marvelous hi, that´s really an awesome picture... I have been to Bali, Java and Lombok and remember the wonderful sun dawns and sun sets... I saw the most wonderful sun dawn of my life on mount Bromo, Java... have you been there? That is unforgettable.
You can contact me if you want via: ch@henzlerworks.com - Claudia Henzler
LMFAOOOOOOOOOO As an Aussie I am aware of our Customs Officers serious approach to travellers returning from countries abroad and cracked up at the rubber glove comment. Can't say they have ever gone that far with me, but don't ever try and bring wood products into Aussie from Vanuatu!! Good reply about it being September you were in the Opium smoking surrounds, love your style. Enjoying your journal very much and hope it all works out in Aussie for you, it's a great place. I'm stuck over in an island of the East Coast of Australia called New Zealand or Sheepsland at the moment. Hope that I can make my journal as interesting and humourous as yours. Take care.
Chess or Buckaroo ? Ahh Father Ted. What better way to celebrate the end, or pause in, a great journey. I'm talking yours here, not the Popes.
Thanks for your comments and sorry I'm a bit tardy in replying, but we've really enjoyed catching up with your tale and, with some trepidation, are literally about to step out the door to follow you - In search of Mister Bob.
- Cumberland Sausage
Great Story Amazing Adventures--I was on the edge of my seat wondering if you'd make it to Oz without a plane. Amazing that you got as far as you did, really. Love the photos too--what kind of camera do you have?
I just HAVE to comment Having no idea how to address you, I'm going to go with Sken.
Hi Sken!
I am a complete stranger to you but for the past few days I have been sitting in the death-slump pose at work and would rather chew off my own head than do any of the multitude of mundane tasks that are awaiting my attention. Then I stumbled over your travel blogs.
And they're brilliant. So even though this is probably not the right forum I just had to add my comment and thank you for entertaining me so wonderfully. Your stories are making me laugh out loud which does unfortunately attract my usually zombified workmates and leads me to do some dancing to hide the internet and make up some story about how funny it was that somebody had used a comma instead of a full stop in their PC coding. Yawn.
Travel happy and stay safe and thanks for the laughs!
Jess
(Complete stranger) - Jess
Beggars belief Voltaire said: "I disapprove of what you say, but I will defend to the death your right to say it". I have not censored any comments on this site. I guess that I should add my tuppence to some of the Iran stuff, though....
In reply to Hamid: I only have your word that the women in the photo are beggars as they didn't ask for, nor did they receive any money from me. It happened that the photo was the best shot with Iranian women on it. To accuse me of any sort of prejudice or trying to imply that all Iranian women are beggars, low, or uneducated by showing this picture is simply bullshit. Read the text. I am also not misrepresenting all Iranian men as hat-makers in this blog.
Applying your reasoning, if I had shown a picture of middle class Iranian women instead, that would also be a misrepresentation since not all Iranians are middle class, but I suspect you would not be so moved as to complain. In fact I can not win against your logic without showing a gallery of photos depicting the whole cross section of Iranian society.
But so what if those women are beggars? Let me be frank: neither you nor I or anyone else are any better or worse than a beggar. Before you accuse someone of being prejudiced, re-read what you have written yourself, matey.
In reply to comment #1: "women are happier there than men". When I first read this comment, I was reminded of a zookeeper asserting that some of the animals are happier in the zoo than in the wild. Whilst that *may* be true, it is not really the point, is it?
By the way, the title "Nose Job" came from the fact that I saw so many young women (and a few men) in Tehran and elsewhere with big plasters on their face because they had just had nasal surgery. I didn't know what to make of it at the time. If I had taken a good picture of that it would have gone on the site. I wonder what the reaction would have been?
"Iranian Women" or "Iranian Beggers"? Well, I just saw your journal and the photoes inside it. What I want to comment on, is about the photo titled "Iranian Woman". I have to say this photo with its title is sort of mean because those two women with that kind of clothing and the stuff they had, can no way represent Iranian women since they are actually beggers! Yes they are beggers, whose photoes you have taken. Are you trying to say that Iranian women are beggers? or maybe they dress like beggers?! It was absolutly ok if you had titled the photo "Iranian Beggers" or at least "Iranian Women beggers" since this would be showing part of the fact but the title "Iranian women" has got nothing to do with the photo. If you try to look at it objectivley, and of course not subjectvley which seemingly you already have done, you would definitly agree with me that an average Iranian women never dresses like that. After all I have to count on the fact that you have some time been to Iran. So to be perfectly honest I can not accept it that the title has been just a mistake; what you have done seems more like a prejudiced attempt to show Iranian women mean, low and uneducated, THIS IS what a beggers photo most probably show to any visitor of this site on behalf of the general term "Iranian women"! - Hamid
from Lithuania Hey Ryan, you've shot really fun pictures in Grutas Park. Don't get too cold in Syberia :) best regards, Giedre (=your company in a bus from Grutas :))
hey there
POland is a great country,you gotta see ''Malbork'' which is and old city with the biggest and finest castle in Europe, plus ''Bydgoszcz'' and Cracow.. im gonna visit the place again in like 2 years or so so far IM enjoyin livin in B.C ciao y;all
kasia
Women In my visti to Iran in October 2004, I happen to speak with an informed Iranian Judge who changed his occupation to being a Lawyer for financial reason. I told him about the three reasons the "West" critisized Iran: Treatment of prisoners, women's rights, and the terrorizm (maily the Israel issue). His response to the issue of women was an eye opener to me. He said the women in Iran are actually more protected than in the west. He believe the marriage in Iran, for example, provides certain rights to women that are not known to others. He got into more details about the customes and process of marriage and proved to me that women are happier there than men. He also said something that made me think. He said in US the divorce system punished the husband unjustly in order to give certain right to the wife. While in Iran, the women are already protected during a divorce.
Anyways, I believe what he said to some degree.
Thanks for reading,
Mahmoud-
my 2 cents Nice to read your stuff. I just returned from Iran (back to the USA) after 3 weeks of visiting my mom and brother there. I found Iran very different than even last year. However, peoples opinion is the same as 100 years ago.
You might want to visit the Water Museum in the city of Yazd. I bought a book and a VCD from them.
The air fair is durt cheap there. Also, taxi fair is next to nothing. However, I try to sit in the back when riding in the Taxi, fearing the traffic there :( Thanks God, drivers have to use seat belts in the highways now.
I noticed the girls there to be amazingly beautiful. Iran's population is very young and couldn't figure out the culture of the young population there. I found many Net.Cafes that are full of young.
Oh well, I am back now and try to adjust to my old life now.
Thanks,
Mike-
Nice nice to read that the people differentiate between the people of another country, and their government. I'd be nervous of those that don't discriminate in such a way though. Great pics though, love reading your travels. Stay safe!
Blue Hole - well I thought there was just one. I dived the "Blue Hole" in Belize - didn't realise there was one in Egypt also. I guess it isn't a particularly imaginative name though ;) How would you rate the dive? Much flora/fauna?
I just wanted to leave a message really. God mate, since you left it's been 90 in the shade - the sun's never stopped shining...
OK I'm talking bollocks.
Work-shy Brit on the way to Australia via as many places as possible. Started off by hitch hiking on a yacht across the Med from Morocco to Turkey, but that went tits up - the plan? What plan?.... full info
anonymous
non-member comment
marvelous
hi, that´s really an awesome picture... I have been to Bali, Java and Lombok and remember the wonderful sun dawns and sun sets... I saw the most wonderful sun dawn of my life on mount Bromo, Java... have you been there? That is unforgettable. You can contact me if you want via: ch@henzlerworks.com - Claudia Henzler