Each of these photographs was taken on my stupidly lengthy commute home yesterday, a two hour trip that is usually around forty minutes. Lately it feels as if the city is constantly coated in traffic, an inability to get anywhere by car, both within and outside of the city of Yerevan. I hate this, and for the most part it has led to me just not going out as much knowing how long it'll take to get anywhere. For extra context, Yerevan's metro system is outdated, it is a very small single line that doesn't really extend out of the city even to the more residential areas that have held quite historical density. Transport isn't usually the city's main problem though. Combine car reliance with small streets and few entrances and exits into Yerevan, and recent protests, and you have roads completely still for stupidly long periods of time. I took these photographs out of sheer boredom, stuck on the bus, watching it barely move, seeing the tiredness his the rest of the poor souls onboard with me as their faces began to droop a little and their eyes closing with every moment that passed. I always just sit and look out of the window, sometimes I'll do some things on my phone, but I'm not one to really pay much attention to my phone when I'm outside, I try to avoid it and stick with the observational skills that hone that photography a little more.
I pointed the camera out of the window, that 85mm focal length coming in incredibly handy. The girl next to me so bored that I noticed even she started to look into the LCD screen of the camera as I had to hold it at certain angles that just made it so clear I was losing my sanity on the bus and trying to find something to do. Pointing it at all things I possibly could. Fortunately it wasn't as warm as it has been lately, and windows were open on the bus. Sitting still wasn't the worst of the ride, surprisingly.
I'd say the worst of the ride was the two hours of car horns we all had to endure. I can't stand this side of driving. I hate car horns with passion. There's no peace to any city when all you hear are car horns filling every space with noise. The endless rage of the impatient that assume that spreading noise into the air may result in getting home a few seconds faster. It doesn't. Usually I'm hearing the car horns from the unfortunate perspective of a pedestrian. Someone walking through the city or sitting in what should be a comfortable environment like a cafe. Imagine being hot, surrounded by strangers, and hearing car horns all around you. Not exactly the most fun place to be. I could tell that those around me were also starting to find stress in this, the huffing away at each horn, sighs of frustration and tiredness. I tried to just keep myself busy by looking out of the window, desperately trying to find something interesting to watch and photograph to pass the time. A little bit of concern thinking that the frustrated drivers may notice the camera was felt, so I ensured I avoided putting it near people's windows, not wanting to catch unwanted attention.
Some people were even exiting their cars and taking a few steps ahead of the traffic to see how far it went. It was that still at parts. I saw unique buildings, birds flying in their own chaotic fashion, though with more freedom than us. Mass crowds stood almost like statues while waiting for a bus that would be stuck way off in the distance. Few conversations taking place as it seemed many had already exhausted their general day-to-day topics. Now reduced to looking into the horizon or finding something on their phones.
Every time it felt as if we were gaining some movement, we'd be stuck again. Bus drivers yelling from across the street at each other to spread information on what was going on, possible detours that could lead to faster routes to escape the city. None of them really worked as everyone had the same idea. We took a route we don't usually take, and it led to a road almost entirely closed off with police blocking it, directing traffic through certain routes. Likely a mixture of the usual traffic control as well as the protests that had been taking place, I had previously managed to learn that these protests had taken another direction: sleeping on streets. Leading to tents and many groups of people sitting idle overnight on busy roads. I understand their frustrations with the government, a clearly corrupt group of individuals, but what happened to inconveniencing the government? What happened to the dismantling of their side of society, and not just the common folk that just want to get home? To no surprise, those who are causing the problems sit in luxury already, they aren't on the bus attempting to go home after a long day. Perhaps I have a more upfront, not-so-healthy perspective on politics. In my opinion, every politician is evil and protests are waste of time unless you're quite literally entering their homes. That's probably enough on that before I end up deported for some extremist ideologies, however!
Jokes aside, this was the worst commute I have experienced since I arrived here. Things certainly feel a bit more hostile as of late, and not in the sense that the people display it, but that the city and its outer areas are just in a state of instability, as if the structure has been removed. No longer is there order. Power cuts, poor Internet, and damaged roads.
Thankfully I had the camera with me. It made the ride back a bit more tolerable. And I think I took a few fun shots with it, a little bit of everything. And met with a lot of thoughts as I pointed that lens out of the window, slowly watching environments change and grow into something else. A lot of things to consider.