Blogs from North, Iran, Middle East - page 5

This morning skiing was somehow a challenge...skiing with a serious hangover, the weather was gorgeous, but the snow was slightly packed...and yes, the skiing is done between 2900 meters and 3600 meters altitude! You are going to tell me, something is wrong in that sentence...where are you again? Yes, this is Iran...big time Iran! Maybe we should start from the beginning of the story when it comes to my adventure of skiing in Iran. I have these funny fantasies...I want to dive over 75 countries, did already 54! I could claim I want to play golf in as many countries as possible....but I've stopped enjoying taking my golf bag around just for a round or two, and rental clubs will not do it! So when it comes to skiing. First disclaimer, I'm a pretty average skier. ... read more

Greetings, It is my last few days in Iran before heading to Baku, Azerbaijan and Georgia (Gorgestan). The highlight of my visit in Tehran is by far my hike to mount Tochal on the north end of the city. I hiked to Mount Tochal (Persian: Tochaal توچال) with some friends yesterday. It was a great experience. The summet sits at over 13000 feel (almost 4000m) and overlooks the greater Tehran city of 14 million population. The last time I was in these mountains was many moons ago during my teens. Tochal is a fabulous ski resort in winters and a great hiking trip during the off season. The mountain has a 12 km long ridge-line and part of the Alborz mountain range stretching east-west in northern part of Iran. the highest peak of Alborz range is ... read more

This blog has been quiet for many years. In fact I think at the time of the last entry I was single and ready to mingle and boy has that changed! I am now married (nearly 7 years) and have two boys (5 and 3 years old). Travelling has continued and not at a lessened pace either. Since our wedding, my husband and I have lived in Australia, in England, returned to Hong Kong, in Portugal, in Uzbekistan and now in Iran. Our travels have imparted a sense of wonder in our children and an open mindedness that is second to none. Despite what people might think I actually really detest packing and setting up a-new all the time but I love the opportunity for exploration, those initial fumblings of giving the correct amount of, what ... read more

Geo: 38.081, 46.2901 Donned our Islamic clothing and headed the eerily quiet 30 kms down the road past Turkey's Military check posts, guard towers, tanks, bushrangers and other general displays of might to the border.We had heard this to be a confusing border crossing and had read various tips from previous overlanders. If you can imagine arrival at an international airport, it kind of goes pretty standard immigration and then customs. Overland borders particularly with a vehicle follow no known standard and are further complicated by having departure from one country back to back with arrival to another. Sadly we timed it badly as there was a bus load of Iranians returning from Ramadan festivities in Turkey. Given 40 odd people (conservative estimate) arrive at the one time we could well understand why there was only ... read more

I arrived in Tehran a couple of days ago. I got settled in my apartment located on Northern side of Tehran. In my wandering around so far I find Tehran to be calm and the traffic flowing smoothly. The parks are beautifully landscaped and are being enjoyed by a lot of people for promenade and exercising. There are traffic cameras installed everywhere to control and assure the motorist's orderly driving, and it is very effective. The usual air pollution in Tehran has somewhat improved since the last time I was here. I believe it is mostly due to using a better quality of gasoline imported by the government. The weather is nice and crisp after the heavy rainfall of a few days ago. Of course we know there are places within this 12 million population city ... read more