It was the Qom chefs who had enough. It was 1979 and they couldn’t take one more customer complaint about long strands of hair in their food. This frustration was the catalyst for the 1979 Iran Revolution. The Revolution changed lifestyles overnight, with most restaurants shutting shop and females having to wear hejabs at all times whilst cooking. The few restaurants that stayed open had customer satisfaction and it would soon spread to everyday life, eventually leading to the revolt that hejabs should be worn at all times just in case long strands of hair would enter street food. To [View Full Entry]

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I am not suppose to touch it but I’ve come all this way and I don’t know how I am getting out of here? Touching the smooth marble and a Persian beard of the last remaining ruins. It makes you appreciate the intricate details. More so than when you’re at a well-preserved site like Persepolis. So touching the ruined site is the only way to make a special trip to Shush worthwhile. I had just finished a 2 hour sleep on a 13-hour overnight bus ride from Esfahan. I decided to walk to the hotel from the highway (drop off point) [View Full Entry]

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Each day in Iran you start your day leaving your hotel as if you are a taxi driver. Not knowing where you’ll go, where you’ll end up and which characters you’ll meet. Esfahan is no different. Many Iranian people holiday here because its one of the Islamic worlds finest cities. It definitely is the cleanest I’ve seen. I decided to walk down to the river and felt safe enough to fall asleep in the full sun that shone my first afternoon. When I awoke I needed some liquids to fix my dry mouth. There I met Lazza (changed name) a 27-year-old [View Full Entry]

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I needed to drain my thoughts to someone. The build up of information from 3 days in Shiraz was going to send my crazy. Enter Yazd the real western travellers hub. Nowhere else in Iran is the cities sites and hotels so congested. It also has Iran’s first true hostel. This place helped me put everything into perspective. Yazd like some cities in the world, claims to be the ‘oldest living city on Earth.’ Continually inhabited for around 7000 years. Since Marco Polo days it has been known for its silks and fabrics. It is a brilliantly designed city. Perfect for [View Full Entry]

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I didn’t realise there was a hot shower in the hotel until the third morning… I was leaving for my next destination in an hour, it was winter and I didn’t want to get the towel wet whilst drying off. That’s a hard thing to achieve! So I wipe my body with my hand to minimise the water hitting the towel. Than tentatively wipe with the towel making sure I’m not sticking to the one area. After that I hang the towel up whilst packing my backpack. The reason for this is that if it is damp than the towel (now [View Full Entry]

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There was a real adrenaline rush when I entered here. The joy, the fist pumps - all built up from the anxiety of whether I was going to get in or not, even though I had my VISA but not a flight out. With an open mind, no pre-conceptions I agreed that I will be as trusting as I have ever been. I wanted this to be the most open I have been in any country. I arrived in Shiraz (central Iran) with a bloated bladder and a toilet on the other side of customs. I got through customs without a [View Full Entry]

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I HAD BEEN TO IRAN MANY TIMES EVERY TIME I GO THERE , I DISCOVER NEW PLACES VERY BEAUTFUL COUNTRY AND GOOD PEOPLE I HAD BEEN TO SHIRAZ, TAHRAN, MASHHAD, NORTH OF IRAN , QUM AND KASHAN [View Full Entry]

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Just getting to Iran has been the biggest challenge of this little sojourn. With visas required for the four of the countries I intended to visit this time round the visa chase before departure was a little insane. As soon as the passport came back it was off to another consulate. All in a set sequence as some of the visas were valid for three months from the time they were issued. Add to this was the last minute decision to go to Iran due to Dubai looking way too expensive for a week (even if the Rugby Sevens were on) [View Full Entry]

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It's hard to leave one place after one month and I have to do it for the second time in this trip. As one of my friend wrote on his blog this is "a school to learn to say goodbye": traveling you must say goodbye to so many people that maybe have been very interesting to speech with and to know about their life. But you must say goodbye and maybe you'll never meet again. In that moment it's so important for me to say what I think about who is living directly. I am still learning to do it. Thanks [View Full Entry]

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The overnight bus to Esfahan is made easier by the fact that I steal four seats near the back of the bus and lie across them, resulting in a great sleep for me but inconvenience for the attendendant, who has to continually jump over my legs. I arrive in Esfahan and a brawl nearly ensues amongst the waiting taxi drivers, once again proving that I am probably the most popular man in Iran. I check into the Amir Kabir and crash for a few hours. When I awaken I explore the city, and it dawns on me that I am really, [View Full Entry]

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