Ashgabat is strange. No, I take that back. It is bizzare. Pristine, sterile buildings that are simply out of place in their obviously highly sought after architectural modernity, perfectly manicured parks, and hundreds of women employed to sweep the dirt off the roads that gets blown right back on. To top it all off, a monstrous monument to the country's recently deceased president and dicatator - an enormous gold statue of himself, sitting atop a huge, futuristic structure that can be seen for miles that, wait for it, rotates through the day, following the path of the sun. Yes, Ashgabat [View Full Entry]

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Our Turkmen visas began ticking today, and with only five days' validity, we wanted to get there as soon as possible, so riding the 200-odd km to the border was pretty much out of the question. There were no buses to the border post of Bajgiran, thanks to ANOTHER holiday (the Iranians seem to be CONSTANTLY on holiday) so we tried our hand at hitching. After a while, a guy in ute stopped, and we loaded our gear into the back, and climbed in next to it. He could only take us about 30km though, as he had to turn [View Full Entry]

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Of course, our visas would not yet be ready on the promised day. "Come back on Monday boys." Sigh. Another weekend in Mashad. It wasn't all bad, as we discovered Iran's surprisingly liberal laws regarding the sale of pharmaceuticals. I now have a lifetime's supply of valium (well you try falling asleep on a crowded overnight bus when you can barely even fit in the seat let alone move, without some sort of chemical assistance) and a few other goodies. The pharmacist was interested in setting up a little import/export business with us - and holy shit there is some [View Full Entry]

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After applying at the Turkmen consulate for our visas, rather than waiting around in Mashad for them to be processed (at least 3-4 days), we decided to just jump on our bikes and get out of the city and go exploring. We didn't make it too far, however, before the heavens opened and the rain put a dampener on our plans. We stopped somewhere out in the suburbs of Mashad, taking shelter under the awning of a half-constructed and seemingly abandoned bulding. The rain looked like it was not going to ease up anytime soon, so the best thing to [View Full Entry]

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We caught an overnight bus to Mashad, which wasn't too bad thanks to Mauntez's valium stash. The city was in absolute chaos when we got there, over-run with muslim pilgrims there to visit the tomb of Imam Reza - one of the early leaders of the Shiite sect who was poisoned or something. Inside the tomb iteself was absolute chaos. After getting frisked on the way in (apparently there was some sort of security incident a few years back) we mingled with the crowd of pilgrims, the only westerners in the entire gigantic compound. In the courtyard, there were people [View Full Entry]

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We got the business done at the visa extension office relatively hassle free - it only took about half a day. We were expecting it to be much more difficult. Having done that, we explored the city a little, saw a few tombs etc, met plenty of friendly locals who would just come up and have a chat, and managed to tap into the local alcohol black market. Our felafel supplier suddenly became our moonshine supplier as well. And he wasn't afraid to get into it at any hour of the day either. It was pretty funny watching him stealthliy [View Full Entry]

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The day began with a tough climb, but I got some fantastic downhills as well. I just can't get enough of that feeling of belting down a mountain that you've just climbed, wind in your face, amazing scenery everywhere. Love it. When the wind picked up, it was actually blowing in my direction! First one for a long time! So the last 50-odd km to Shiraz were relatively easy, a nice break from the last few days which have been quite tough. Once I was in Shiraz, I pretty much just bumped into Mauntez in the street! It was great [View Full Entry]

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Beauty in the Mountains! Somewhere in the Zagros Mountains Middle East » Iran By Longers March 22nd 2007 The day dawned with a spectacular sunrise and clear skies. I cycled through some of the best scenery of the tour so far today, and I was disappointed Mauntez wasn't there to see it. He would have gotten a real kick out of it I think. The photos don't do it justice. Around lunchtime the wind picked up, blowing in the opposite dire [View Full Entry]

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The roads today were packed with holiday makers, and the mountains were full of picnicing families. Everyone seeemed even happier than usual, if that was possible! Early in the day I had stopped to have a rest and a bite to eat, and a truck pulled up beside me. The guys inside were very keen to offer their services, but I was pretty much right as rain. In the end they forced me to take a map of Iran, in Farsi of course. If nothing else, a great souvenier to remember how the people here treated me. Several times I [View Full Entry]

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Mauntez must have eaten another dodgy prawn because his guts was once again sounding much like I imagine an earthquake measuring in the high 9's on the Richter scale would. It was obvious that he would have to take the bus to Shiraz, but I was pretty keen to check out the Zagros mountains between the two cities so I set out alone that morning. It was a strange feeling to know that I would not see my comrade for another four days, but I was also looking forward to the challenge of crossing the mountain range alone. I needed [View Full Entry]

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