs to be a weakness that both sides can exploit. That's when it becomes real fun. It's no fun when a video game doesn't have a giant crab with a weak point that you can hit for massive damage. Y'know what I mean?
Went to Tun Lahmajo and had incredible Lahmajo (Armenian pizza). They were fuckin massive. The cheese one was definitely the best I've had. The food came out quick too which was nice.
Last meal with the fam. Sad. But the trip is now coming to a close. We're having our final chats around the table for a couple hours. We have a late night flight.
Holy shit. Ok. Ok. So. I'm a tiny bit drunk but... Holy shit. My grandma dropped some insane lore on me. Andranik Sarkavag. Gata Band. The one and only. HE IS BEST FRIENDS WITH OUR FAMILY!?!? They called him and FaceTimed just to prove it. I TALKED WITH HIM. Oh my god. Holy shit man. He's the guy in this video!!!
He's making a new music video. He got our family’s godfather to be part of it! Look at how hard these pics go.
Bro... I swear imma have him sing at my wedding. Can you imagine? Holy shit.
There was only one thing that I didn't get to do on this trip. I wanted to go stargazing. Just out in the fields in the middle of nowhere. No light pollution. Nothing. But, turns out, not only was the weather and time of year not right, but Armenia also has a decent amount of light pollution now. Even in the remote areas. I'd have to REALLY travel out of the way, for hours, just to see the stars at their full luminance. My dad said that he didn't notice many stars during our entire trip all around the country. Bad timing I guess. Oh well. Next time!
July 3, 2026
The flight back was quite long. I watched The Wild Robot and Nirvanna The Band The Show The Movie. Both were great. I also rewatched School of Rack and Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse. Excellent movies.
Closing Thoughts:
I learned a lot this trip. I got a deeper understanding of who I am and where I’ve come from. I appreciate so many more people. Soon, I will commit myself to making the most detailed family tree my people have ever seen. Something in my bones tells me this task is too important not to take up. I want it done right. The last time someone with my surname made our family tree was ages ago. It doesn’t even have my name on it, and I’m almost 30 now. I need to include the women as well. Their part of the story cannot be forgotten. That being said, I’m happy to be back in the US. For now, I believe that this country is where I should be. My family needs me, my students need me, and I feel most at-home here.
Do I recommend visiting Armenia? It depends. If you are a huge fan of food and nature, then yes. If you are deeply interested in Armenian culture and history, then also yes. Otherwise, probably not. It’s not a flashy place. It’s hard to navigate. The language barrier might be rough (although a decent chunk of the younger generation know how to speak English). But if you want to see and experience some of the things I showed you above, then there’s only one place you’ll find em.
For future travel, there is enough of a connection to send texts using American phone carriers, but the calls only work half the time, and the internet doesn't work in the slightest. Don't pay for any roaming add-ons. None of them will work. You gotta get internet there. Best way to do it is to go to one of the local mobile providers like Ucom and just grab a temporary eSim with unlimited internet for around $15. I believe there is one in the airport. Download Yandex to get taxies anywhere at a great rate. That’s all.
Thank you for reading!