http://www.travelblog.org/Bloggers/Yuki-Jen/ Travel adventures in journals and photos from Yuki Jen en-us Mon, 09 Nov 2009 08:46:15 +0000 Mon, 09 Nov 2009 08:46:15 +0000 My 54yearold Japanese mother was inspired by my recent Iran photos to take me on a motherdaughter bonding trip to Tokyo Disneyland. Why Because the mosques reminded her of Aladdin and she was eager to experience the 'Arabian Coast' of Disney Sea and go on the 'Small world' esque ride called 'Sindbad's Adventures'. After ice cream and wearing ridiculous Aladdin and Jafar hats we sat down for http://www.travelblog.org/Middle-East/Iran/West/Esfahan/blog-195833.html The 14th century poet Hafez gave me a sign to me before I left to Iran. Randomly turning to his page of poems I had concluded through his words that it was right for me to go back to his land to find out more about Iran. he was right. When i sat at the base of his tomb's gazebo i felt a distinct connection as i sat there with his anthology. Although i'm far from being Iranian ie. being Jap http://www.travelblog.org/Middle-East/Iran/South/Shiraz/blog-195411.html As the province of Kerman is close to the borders of Afghanistan and Pakistan it has continued to play a vital part in the opium or basically any other drug trade. Although illegal it's cheap and sexily abundant. In order to deal with it roadside patrol checkpoints stop cars extremely often to the point that a few days' there trains you to be the ideal passenger. According to my driver here http://www.travelblog.org/Middle-East/Iran/South/Kerman/blog-194455.html I swear I'm currently not on any bloody hallucinagens as I write this and nor did i take any while i was travelling in Iran. But really visiting historic and religious sites definitely gave me a glimpse into the beautiful world of heavenly light. Here exists rooms that offer a reminder of the immaterial world for any visitor.The Iranian perception of light is a completely unique one. I noticed t http://www.travelblog.org/Middle-East/Iran/blog-193785.html At the Shirazi bazaar I saw a man carrying bundles of dyed red wool whose teeth were tinged in a shade of ginger red. From the Ronas plant or a mere cherryflavor popsicle I prayed it was the prior. Regarding natural dyes did you know that the red colour of the finest carpets come from a plant called 'Madder' If consumed the plant slowly turns one's bones red. This was where I witnesse http://www.travelblog.org/Middle-East/Iran/South/Shiraz/blog-193085.html Was it my driver's stash of Marijuana that stopped the police The forbidden Titanic soundtrack we were listening to in the car An Iranian officer barked at me to get out of the car. I panic. Is it the japanese kimono i'm wearing Is this not acceptable as hejab alongside my headscarf The bearded man holding a kalishnakov yells at me and I hesistantly meet the 45c degree heat outside the car. http://www.travelblog.org/Middle-East/Iran/blog-192779.html During the past few years I wished for all the educational institutions I attended to offer either Persian or Arabic. The script seemed so beautiful and enchanting when I saw excerpts from the Koran embedded in the kufic style in tiles upon the surfaces of mosques. I've also enjoyed the famous poetry of poets as Ferdowsi Khayyam and Sa'adi. A while before my trip to Iran I'd already learned th http://www.travelblog.org/Middle-East/Iran/blog-154498.html By coincedence Japanese and Persian have identical phrases which are completely different in meaning. Hence a little Japanese dialogue with a fellow JP tourist could result to disaster. Two Japanese women ran up to me freaking out when a bunch of curious Iranian locals pointed at them shouting 'Shinei Shinei' they were merely saying 'Chinese' but in Japanese this is an imperative command http://www.travelblog.org/Middle-East/Iran/North/Ardabil/blog-173286.html After feeling like dying of sunstroke in the Iranian region of Khuzestan the friendly bus driver offered me a cup of tea...with literally a handful of bloody sugar cubes that made me assume I was going to become diabetic. Crikey i suppose this is the local remedy for sunstroke. When I tried to refuse the sugar I got really scary glares from dear old Amir who looked like an angry and spicier tw http://www.travelblog.org/Middle-East/Iran/West/Kermanshah/blog-163110.html I love ice cream and I know that my fave delicacy wouldnt exist if it weren't for refridgerators and airconditioners for the scorching summer heat but did you know that all three first originated in Persia of course mechanical devices didnt exist at the time but...they still managed with primative alternatives. Persia impresses me with the number of inventions we take for granted today. S http://www.travelblog.org/Middle-East/Iran/blog-155747.html When I visited the tomb of the famous Persian poet Hafez he was a complete stranger to me. Although I'd read some of his poetry I could not comprehend the alltime rock star status he seemed to hold amongst Iranians. This garden complex in Shiraz was where I saw XXXrated scandals young couples holding hands kissing cheeks and laughing in unsegregated groups holding their anthologies of Haf http://www.travelblog.org/Middle-East/Iran/blog-185827.html Portraits of turbanned Ayatollah Khomeini are everywhere whether it be on a huge billboard in Tehran or a postcard pasted on a goatshed in Kurdistan. Eventually it came to the point that he felt like a friendly smoking buddy on my trip and I was no longer intimidated by his signature 'angry Sean Connery' look. Anywhere I'd light up a cig feel his stare and nod in acknowledgement. Yo long http://www.travelblog.org/Middle-East/Iran/North/Rasht/blog-175107.html Tough hiking proved to be impossible for me during my trip in Iran not only for my untoned blubby form next stop Jabba the Hut or my smoker's black lungs but the sad fact that my only pair of walking shoes had been destroyed when one of my bottles of scotch erupted in my suitcase and drenched my shoes in beautiful liquor as soon as I got to Iran. I personally wouldnt have minded giving of http://www.travelblog.org/Middle-East/Iran/North/Rasht/blog-174678.html I have a secret shame during my journeys that is I always inquire the word for 'Snow' in the local language during my travels. Why Well due to language barriers my taunted nickname at my Aussie school was 'Yucky Jen Crummy'. It was a rather sad coincedence that my japanese names sounded similar to such unfortunate vocabulary. Both of my first names mean 'Snow'. So as a result I always sough http://www.travelblog.org/Middle-East/Iran/North/Bandar-e-Anzali/blog-174212.html Nightfall an old vacant inn in the quiet countryside. In my room I was in the shower. All goes black. I scream. In pitch darkness I have shampoo in my hair and a bloody cucumber mask on my face and the water's become part of the distant past. I wait for 10 minutes for the lights to come back on. No luck. With a towel around myself i trip over everything between me and the door and finally b http://www.travelblog.org/Middle-East/Iran/North/Astara/blog-173739.html A moment after I'd finished the sweet cups of tea that a local street vendor gave me I suddenly realized they were definitely stashed with something. Panic struck me although the corners of my lips couldn't get out of this ridiculously cheesy grin. Despite my horror everything began to look like a joke. I laughed at the watermelons the hysterically funny minarets even the cops in front http://www.travelblog.org/Middle-East/Iran/North/Tabriz/blog-172778.html I doubted my ears when I first heard a 'Careless Whisper' ringtone go off in Iran. The owner of the phone was not a lovelorn western woman but a local man who had this uncanny resemblance to Omar Sharif plus 30 kilograms. During my few weeks in Iran I would hear George Michael's famous tune polyphonic and mono ring accompanied by a grizzly 'BaleYes' of a 40 unshaven local. I decided to http://www.travelblog.org/Middle-East/Iran/North/Tabriz/blog-172524.html Although I am japanese ie Asian meaning that I can't dance for bloody hell I still try and make the best out of it by compensating with my bellydancing skills. Whether it be NYC or Maku i've been swimming in bling This turned out quite promising with my bootyshaking and techno playing ipod as like a popular cheap whore money was thrown at me like hotcakes.I even did the 'dishwashing' and http://www.travelblog.org/Middle-East/Iran/North/Urmia/blog-172209.html Iranians and their hospitality shall never let you leave the country without gaining extra kilospounds. Locals lure the weirdlooking tourists with treats such as spaghetti 'n' ice cream iced melon juicy kebabs and fresh bread in exchange for posing with them in photos. Such generous offers become brutal to your expanding waistline as the 22nd street vendor offers their sexy merchandise. Mmmm. http://www.travelblog.org/Middle-East/Iran/North/Maku/blog-165610.html I always knew my headscarf would never be approved by the government but never thought I'd be dragged into a room by kurdish girls who'd strip me of my clothes and dress me up in local formal garb On the way north we stopped by a little village called Sanjud who'd rarely seen foreigners. Let alone a mere toilet stop... Farsi is still the official language and I asked if we could take photogr http://www.travelblog.org/Middle-East/Iran/North/Urmia/blog-165187.html