Welcome to Iran!

So at the end my travels have taken me through the cities that most of the tourist visit. I attach a map so that you see where I went geographically. Unfortunately as I previously said, I had to go up and down the country to be at different points at specific times. However each bus ride was an adventure, meeting someone new. In all I was in Masoule, Tehran,Kashan (between Esfahan and Tehran) Abyaneh (next to Kashan), Esfahan,Yazd and Shiraz (and Persepolis). In addittion other travelers tend to visit Kerman and Mashad, and if they have extra time the caspian cost. On arrival visas are for two weeks, but if you get it in th embassy it generally is for 30 days with one entry, but it can relatively easily be extended in the country. When traveling through the countries there are different kind of buses which are very cheap. However you can also take VIP buses, as I did from Shiraz to Tehran (13 hours) and you have a fully reclined seat.
These bus costed me 22 dollars for 1,000km and the non VIP one was 13 dollars. At the end of the day if you have a lonely planet you are keen to meet the few tourists that there are in the country in the same hostels. Amir Kabir in Esfahan and Silkroad in Yazd.

The meaning of Randomness

Once back home I will post the itineary that I have done. Due to the multiple times that I had to be at a place on a specific day I have been doing a lot of up and down of certain routes, but so far I have enjoyed myself and have bearly been alone. In fact I think the most time you can spend in Iran without talking to anyone is 8 hours (sleeping time).

As previously said the magic about this place is that you wake up without knowing who you will meet and what will happend. My last day in Esfahan before heading to Shiraz I was meant to meet Reihaneh, but unfortunately she was quite bussy. In the hope of not being followed I chose peak hour to go to the main square and buy my ticket to Shiraz. On the way there I met my roommate Albin in the internetcafe said hi and left. Took a walk around the square and while i was having my delicious icecream I saw Albin pass by again and we took a walk in the square. Then as I thought the day would be boring Zainab called as she had a friend of a friend who was going to reherse his typical iranian music with a group in his house and invited me to join the practice. A random girl called me to tell me the time and place his friend would pick me up. So Albin and I just headed over there. The music was spectacular, the appartment was very big full of carpets and it was simply great time. The hours of most heat we spend them in that house listening to some fantastic music. Albin made some MP3s which I hope to get one day and put them here. Later we headed for the tea shop with marvelous views of Immam Square and sat there for 2 hours drinking tea as he waited for someone to pick him up and I watied for Reihaneh. Since she didnt appear I headed back to the hotel to get my luggage and together with Julen Camila traveled to Shiraz in a quite unconfortable bus.

Already the 19th of June!!

mosque,mosque and more mosque

Esfahan, bridge at night

Time for a haircut

The magic about this trip is that you wake up in the morning and have no idea how the day will go and what you will do, for the best and for the worst. Yesterday was a chaotic day, celebrations, hairdresser, eyebrows done in iranian style, buying a new cell phone and heading to the hospital in the middle of the night (im fine!).

So in 24h I woke up and realized we were not 3 but 4 in the room. I quickly realized the fourth person was someone who had been with me in Yazd, I told her I was heading to the hairdresser, and she joined me too. Got a proper haircut, im finally over my two colour hair, my hair is short and back to one colour. Or at least I think so. I spend the day with a headscarf on so I have not been able to admire my new hair cut too much.

In fact the hairdresser was downstairs in a hidden place so people coming through the street could not see the hair of the women. We arrived and there was one person working....we arrived at 11 and by the time my eyebrows and hair were done and her hair and facial done it was around 3.30 !! It was intresting some other girls that were there were getting their entire face waxed, including cheaks. I had never seen that before! I had seen arms, moustache, bear but cheaks?? interesting! To go to the toilet we had to go to the street so 2 minutes after having blown dry my hair I was putting again a headscarf to go to the street and go to the toilet. Quite an interesting scene. The hairdresser had a tantop and you could see a lot of her breasts. When we told her to show us the toilet she had to cover herself completely up... it seemed all so illogical, for simply 2 seconds of crossing the street.

Later we headed for some lunch in a big empty hotel/restaurant. They said they were closed but I still managed to get a salad (FINALLY!) and some Kubide Kebab...it was good. Later I asked the guy where I could buy a new phone and with iranian hospitality he even drove me to the street where there are all the phone shops. I got the basic of the basic Nokia phone, with arabic writing (and romanic too) in the keypad! So at least I got something that will look original back home. And despite the guy kindness to drive us there and talk to us, there it came...are you single? I was not very assertive by saying hmmm not really. So how old are you? And then it came again later and in a more secretive tone, so are you single? No Im not single. Whatever thing to keep someone away... buff!!! Im not going to tell them im married, but at least that I have a boyfriend because I am fed up of being followed during long time in the streets. Im fine with comments of 1 second and stares, but being followed is another thing. This is the only thing that leaves a bitter taste of my trip and it is mens attitude towards women. You start having doubts and second thoughts about what are their real intentions, and what they want from you.I have heard quite a few bad stories already from girls traveling around, and I am hoping not to spend too much time alone in the coming days because I do not want to leave with this impression of this country. This is really the only thing that has made my stay a bit bitter, for the rest I have had so far amazing food, amazing welcomings in people homes and great experiences, I just wish at some points I could walk alone without having a men following me or 3 motorcycles driving at 5km/h besides me. Nevertheless Iran is a must vist country for any person in this planet!

So it turns out that there is some kind of insects running around our hotel in Esfahan. So my roomate asked for a change of rooms. Still at 3am she woke me up because she couldnt sleep her entire face was blown up, specially the eye so we headed in search for a hospital. The taxi driver even came with us, and to see the doctor and later took us to the pharmacy and then back. The situtaiton on her face has not improved that much, hopefully will during the day. So hospital in Laos and in Iran are done. Seems like I will add this as a visit in all my countries! The doctor spoke good english and the service was good. They told us they didn't have the medication there, but after a bit of asking we were able to get the injection in the same hospital from the emergency room!! I have seen that you have to ask and plee and look desperate to get things sometimes... lesson learned!!

A quick update

Drinking tea the iranian way, Zainab

Hello,

I want to let you all know im doing great. I have met some amazing travelers in the past days, following the silkroad from europe to Asia, doing year long trips.Please check out one of the blogs of one of the personsI have met www.julica.com amazing! In the meanwhile, I have been left in the middle of a highway by a bus,checked out to check in 8 hours later on the same hotel,eaten some supposately sheep head which turned out to be fatty sheeps toes. Met a guy that knows the lonley planet writer and who travels during years and simply does some scubbadiving lessons 3 months in a year to earn money. And last but not least I have written my first Farsi sentences! Im proud! To add to it, I had some more Kebab and I went into the roof of a bazaar and many houses, to feel like in the movies. I promise descriptions and pictures soon. Some wonderful that are coming to an end soon. One of the best trips in my life.

Yazd

All the time trying to edit a couple pictures simply to rezise them and no luck so ... this is it! Today has been a day around Yazd and the sorrounding towns of Chak Chak Meybod Haranaq. Beautiful views around, the desserted never ending plateaus with some mountains. Ill ty to post picture, but a picture that doesnt explain anything. The problem is that we couldnt enter into Chak Chak as there was a Zorotrostian festival and we werent allowed in. However, we spend the day from 8.30 until 6 pm outside with a driver that took us everywhere and also with the iranian hospitality skills booked us tickets for tommorrow to move on to other cities. So so far it was great!! This is one of those trips compared to others that are really without plans. I mainly knew the words Tehran,Shiraz,Yazd and Esfahan and I am planning things as it goes. In a way this is great way of travel, all I wish is that I had free time for a never ending trip. Also,since I have to go back to Esfahan im doing a few detours, but if not the trip is going great. This is a passageway from Turkey/Europe to Asia and Im meeting people crossing towards turkmenistan,uzbekistan etc witht he goal of arriving to South East Asia, so that sounds so great!!! Wish I could be doing some of those trips. I was with two guys these days and today conversation was around which countries have the best foods in the world,which has the worst. Its great to be having lunch and discussing what can be done in Mongolia, what is the best about Turkey and where to go next. And yes, I admit I am already thinking of my next destination. for the next holidays... which many of you probably can guess where it will be.

The bible of Travelers

(this post got deleted and i had to rewrite it..grr!)

Imagine a library a few days before an exam. Everybody with the same postits, same books, same highlighters and everyone nervous. I have traveled around, and one thing nobody ever leaves home is a guidebook. However, every place I have gone each person brings the guidebook in their own language, edition and publishing house. However in Iran its like in the library, in the dorms I am staying at 20 minutes before going to bed everyone takes out a book Lonley Planet Iran, and starts reading. You can know where people are heading too depending on the page they are at, it is in the middle of the guidebook with a map on the top left page and with a small square in the bottom right describing the culture of the country. You start to discuss about a place, and you just describe it as you forgot the name, but someone shouts, oh yeah that is... page 261 first paragraph. Its worse than in the library, you all read the same, hightlight the same, and dont leave the hostel without that in your pocket but while reading it you are happy and study it more in depth than those finance books back home! All of the few tourists around here stay at the our pick hotels of the lonley planet or the ones next to them in case the our pick arent the greatest. So you know where to find the tourists. When you call to arrange for a guide the guy replies " Im bussy, but call the guy below me on the lonley planet he should be free and has better rates" later the guide takes you to a place and as he sees you looking through the book comments " this place is not in the lonley planet but..." In otherwords, if you own or are running anything related with tourism in Iran and you are not in the lonley planet you are nobody! So far I have found tons of copies of lonley planet Iran in Esfahan and Yazd, pictures above! And even better the guy sitting next to me has the copies of lonley planet digital in his computer. Unfortunately they are too large, wish I had them with me!! Lonely Planet the bible of all travelers in Iran. Im waiting to go home and check what was that second guide I thought about buying. Im happy I went for Lonley Planet or id be talking a different language than everybody else in this country!

Yazd

Im in Yazd!!! And its quite quite hot!! We are 39, and they were at 42 yesturday. I visited the old town this morning with another dutch and australian guy and now just chilling under the fan!!! This afternoon when the sun chills out Ill go out again. Yazd is very nice, houses are build on mud , and there are small alleys in which you can get lost. As we were walking by the Amir Chamique Mosque a guy opened us the lock and let us in, let us up to the roof where you had views of the entire city.... above is a pic of me on the roof by the dome of the mosque with the view of the city. Many pics are of the same day thus the same clothing, but do keep in mind that my shower at night involves also washing my cloths :) Tonight walking through the bazaar and then tommorrow near Yazd!

Pictures!!!!

I got my hands on a computer with an SD reader!! Now I must only reduce a couple of them

Woman in Yazd that I met in a Mosque

Pots, pots and more pots in Yazd..

Jolfa, armenian quater in Esfahan.

Things dont change!!!

Be it South East Asia or be it the Middle East:

"Where are you from?"
"Spain"
"Ahhh gooodd foootballl Real Madrid or Barcelona?"
"Barcelona!!!"
Before the reply was RONALDINHOOOOOO now its LIONEL MESSI and GUARDIOLA...!!!

I like it!!! Except in Esfahan I still saw a picture of Ronaldinho with a Barcelona TShirt! :)

When things go wrong

Things go wrong sometimes....but then its a matter of making them go right!!!
Out of all the days today could of have been the worst one, and it hasnt even been that bad. That to say that Iran overall continues to seem to me as quite a safe country. I walked out of the Hotel in Esfahan today and went for a walk towards Immam Square, chequed out the shops, mosques and went back to Fereni Hafez to eat some fereni...delicious rice flour, milk, sugar and rose water with date syrup. Simply delicious. Later in the Mosque I met a guy, he seemed odd. I took 1000 pictues while he asked me questions, I was quite cold. Changed my zoom, rechanged my zoom and he wanted to take a pic of me with my SLR, but he just seemed everything but trusty. So I said no. Later he wanted to take a pic of me with his phone so I said NO and walked out of the mosque. I chequed out all the shops around the area and there was still 1 hour till I meet Reihaneh when suddenly, there he was following me!!! I dont know if he had been following me for 1h without me knowing or if we simply had rebumped into eachother. I dont get it, here guys follow you infront, which is simply dumb. They walk, they stop they walk they stop. This has happened to me multiple times, but it hadnt happened yet in such an obvious and long way as today. I tried hidding but he kept finding me, screw it. I called my friend to know when we were meeting. I looked at him and he knew I knew he was following me. I started going through the spices bazaar which I was quite intresting but I was getting nervous cuz he kept following me and in that area it was only woman, so I didnt want to go there. I went backwards when up to him and I looked at his face and said ENOUGH, this is ENOUGH stop FOLLOWING ME. At that point he pretended not to understand english, while in the mosque he spoke english. I think my tone made it quite clear that it was enough... I walked to a shop and then a guy there who had said hi to me before said hi again and asked if I was waiting for someone (i passed around 10 times around the shop, so he thought it was strange). I told him I was waiting for Reihaneh and in addittion someone was following me. So he said, no problem just stay in my shop until the guy goes away. After 45 minutes Reihaneh came and I left... I missed the Spice Bazaar but luckily im going back to Esfahan soon.

The day continued with my arrival in Yazd. I couldnt see a taxi terminal and there were a bunch of people saying taxi taxi. Not following my own and my friends adivce I got into one of them.... the taxi had no official logo nothing. He simply said the name of the hotel I wanted to go to, so I thought yeah Ill just get in it. I got in it, and as we were driving I had the feeling he was doing wierd things. I thought the hotel was near the station and we were driving for a while. I called Reihaneh and told her I was in the taxi and to call me back in 10 minutes to make sure I made it. But the driver kept driving and he spoke no english. I asked how far Se Kilometers?? (3 kilometers??) he said, no 10. I felt unease, according to the guide the hotel wasnt that far. So I suddenly saw a junction and police and I made the taxi stop. I took all my luggages out of the taxi and went to talk to the police. In no time I had 10 guys who spoke no englihs surrounding me and one arrived who spoke english and told me the driver was very known. How sure was that??? The police man seemed to say it was OK to go with that driver so yeah... I just went onwards. The taxi driver called the hotel so I would relax and made me talk to t owner to tell him I was on my way...At the end I ended paying more than I told him I would, but fine. I guess better be secure than get a taxi that takes you god knows where!! At the end I made it sound and safe and I have my bed in my dorm in Yazd.

Masuleh - Qa'l eh Rudkhan Traveling with Students

Qa'l eh Rudkhan



Traveling with the students


These entries are not in chronological order.

After two days in Tehran I decided it was time to get out of the bussy city, and I was assuming I would go back there at the end of the trip. So I decided to go to Masuleh. I had heard it was one of the most beautiful cities of Iran. I took a bus to Rash and there I had a cab waiting to take me to Masuleh 1 hour ride, 15 dollars. Id definatively be saving money would I be traveling with someone else, but hey who cares! its now or never! So Masuleh is a small village in the middle of the mountains. We left Tehran and it was all very dry with some mountains with no trees, suddenly we started to go through greener areas which were more hilly and suddenly I look and its full of rice pads. Who would have said there would be rice around that area! I thought Iran was all dessert and dry! It was great! We also crossed a huge lake and a city which sold olives, olives and more olives. With the cab we started going up the mountain through a road, he started changing gears and suddenly he stoped in a placed where you saw nothing. I walked a bit and I saw the town. Masuleh was beautiful, the roof of one house was the street of the next. Its in the steep mountains and it has everything a town needs, the bazaar, supermarket, tourist shops, people rent out rooms. So I rented one out for one evening. I also took tons of pictures and found a small waterfall near the town. Afterwards I just sat, had a tea and started writting. . .

As I was writting a bunch of people sat by me and I saw that the girls were looking at me. It was late, and yeah I just focused on my writting. I wanted to go the next day to Qa'l eh Rudkhan a castle in the middle of the mountains near Masuleh. Suddenly I realized I couldnt go there as at night I wanted to go to Esfahan and I couldnt hike the 1 hour hike to the castle with my 12 kilos backpack :( damn it... oh well I realized id spend the entire day bored in Masuleh. And as I was thinking and writing one person from the group approached me "sorry can i ask u a question?"
We started talking and it turned out they were students of soil science in the university in Tehran who were on a 1 week trip. They told me the next day they were going to Qa'l eh Rudkhan and I could join them. I thought it was a great idea. They were waiting for the woman to open the door of the place they had rented...but the woman was taking for ages. One of the girls in the trip, there were 3 guys 6 girls and the professor (who spoke perfect english) was from a village nearby and her family had cooked dinner for them so they invited me to join them. The dinner was AMAZING!!!! I wasnt even that hungry, but I ate so much.... We all sat in the floor - as is the style im following since I arrived and we ate, next day woke up at 7.30 met at 7,45 and at 8 we were on the road to the castle to see the castle. Singing and dancing in the car, it was great!!! We hiked and hiked and I was sweating, I was the last one up there!heheheh but you know with a headscarf and a long sleeves hiking is just not the same haha. We saw the castle which was amazing. In the entire day I saw 0 tourists. Lets say I have only seen 10 since the beginning of my trip!! And on the way down we finished up the dinner form the previous night. I had so much fun, it felt like I had known them for ages. They were going to leave me in a near by village and I was going to take a taxi to another village and then the 1 bus that leaves to Esfahan. However the professor proposed I go with them to Tehran and I take the bus from there since there are many more. I did so.... he called his secretary to reserve me a ticket!!! As we arrived in Tehran he invited me to his house and I had dinner with his wife and two sons and later he took me to the bus stop and made sure the driver would let me know 20 min before arrival to Esfahan that we were there. The trip was simply amazing, the people so much fun and the views magnificent. Im running out of adjectives, but it was a great day . At 11pm I got on the bus and at 4am I arrived in Esfahan!!

Here are a couple pictures that Mostafa, one of the guys took of us.
Please dont mind my dressing style I bought this in the bazaar in Tehran as I realized something that I had bought in Spain didnt cover my ass and thus wasnt too appropriate!


Some of them, the fifth from the left is the professor and yeah im the witch on the right.

One more day in Esfahan

In Esfahan I found Yuki and Miwa again from Tehran so we exchanged eachother the pics we had taken on m first day there when we had spend the day with Hossein. Here is one of me and Miwa in Hossein house taking notes on what he was telling us! :)

They are heading back to Tehran tommorrow and im going to go to Yazd. Esfahan is a beautiful city, with impressive bridges crossing the Zayandeh River. Even better is the Imam square by day and by night with the imam mosque and the Ali Qapu Palace which are beautiful!!! The pictures will come once I get home and can get them onto a computer. I dont know how many times I have been in that square in the few days that I have been here. I have established myself in the hostel where all lonley planet travelers go and from here I will be traveling up and down to multiple cities. I wanted to go to a dessert village described as having 160 people and 2 camels but I called and they said its too hot to go and its closed due to sickness...so forgeting about that option! Today I have been to the armenian quater Jolfa and seen a beautiful church of Bethlehem - no pictures allowed. All the walls where painted with detail and precision and it was beautiful. Many mosques are painted in turquoise and lighted by night, you just want to sit and look. Immam square yesturday was full of people having their picknick on the grass, guys and girls playing with balls, motorcycles going around, shops selling icecream and as in all cities carriages with horses going around. However these carriages seem to have their magic. The best is that everybody does their thing, playball,go with motorbike etc super fast and yet no one seems to be bumping into eachother.

My main worry at this point is what will I do when I go back home and I cant eat iranian food. Im ready to search for iranian restaurants the day I get home. The food is simply delicious, I have had such varied food, from eggplants,garlics,olives,meet,kebab HEILEHUP (delicious...however that is writen in Farsi!)

As you can imagine yesturday everything was closed because it was Friday, thus weekend. Like a sunday back home, all the shops closed. People insist I look from here and ask me questions in Farsi, I stare at them :) Afterall this culture is close to ours, eating times are late shops close in the middle of the day and driving isnt like Holland. I think in Spain we would drive like in iran if it wasnt for the fact that the point system is freaking people out!! Saeed was trying to drive Dutch Style in Esfahan. He started using the yellow light to change lanes, he didnt beep at the people crossing the street etc, it was funny but it didnt really work :)

Today is the 1 year aniversary of the elections and they had said maybe something might be going on. On TV they announced they did not want groups of more than 2 people walking in the streets as they were scared people would do protests, but I have seen very little police in the streets and no real problems. They had also said that if protests would go on then they would cut phone lines and internet, but luckily all is under control.

Iranian hospitality has no limits

The hospitality of the people in this country doesnt have limits and its hard to describe it.
Basically you cant spend more than 24 hours alonewithouthaving an interesting conversation with one person or another.

For instance the receptionist in the hotel in Tehran, Mr. Mousavi, By mail he already offered to do a pick up in the airport for me , and then while having lunch eh would make sure that the BBC was on and that I would have access to the english written newspaper. He also sold me a sim card for my phone and took all the possible actions within the next 72 hours until my phone got unblocked and fully working. He organiszed all my trip bybus to Rash where he organized a taxi for me to Masuleh. He called me on the way to Rash to make sure I was arriving, then he called the taxi then he made sure I got on the right taxi, then he told the taxi where to go. I wanst sure if that was the right taxi. He told me it was taxi 115 but i couldnt see the number. Keep in mind they dont use our alphabet, so i didnt want to do a 1h ride with the wrong taxi. I didnt get into it until Mousavi talked to him and confirmed that was the right car.

He reserved me a place with his friend in Masuleh, all of this involved tons of phone calls for which he shouldnt even have helped. And im not talking about a 5 star hotel in Tehran, but a small hotel in the south of Tehran by the bussy Amir Kabir street. To add to it he wrote everything down in a paper for me in english and in Farsi so that I wouldnt get lost.

I had my breakfast with delicious rose jam ohhhhhhhhh that was so so so good!!! I then eat an egg and start caughing so so hard and i hear someone go AB AB AB .. and it took me a few seconds to realize that they were saying WATER WATER...the watier comes with a glass of water a minute later.

As I left the hotel to go take the bus in Ferdosi street I start walking and bump into quite a few people that say hello, i dare to cross some crazy streets with 10 motorbikes coming at 100km per hour against me... and after asking for Arjentin Arjentin a few times I find my bus!!! In the bus a girl stops me and asks me tons of questions. Who am I where am i from, how do i like iran. Do I need help? She can take me to the last stoop Arjentin, where i have to go and show me which bus goes to Rash. So nice!! Not needed but so nice. Everybody thinks Im iranian even this girl told me she thought I was from here and my backpack was cuz i was going ot go climb hehehehe!! Her friend even offers to pay for my ticket "iranian tradition" I tell her its not needed and i payed when i got off. Its 12 kilos i dont understand why its so heavy, but well... she shaked my hand suddenly and got off the bus.

The buses are segregated men go in the front and women in the back. When u get off the bus u have to go to the front door and give the money to the driver!!

Thanks to Mousavis writing in Farsi I quickly find my bus and pay for my ticket! After 15 minutes we leave Tehran which within the city has various expressways. In the bus they gave us te, cookies ,sunflower seeds and cake. And if that wasn't enough the woman next to me she gave me a cucumber, i told her no thanks, but i had to eat it. Afterwards she took out a bag of candy and gave me two, later an apricot, and then once i ate that another one!!And you cant say no cuz she will not take the bag of food from in front of u until u put ur hand in it and take something. She also gave me more dried fruits and took my tea glass and put hers in it so that I don't get burned. All of this without her speaking english and me farsi. So u know i take my 2 pages of farsi english dictionary and i make a few sentences such as Im going to Masuleh, tomorrow i go to esfahan. I am from spain. My name is... it works, we start talking. She calls her son and she starts writing in a paper"do you have a taxi for u waiting? i can help" sooooo nice!!! i take the opportunity to get the pronunciation of the numbers right. Suddenly she gives me the bags with fruits she has left and gives it to me... no words, i have no words. And i have nothing to give to her.

We stoped in the middle to go to the toilet where all the woman take out their headscarf , i have to say i feel quite confortable dressed like this.. u cant see my overweight!!! headscarf is okay and walking in the mountains as well is horrible, so hot!! (more on that to come on next entry..) In that stop over the woman bought a bunch of bread but i had to say no i really couldn't eat any more!!!

Once I got in the taxi from Rash to Masuleh the taxi driver called the guy in Masuleh and dint leave me until the guy from the hotel came. Wowwww!!!

much more and more astonishing comments on Iranian Hospitality coming up very very soon!!
I cant check facebook from here.

oh some guys were talking infornt of me and i thought "omg i sudenly understand farsi perfectly!!! then I realized they were speaking czech..."looser!

Back in Tehran

The master students with who I have spend the day today!!

Hello!!! Sorry for my major disappearance, I have so much to tell but no real time to write. I have been in the mountains for 48 hours and some amazing things have happened.Im currently at a home of a university professor in Tehran. You are wondering, what how when whatt?? LONG AMAZING STORY. In a few hours I will be heading to Esfahan to meet Reihaneh. This country is a country of contrasts and beauty in the north it was so green and dense, the last thing I expected. And people kindess and friendships are amazing.Im thinking of quitting work and becoming a world traveler and guide book writer. I will do a proper entry on my trip to Masuleh when I have time, for now just wanted to let you know that I really love this country and that I am alive. The best, there are no tourists, a real pitty!

NEVER MIND MY CLOTHING STYLE!!!
Take Care you all.

What estrong Im in Iran!

Hello!!
I wanted to put some pictures up of the day but. . . I just realized the cable I brought is for super mini usb and i have a medium USB so forget about that. . . Images will come one day or other.

This morning I woke up to the beautiful words (I talk to myself..."everyone is in the office and you are in Iran") So I went for breakfast and then decided to go explore the city. This time on my own. I dont know where all the dangers everybody mentions where as I faced none really. Yeah at the beggining and generally speaking it was mainly men in the streets. Woman were fully covered in black and others in tigher/shorter fashion. However I dont feel its as strict as in Saudi Arabia or any other countries, woman still show hair and the young ones are dressed quite liberaly. I had no problems at all. In the entire day I had maybe the intuition 3 times that a guy was following me, but I simply started walking slower, asking people directions, looked at him with a face of FUCK OFF and that was more than enough. For the rest a couple whistles and commetns here and there but nothing really compared to the amount of people I crossed.

At the first moment I was lost so I decided to ask people for the Bazaar. As simple as it is the word Bazaar it seemed like people where not really understanding. I tried many different pronounciations until finally I think I got it right. The problem is that the word Bazaar led them to ask me 10,000 questions which I could not understand. I made it to Goldestan palace where I saw 2 tourists (yeahhhhyyy tourists!) and an iranian couple that tried to talk to me with an impossible to overcome language barrier. In the back there was a girl looking at me and smiling who had an SLR and finally she came up to me and asked me questions. Serah walked me later to the bazaar and the Immam Khomeini mosk and she bought me a bottle of water. I have to say people here are quite nice, always asking where you are from and how you are.

The streets are hazzling, forget about the word traffic light. cars busses and motorcycles up and down. This is not like south east asia where motorcycles dominate but it is mainly cars going very quick and driving crazy. My tactic wait until someone appears at the crossroad and cross right by them. If that doesnt work, wait 2 seconds take a deep breath and cross making sure that the only thing approaching are cars and motorcycles. If a bus is approaching tactic is simply to wait.

In the bazaar I also bought a very long thing to cover myself. The guy was saying that the price in Spain would be more expensive. As I told him it was too expensive. And I said "yeah maybe it would, but trust me I wouldnt wear that there" he started laughing...

I also visited the Jewels Museum. Had to cross a super huge door where the jewels are hidded, the amount of silver,dimonds etc was incredible. A security gard approached me and I though I had to leave, but all he wanted was to knwo where I was from hehehe.

Also the official goverment builduings are quite grayish and huge. This city aint that nice at all, specially this center where Im staying as its full of small shops and very buzzing, but that is what I like about traveling. Outside the official builduings there are billboards with phrases from the Koran. i wanted to take some pictures but it was clearly forbidden by signs, i asked twice and they said No. So No is No!!

I ate this intresting icecream with coconut, pistacho, nuts ..it was like a Mcflurry but simply way better!!

Also, its a mess cuz they have Rials and Tomman. So 1 Tomman is equal to 10 rials. Its a mess cuz i never know what people are speaking in and I constantly get confused :S

The headscarf once its on u bearly notice it, so so far so good.
By the way yesturday I was in the gate of Ahmadinejad residence and working area.
I have been told I look iranian... oh really!?
And tonight dinner with Zainab.

Sorry about the pictures!!
Im leaving Theran tommorrow, and must just add what estrong Im in Iran!

im wearing a headscarf!

I am not very used to the head scarf specially when u have to go to the common toilet of the hotel and u need to leave ur room and put on the head scarf!!! Or when u are in the car with the window open and the wind just makes your headscarf go off... But so far so good.

Woke up this morning and got a sim card which is still blocked but I can now recieve calls!! I then asked a question to a japanese couple that was sitting next to me having breakfast and they told me they had met an Iranian man yesturday at the airport that was going to show them the city. I decided to join in. Hosein came with his wife and two girls one 9 one 4... first he took us to the famous Azadi tower!!! Toook the must take pictures. The best is this guy speaks fluent japanese so the entire day we were speaking japanese. I cant speak it and yet I understood quite a few conversations. Such as before crossing the streets. kioskete!! abunai!!! kuruma!! made - kara! ginko!gohan!tanjobi! For the first time in my life japanese soudned more familiar than any other language.

So afterwards he invited us to his home where he had ice creem, corn,pistachos. I also go to dirnk non alcohoolic beer which had a peculiar yet delicious taste.It was great. He then took us to the north by the mountains sa d abad museum complex which was the summer residence. It was great. His family was sooo nice. We put music in the car and we were all singing and dancing to it!!! We had lunch at a faboulous place outdoors where you sit down in the carpets and had some amazing rice and kebab and salad. The day was wonderfull, he later invited us again to his home and he gave each of us a free shirt (or smth to wear..) amazing!!! And having picked us up at the hotel at 11 we got back at 9pm! A long amazing day!!!

Everyone asks me what am i doing here alone, traveling alone. I hadnt contacted my famliy so they contacted my hotel hehehe to ask if i was here and the receptionist let me know adding the sentence "everybody thinks this is a dangerous place". I was the ony forign girl I saw crossing the border. But I got two contacts here so I think it will be fine!!

Yes, this is Iran!!

Connection aint very fast, but ill try to update as much as I can. The plane left 1hour late barcelona as they had closed the runway and we missed our departure slot. The guy sitting next to me, old american had an absolute need to mainatin conversation which suddenly ended when he said "where are you traveling too?" and i was eating so I simply pointed to the book in my lap - Lonely Planet Guide Iran. After a while he restarted and wished me a good trip. I walked from terminal A to B crossing the famous Frankfurt tunnel. Famous to me as I crossed it a bunch of times running when I used to do Barcelona Buenos Aires via Frankfurt...Then there was the waiting, it was clear that was the waiting area for the people on the flight to Tehran... the dress code said it all. This old woman started talking to me and the first thing she said was "come to my home" hehehe. So yeah, got on the plane and about 1h before landing my legs started to hurt. thanks god it was a "short flight".. the toilet on the A340 where downstairs! yes there was a downstairs! with an area for a 10 people waiting room and 6 toilets I had never seen this...

Before landing we were reminded that photography was not allowed in Tehran international airport. And later also reminded that by law all woman decending of the plane had to use a headscarf.

That being done I started queuing in a never ending line to pass passport control, it was sooo warm... and then i realized there were only two persons in the queue of FOREIGNERS. So i wente there and this woman told me she had her family waiting they were iranians but with american passports she was going to try and go...she passed with 4 passports. Then when it was my turn... the KLM pilot appeared and made the 12 people in his crew go infront of me :s A german guy started shouting YEAH YEAH the dutch alway before, always extra rights, just make us wait longer. THe dutch the dutch. He applauded them and made a never ending scene. After a long wait I went through. I grabbed my luggage, changed my money (got milions) and then had to pas my luggage through a scanner. Then I walked out and Zainab came to pick me up :)it was great!! it was so late at night there was NO ONE in the streets...took us a while to find the hotel but it went just fine!!!!! Knocked on the door they opened the hotel and I got my room!

Ill upload pictures when back home.

Departure Time

30 minutes till departure from home. . . Im not even nervous, but I've taken my natural tranquilizing pills cuz I don't like flying. Believe it or not but although I feel at home in certain airports and love to stare at them and planes, I don't like to fly. I only take the pills though if things get "moving" and I start to get nervous. Everything is ready. I don't know to which extent the word Tehran has hit in my head. I have repeated it so many times that I think it has lost its magic. It will hit when im in Frankfurt and before boring the plane, as I assume ill be surrounded by Iranians. It will definatively kick in once I find myself in the buzzing Tehran.I have a long flight ahead to read my guidebook and see what I do. For now, time to take a shower and head to the airport!

Hope not to have too many problems with Keyboards/Internet to update this often.

Almost departure time!

So, ready for departure.less than 48 hours. Ticket is printed, money is here, backpack is packed,pick up in Tehran is set, drop off in Barcelona is set. Pick up in Barcelona is set....everything is set. And now is when the nerves start to kick in...will it be safe? Will I get lonely, will I meet people, will it be intresting? This month will be the anniversary of last years elections, what will happend? Im getting a bit worried. I dont know why, all of this kicked in just now, tonight. Im pretty sure the trip will be amazing, but suddenly I have had my thoughts on the trip. How will I feel when being watched my men, by being the foreinger walking around, by taking pictures around.How will it be????? Ill let u know this in the coming up weeks!! Despite all these questions, Im happy and excited. Its holiday time and the moment to go see something new, really really new!!!!!

Small Details

Small ideas, and details that should not be forgotten, I started a list and continued today on my train ticket...things not to forget, not to leave out. On the meanwhile hotel is booked for the arrival in Tehran! Yeah!Got some money out of the bank Yeah! The bank refused to give me the 3/4 more of money that I want to get so I must sort that out.... I went during lunch break to have lunch with a friend and say bye to my Party Friend, and headed to the supermarket to buy all that ill need those days, soap,shampoo,deodorant,toothpaste,pads.... step by step this is becoming a reality!!! I made photocopies of all my documents. Since I cant sort out the scanner at work, I made pictures of all my documents. Just in Case. I got the phone numbers of my friends. Well..... now I admit Im simply tiered. And I know next week I will miss this couch for sure, and being able to get a sun tan, and walk in tang tops and eat pa amb tomaquet. But for 3 weeks Ill give that up and go and enjoy. I admit im very tiered, I havent gotten much sleep in the past weeks. Friday night luckily my friend is organizing a party so Ill go there before going to the airport on Saturday. There is no way I will sleep anyways friday night so the party sounds like a good enough option!! So.. random thought .at what point does one put on the headscarf, while flying over Iran, before touching ground, right when ground has touched?
Hopefully it will be so so so hot that I will sweat and walk so much that I will loose tons of weight -I like day dreaming.
Im starting to think thatIll encounter keyboards that wount be able to type, so lets see how much I can get through with the blog while there. Thailand was already a pain...and France at the beginning. Hope to be able to tell you tons!