destination

Dilijan

Today was one of the strangest days of my life... Let me tell you about my adventures in country number 69. I shared an early morning taxi from Tbilisi, Georgia to Armenia with 3 old Russian ladies. I didn't want to go to Yerevan (the capital of Armenia) because it's too far away and I don't have much time. So instead, I decided to visit a tiny town called Dilijan that's hidden in the mountains. After 4 hours, the taxi dropped me off in an impoverished land where nobody spoke a lick of English. I didn't know a single word in Armenian, I didn't have any Armenian currency on me and I didn't do any research for hotels or things to do. This place felt about as foreign as any place has ever felt to me before. After walking around for 30 minutes, I found a sign that says "hotel" so I walked inside. Of course, the lady inside didn't speak English, so we communicated using the 20 Russian words that I know. She was asking for too much money for the room, so I told her that I couldn't afford it. Then, she put me in a car with an old man and said "go." The man took me to a beautiful room in his house for $7USD per night. Boom. There really isn't anything to do here in Dilijan, but that's okay because it's refreshing to be alone in the middle of nowhere for a day. The pristine countryside and green forests surrounding this town are breathtaking. And the people are actually pretty nice. I did find some delicious Khinkali (dumplings with soup and beef inside), and devoured them for the 4th time in 4 days. I also discovered a Monestary from the 12th century, which you can see behind me in this photo.

destination

Dilijan

Today was one of the strangest days of my life... Let me tell you about my adventures in country number 69. I shared an early morning taxi from Tbilisi, Georgia to Armenia with 3 old Russian ladies. I didn't want to go to Yerevan (the capital of Armenia) because it's too far away and I don't have much time. So instead, I decided to visit a tiny town called Dilijan that's hidden in the mountains. After 4 hours, the taxi dropped me off in an impoverished land where nobody spoke a lick of English. I didn't know a single word in Armenian, I didn't have any Armenian currency on me and I didn't do any research for hotels or things to do. This place felt about as foreign as any place has ever felt to me before.After walking around for 30 minutes, I found a sign that says "hotel" so I walked inside. Of course, the lady inside didn't speak English, so we communicated using the 20 Russian words that I know.She was asking for too much money for the room, so I told her that I couldn't afford it. Then, she put me in a car with an old man and said "go." The man took me to a beautiful room in his house for $7USD per night. Boom. There really isn't anything to do here in Dilijan, but that's okay because it's refreshing to be alone in the middle of nowhere for a day. The pristine countryside and green forests surrounding this town are breathtaking. And the people are actually pretty nice. I did find some delicious Khinkali (dumplings with soup and beef inside), and devoured them for the 4th time in 4 days.