Ka Pai Kiwis

Hello everyone. We are having a wonderful time in Iran. I am keeping the posts up to date but we are unable to add photos so we will save them and flood you with info at a later date. It is probable Turkmenistan will be the same so bear with us. We are back on Facebook thanks to VPN.  

What did I think Iran was like? Islam Mosques everywhere Muezzins call ringing out day and night Angry young men chanting death to America Being looked at with suspicion People praying 5 times a day Mullahs wandering the street making sure people are behaving themselves Police state. Hospitable people ( I have read about this) How many of the above things are true?  I am not sure but I will tell you this from my observations. We have traveled in the North west, north and east as far as Quchan. There are relatively few Mosques in Iran. There is little calling to prayer by the Muezzin that we have heard. Most of the mosques that we have seen in Iran have been built in the last 40 years. The only police we have seen are traffic police. Not sure who the guy in the SUV was. ( see Cars of Iran post) It seems that only a small minority of Iranians are practicing Muslims. They practice Shi’a Islam here, most of the rest of the Muslim world are Sunni. So when the mulla...

Yay only 100km today. Last night I heard the muezzin call to prayer for the first time since being in Iran. Islam is not as big here as I had expected, however the influence of the Islamic regime is everywhere. A very pleasant drive through a predominantly rural area, with crops of rice, tobacco, tomatoes etc. It is very hot so we have checked in to our hotel where we will rest for the afternoon before venturing out when it is cooler. The internet is not so good here and many sites are restricted. No Facebook or Stuff or BBC. If I search for news on Google I can get to some sites, ironically news sites ( and I use the term loosely) like CNBC are easy to see. I have found Reuters though. We ventured out about 5 and found somewhere to eat. We then visited the towns main attraction, a large brick tower dating back 1000 years. Quite an unusual sight and it is a world heritage site. It acted as a beacon on the original silk road route, it is 62 metres high and very distinctiv...

I thought I would write a special post about this as it is unusual and I think interesting Approved cars to be sold here for private use must be white, grey or black in colour By far, probably 95% are white, maybe 4% grey and a few black ones. There is the odd coloured car but they are rare and privately imported at huge cost apparently. Taxis are yellow Airport taxis are pale yellow Tradies get to drive utes, all the same brand (Zamyad) and all the same bright blue Colspec have a branch here So does Lews Creative Flooring.  There are not too many motorcycles but the Honda 125 is the dominant one There are police bikes, they look like they might be 250 or so. This might explain why we aren’t allowed to ride ours! Most of the trucks are old and look Russian with the occasional old Mack as well. Mercedes trucks are well represented but all are old. There are small vans that look like the Russian Trabant By far the most common cars are wh...

We have our phones working but we cannot access Facebook or our usual sources of news like Stuff or BBC. We can use whats app and Instagram. We are staying in private apartments. We don’t prebook accommodation, when we get to a town there are men in the side of the road with signs, we approach them and inquire about their apartment, if it sounds suitable they show it to us and the deal is done. Usually basic but functional and more room than a hotel. I began the day with a swim in the Caspian Sea. It is actually a freshwater lake but it is huge. Unfortunately to get to the sea I had to cross a band of plastic, I’m not sure if this is Iranian or washed ashore from other countries but I suspect a combination of both. Litter in Iran is terrible and an awful blot on an otherwise beautiful landscape. I cannot imagine how much plastic there must be in that body of water. We are travelling along a narrow strip of land between the Aborz mountains and the Caspian sea. It is largely ...

We woke up to clear and beautiful day with crisp mountain air. This village is built into a steep sided valley and reminds us very much of the Khumbu villages of Nepal. We lined up with locals for bread, which is a flat bread straight from the oven. The oven is like a commercial gas fired pizza oven except instead if a conveyor it has a rotating table. Simple and clever. Breakfast consisted of this bread and lentil soup in a tiny family run cafe. As per usual we made friends with an extended family and took lots of family photos. They are genuinely friendly and interested in us. Some of them love the opportunity to practice their English. Shortly after we hit the road and stopped to take photos of a tea plantation all beautifully ordered rows and perfectly clipped. I wasn’t expecting to encounter this until India. We then stopped in Fuman and bought SIM cards. We had to present our passports, sign the document in two places and then we were prese...

It seems funny being on someone else’s timetable but for the next two weeks we are. Out the door at 7:30 and breakfast at a nearby hotel. On the road by 8. Long day today. We have done almost 600ks, it is 9:30 and we are knackered. The van is ok but not exactly plush. Some Chinese brand with apparently Mitzi running gear but at almost 400000ks its a bit loose. The countryside is amazing and varied with a mosaic of farmlands with areas of different crops and some areas ploughed and waiting for seed. Then up an over a mountain range with more crops and then a desert like landscape of incredible colours and textures. The photos and and phone number requests continue every time we stop for tea or to visit an attraction. I said to Robyn, I hope these people don’t think we are someone famous, they will be sadly disappointed.   Our first stop was Zanjan where we visited a mosque and a bazaar which was very cool, literally due to the clever ventilation of the corr...