I H8 Tupolev + Armavia

I always wanted to start a web site called "I H8 Air Canada."  But that's another story.

Flying back from Yerevan to Kiev, after spending a day in Nagorno-Karabakh (and a day traveling in each direction to get to Stepanakert and back).  The Yerevan airport has gotten a much-needed new terminal for arrivals, while the crumbling, futuristic departure terminal remains in all its 25th-century splendor.  The word is that it will eventually be abandoned and left to rot - perfect for my planned coffee-table book on Soviet Utopian architecture.  

For some reason, Armavia Airlines herded us all into our Tupolev an hour prior to departure, and there we sat, broiling, without power (hence without air conditioning).  It was at least 36 degrees inside and everyone was suffering, especially me and the guy next to me:  our porthole had no curtains, unlike everyone else's.  And the sun shone off our wing, cooking us.  A Brit sat behind us, telling a mate on his mobile phone, "You would not believe how hot it is on this plane!"  

The road into Karabakh was visually thrilling, although the Armenian road crew insisted on creating roughly 30 kilometers of potholes, filling them in later in the week, perhaps.  So my driver's rims were warped by the time we got to Shusha.  

Will post more about Nagorno-Karabakh in a day or two, but just wanted to express my loathing for broiling Armavia Tupolevs.