YOUNG GERMAN’S WANDERLUST BRINGS HIM TO ARMENIA; A COUNTRY HE NEVER KNEW ABOUT
Mаry Mamyan
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14:03, November 27, 2013
“Chris is a 23 year-old world traveler who has now reached Armenia.
He’s looking for a place to crash this Saturday and Sunday”. This is
what one of his friends wrote in Facebook.
Chris travels the world without money
I decided to met Chris and ask him about his travel plans. The 23
year-old looked like 33 to me, what with his long beard and tired
expression.
It turns out that Chris is an electrician. When his boss gave a
year off from work, Chris decided to fulfill his life’s dream of
travelling the globe. He didn’t have a specific itinerary when he
started out. He just grabbed a large bag for necessities and headed
off. The most important item is his cell phone, which he uses to
speak to friends and connect to the internet. The young man says
‘I go where my feet take me.’
On this trip, Chris has already been to eleven countries, and he says
his favorites are Moldova, Romania and Georgia. Regarding Armenia,
he says he likes the people and the natural landscape.
In Georgia, they told him that Armenians have no emotions
After visiting the Ukraine, Chris wanted to head to Russia, but he
didn’t have a visa. So he went to Georgia, and afterwards, Armenia.
The young German confesses that he only found out about Armenia
while in Georgia. They told him that Armenia was a mountainous and
bleak country where the people have no emotions. Chris told me that
he really likes Armenia and that it’s a beautiful place. He notes,
however, that people here are sad and walk with sullen faces.
“If I ask somebody something, they’re more than happy to help. But
before asking, they have these morose faces,” Chris says and knits
his brows for effect.
Chris jokingly tells me that the first time he stepped into a Yerevan
pub, everyone looked at him with amazement, saying ‘can it be that
Curt Cobain from Nirvana is still alive?’
Chris wants to get a visa to travel to Iran. After going to the
embassy here, they told him he’d have to pay for a visa. Since he
doesn’t have the cash, Chris has changes his plans.
When he’s on the road, Chris decides how long he’ll stay in a country
based on how many days he finds a place to sleep. Thus, he could only
stay in Moldova for two days. In Georgia, where he was put up by a
family, Chris stayed for three weeks.
Chris reminded me of the hero in the Avicii “Wake me up” song. He
sings about not knowing where his travels will end, who hopes to see
the world, but makes no plans. Chris let me in on a secret – that’s
his song on the road.
“I detest capitalism”
“I can make a lot of money working as an electrician, but I don’t
like money,” Chris says. “I can’t understand why people give it
such importance.”
He admits that he can’t hold on to money. If he has it, he spends it.
But he’s decided to start saving after his travels are done in order
to fulfill his next dream – buying a travel bus.
“I detest capitalism,” repeats Chris.
He also wants to start a family to see how a “little Chris” will grow
before his eyes. But all that is a few years down the road.
Chris is pleased that he has been able to travel so far practically
without money, to see different cultures, and get to meet loads of
people. But it’s turned into an obsession, driving him to visit more
countries, to see more.
“To be honest, I been quite discombobulated throughout it all. I
haven’t had time to look back,” he says.
When one of my friends notes that the Germans are known for their
punctuality, Kris gets serious.
“Yeah, the Germans are like that. They need order. Not me. I don’t
know where I’ll be from one day to the next,” he laughs.
Chris really wants to celebrate the New Year holiday in India. From
there, he’s thinking of going to Sri Lanka. The next stop would
be Africa.
The young man with unquenched wanderlust is now in Turkey.
But who knows where he’ll be tomorrow? Your guess is as good as mine.
Photos: From Chris’s Facebook page and archives.