The Yandex driver arrive earlier that I had expected, and the pick up point we drove to in record time; it was early and the traffic was non existent. This tour would take me to Geghard Monastery and Garni Temple.

Being early I decide to wait in the park across the road, where I’d finally across a dodgy beggar. He sat next next to me, didn’t speak English, then started to repeat there was a “problem”. He didn’t speak much English, but he sure learned the words “money” and “cash”. Shaking my head, “no cash”, he helpfully pointed in the direction of an ATM. “Bank-o-mat”. Ahh yes, the helpful beggar letting me know when I can get cash out to give him. I pointed to the tour buses behind us, indicated I had go, and quickly made my exit.

Our transport was a Mercedes mini van, with a dozen of us from different nationalities. We had Italian, Serbian, Czech, Austrian, one lad from Hong Kong that looked too young and green to be allowed outside. There was also the Romanian, who loved to get riled up over corrupt governments and the rich destroying society. I’m sure in 5 years time I’ll see him on the news being arrested for blowing up parliament.

First stop we arrived at Geghard Monastery, dating all the way back to 1215. After the spectacular Noravank monastery, this one could never have hoped to beat it. It’s still an impressive building, but what made this visit so interesting was the Chinese group. One was dressed up in some traditional garb, and the several women had bouquets.

Was it a wedding party? They entered into the main church room and put on opera music. The acoustics were incredible in this small stone room, half carved directly into the mountainside. I’m not sure if that’s the reason for the music. Maybe just to demonstrate the acoustics? Maybe it was the wedding song? Regardless, I couldn’t help but appreciate the amazing sound quality.

We briefly stopped by the Singing Stones, where the mountain side is cut into really cool looking tubes from volcanic activity. Apparently this is the same rock formation that makes the Giants Causeway in Ireland.

At the bottom the walkway was a small coffee shop where I tried my first Armenian coffee. And still the best one. Made from a copper brewing tank, cooled in a bed of sand, and simply delicious with a bit of sludge at the bottom.

The highlight of the tour is Garni temple, said to be the easternmost Greco-Roman building dating back to the year 77 under King Tiridates I. It looks glorious, particularly with the mountains and valleys below. It’s just a shame it was devastated by an earthquake 300 years ago, and it wasn’t until the 1970s was it restored. So much of it in fact is restoration, that it can’t be classified as a UNESCO site. Despite it mostly restored, it’s still a beautiful temple.

Next to the temple they’ve excavated a bath house. The genius of it were the three room. One was super heated, like a sauna, the next you’d move into was warm, and the final room only slightly heated, so you’d cool down with each successive room.

It was time for food, and off went we to a prearranged restaurant. The owners gave a demo how they make traditional lavash bread, and passed around pieces for everyone to try. It was, unsurprisingly, delicious. Lavash is basically similar to pita bread, and served everywhere.

Who doesn’t love dumplings? So many countries have their own variation on dumplings, and I ordered the Armenian version. Three giant dumplings arrived and they were… okay. Way too much dough casing, not enough filling. I hope this was just a problem here, as I intend to try all the Armenian dumplings, especially the tiny ones called Manti.

We were back in Yerevan late afternoon, and the final stop for me was the Voodoo Lounge to write up today’s notes. It was a good day with a group of good people, but it was also time to start thinking about my next stop in Armenia, and how to get there.