Day 7 (July 5, 2023): Armenia > Abu Dhabi > Uzbekistan

It’s hard to imagine that our time in Armenia has come to an end already.  It’s a country that we’ve come to admire greatly since our arrival here four days ago.  It’s not just the food, the sites, and the kind people, it’s also the fact that - despite oppression from so many kingdoms and countries for centuries, including the Turks and the Soviets — continues to survive and thrive.  It’s people are fiercely proud, and they see a bright future for Armenia.  

We woke up at 5AM in our sprawling Marriott Tsaghkadzor suite and at 6:30AM, the front desk handed us nicely-compiled breakfast bags and we jumped in a taxi to Yerevan Airport, arriving there just over an hour later.  There was shockingly no traffic in Yerevan at all, despite the morning rush hour.

We checked in for our Wizzair flight to Abu Dhabi, cleared customs and security with no issues, and our flight left exactly on time.  Arriving in Abu Dhabi a bit ahead of schedule, the landscape was sand-beige and the temperature a whoppin’ 37 Celsius!  As Wizzair only does point-to-point flights, we had to pass through customs, claim our bags and recheck-in for our Wizzair flight onward to Tashkent.  With a four-hour stopover, we were happy to have access to a nicely air-conditioned lounge to while away the time.

The afternoon passed fairly quickly, we ate well, caught up on some things, and at 5 PM we were on a bus to our next Wizzair flight, which was parked at a remote stand. The flight left and arrived on time. But wow, it was a cultural experience, that’s for sure. For one thing, only about 20% of the passengers were female. It’s definitely a man’s world here.

We had been warned that customs is a disorganized affair in Uzbekistan and that it can take up to three hours. However, we were through it all in minutes. We got our bags, got a SIM card, ordered a taxi via our app, and were at our Courtyard by Marriott hotel in no time. Tomorrow morning, we have an early train to our first city in this Uzbekistan tour: Samarkand. 

The beautiful low mountains of the Armenian countryside, en route from Tsaghzadvor to Yerevan this morning

You might not particularly like the brutalist Soviet stylings of it, but at least the Soviets invested heavily in statues.  Take this one, along the Armenian Highway (Armenia’s equivalent to Canada’s ‘TCH’) from Tsaghkadzor to Yerevan this morning.

In the country where Christianity first started its spread outside the ‘Holy Land’, there are so few churches, for reasons explained in the entry for Day 3.  So forgive me for posting another couple of examples of churches that we spotted enroute from Tsaghkadzor to Yerevan this morning.

Examples of the incredible building boom happening in Yerevan.  The influx of Russians escaping the clamp-down and the pressure to serve in the military, and the return of many from the Armenian diaspora to Yerevan are key factors behind the building boom.  The average Armenian, however, is being priced out of the market.  While many Armenians bought out their apartment in the old Soviet apartment blocks in the early years after the fall of Communism for a song (the saying back in the 90’s was, “Give me a plane ticket and I’ll give you my apartment.”), the cost of an apartment in the new buildings is roughly $1500 USD per month.  Many Armenians are claiming that the influx is pushing prices for everything so high, they cannot afford to live in Yerevan anymore.

From our drive through Yerevan this morning enroute to the airport, here are three more examples of the statues erected by the Soviets.

The Armenian Erthquake of December 7, 1988 was one of the country’s most disastrous, killing an estimated 38,000 people and injuring up to 131,000 more.  Armenia’s second-largest city, Gyumri, was basically flattened.  This large panel was recovered from Gyumri after the quake and was restored and hangs in the Yerevan Airport, a poignant reminder of the destruction of 1988.

Our Wizzair Airbus A321-Neo (‘next generation’) arriving from Abu Dhabi, with a stunning view of Mount Ararat in the background.

The landscape changed dramatically from the green, mountainous terrain of Armenia to the sand-beige of the United Arab Emirates, upon descent into Abu Dhabi.

Abu Dhabi’s very unique control tower.

Abu Dhabi’s old Terminal 1 building has these iconic domed waiting areas at each gate.


It may look a bit 1980s, but this golden beehive look in Abu Dhabi’s Terminal 1 shopping district is quite stunning to behold.

Abu Dhabi’s new terminal is just about complete but stands empty for now. I bet it has that “new airport smell”! 😊


Beautiful colours and textures of the Persian Gulf, after take-off from Abu Dhabi. 

Mountains of Iran

Tashkent’s international airport. We were expecting something somewhat ramshackle, based on Lonely Planet’s description of it as “an annoying place”. So we were surprised to see such a modern facility. You can learn a lot about a place from its international airport!  (The very kind and friendly customs officer told me the new airport opened two years ago.)

“We’re not in Kansas anymore, Toto!”

The Marriott corporation is treating us very well on this vacation. When we arrived at our upgraded suite on the top floor of the hotel tonight, this welcome gift was waiting for us. This never happens to me in Canada.