Ka Pai Kiwis

We were up and away before 7 and made our up to and through the barren hills which is the border to Turkmenistan. The bike was sitting forlornly on a loading dock. We got permission to move it and took it to where we could load it. Mirrors and handgrips twisted and a few rope burns but otherwise intact. Border procedures on both sides were reasonably straightforward, just shelling out money left right and centre but everyone was helpful and professional. Robyn and I were separated for over an hour while I handled the bike stuff. Yay for the first time no bike passport games to play. Thank you to Dick and Diana for the laminating tip. It worked a treat. So I emerged from customs and caught up with Robyn but no guide. The local officials seemed keen for us to leave so we did. The road was deserted and the country hot and barren, temperature well into the 30’s. About 15km down the road we came to a massive checkpoint which is the place where everyone must have their documents che...

After breakfast we headed back to Mohsen’s place to do a little promotional stuff to help him and Hossein with their business enterprises. Just a few pics and a little video. Bojnurd is a very nice town with NO litter. Woohoo. Not too much for the tourist but if you like just wandering and taking in the local scene then it is very nice. We have noticed some subtle changes in the people here. As we have moved closer to Turkmenistan we move into Sunni territory. These people are a minority here and apparently feel a bit neglected, whether real or perceived I am not sure. They are more likely to be practicing Muslims than their Shi’a cousins. This is partly evidenced by most of the women dressed completely in black as opposed to the colourful headscarves in other areas. The people are still friendly enough but maybe not quite as open. There is also a bit less tolerance on the roads. We then set off for Quchin, our last stop in Iran which is about 90km from the border. It is ve...

Today we set of towards Bojnurd a provincial centre. We have heard that our bike will arrive at the Bajgiran border late tonight. We continued to drive through a broad and fertile valley with rice paddies the dominant crop. The valley slowly but surely narrowed and drew us into a steep sided ravine with dense woodland coming close to the road on both sides. Think Haast Pass but warmer. This is the Golestan national park, Home to Brown Bears, Goats, Deer and Jaguars. The road follows a river which bisects the park. It is very picturesque except for the trail of plastic waste lining the road on both sides. It is also a demarcation line for weather with the humid air from the Caspian sea hanging up on these hills and providing the rainfall to support this dense forest.  When we emerge from the park the landscape is very different. Dry and barren but dramatically beautiful. We have arrived in Bojnurd and have made contact with a man called Mohsen Qomi who runs a page...

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...