Armenia : Crossing the Border from Georgia

I checked first before even thinking of going across the border --- do I need a visa to go to Armenia? The answer is --- No. Its visa-on-arrival for Filipinos in Armenia.

So off we went, lugging our bags to the Avlabari metro station. Just right across the station, there are numerous marshrutkas with the Tbilisi-Yerevan placards in front. The cars are very comfortable and usually newer Mercedes models, it seats 5 -6 persons comfortably. 

We were just right on time, the car was filling up already although the driver told us to come back and we will leave by 1pm (we were still waiting for 2 senior gentlemen who had pre-booked their seats and must be a regular on this route as the driver seems to know them quite well).

The border crossing from the Georgian side was quite straightforward, you get off from the car and take all your bags with you then pass through immigration for the exit stamp. Seeing my Philippine passport though gained me a few questions about what I am going to do in Armenia and they probably don't encounter a lot of Filipino tourists heading through this border as they seem not to know about that Filipinos get visa on arrival in Armenia.

Anyhow, it got sorted out quickly. My travel buddy, Chatru, got through quickly as he has a US visa stamp in his passport (hmmm, might as well get one also later lol).

It took more time at the Armenian side of the border, except for the immigration officer at the visa office (who is very friendly and smiling), none of the border guards and immigration officers seems hospitable and welcoming --- nobody cracks a smile. Is this a requirement for border guards? --- you cannot smile or look happy lol.

Tbilisi to the Armenian capital of Yerevan takes only about 5 - 6 hours but the ride was a bit slow-going and we made one stop for a cup of coffee in a petrol station in the middle of nowhere (it surprisingly has wifi!).

We finally arrived in downtown Yerevan past 7pm, the driver was kind enough to let us off near our hotel so we don't have to walk around lugging our heavy bags.