Archive for January, 2008
Saturday, January 26th, 2008
59km Borazjan to Konar Takhteh
We’ve spent the last few days being given a taste of southern Iran by the always-cheerful Ali and his lovely family. On Friday we went for a picnic by a local shrine, feasting on delicious chicken kebabs, salads and rice. Then we worked off a few calories with a stroll in the nearby hills and in the evening we visited with their large extended family. Everyone was so kind to us and when it came time to say goodbye this morning we felt both sad to go and happy we’d made new friends. Iran is full of hospitable and generous people but Ali and his family must be in the running to make the top of the list. Nothing was too much for them and we left feeling very spoiled. If we didn’t have to return to Shiraz in a few days to renew our visa we might have convinced Ali to give us some work around the house in exchange for a few more days in Borazjan. It’s a pleasant town, well off the tourist trail but always full of life and surrounded by date palms, one of the area’s main exports. (more…)
No Comments » - Posted in Cycling Trips, Iran, Journal Entries by andrew
Thursday, January 24th, 2008
The great visa muddle
Some things are more enjoyable than others and for us we would rather be cycling backwards down a 10-lane highway at night than figuring out how in the world to get visas for Central Asia. What a nightmare.
It’s impossible to get reliable information (the Uzbeks tell us something that contradicts other travellers and agencies). There are several phone numbers for each embassy, any of which can be out of service, out of date, hooked up to a fax for part of the day or connect you to someone who speaks no English. Addresses for embassies are also prone to frequent change and of course you can burn many, many dollars on phone cards trying to determine just what you need and how to get it.
This morning it was only thanks to two Iranians who saw us having a fit by a payphone and insisted on coming to our aid that we finally started to sort out part of the muddle. They very kindly translated from Farsi to English where necessary and even made calls on their mobile phones to all parts of Iran to help us out. An hour later we felt slightly closer to our goal and we provided great amusement for the crowd of ten or so people gathered around us. Perhaps the biggest source of confusion is why two Canadians didn’t have a mobile phone of their own — a necessity for every Iranian.
So, for the record, this is what we believe to be true:
Uzbek Embassy in Tehran — 021 2229 1519 (hooked up to a fax until 11am)
Turkmen Embassy in Tehran — 021 2220 6306
Turkmen Consulate in Mashad — 0511 854 7066
We are still trying to figure out what the Uzbeks need to give us a visa. The Turkmen officials say we only need our Uzbek visa (no letters of recommendation or other documents) to get a 7-day transit visa, issued within a week in Tehran or Mashad.
No Comments » - Posted in Cycling Trips, Iran, Journal Entries, Random Ramblings, Turkmenistan, Uzbekistan by friedel
Thursday, January 24th, 2008
72km Bushehr to Borazjan
After a day by the seaside in Bushehr we were ready to move on, starting the journey back into the mountains and towards Shiraz once again. There we’ll get our Iranian visa renewed for a further month but there was another visa challenge to sort out before we left Bushehr. Getting our papers in order for Central Asia has proved trying, to say the least. Answers never come easily and contradictions are frequent. It took five hours of calling embassies and travel agencies and sending emails to lodge the first step of our application for an Uzbekistan visa. Only then were we able to hit the road with our minds at ease.
The ride out of Bushehr was as expected: very flat, very windy and heavy on traffic. Seeing the Persian Gulf was nice but we’re not sure it justified 50km of motorway cycling into and out of the city. There’s little else in Bushehr in terms of tourist attractions, unless you count the spicy Bandari sandwiches sold at all the small stands. They made a mouth-watering change from the standard Iranian fast food fare. (more…)
No Comments » - Posted in Cycling Trips, Iran, Journal Entries by andrew
Tuesday, January 22nd, 2008
121km Bushkan to Bushehr
Our decision to sleep by a village last night turned out to be a good one – not because we had any problems during the night but because of the flat tire we discovered when we woke up. The flat itself wouldn’t normally take long to fix but after plenty of arm-aching work we realised our pump was broken. It doesn’t make a good seal with the tire valve so even a brief pause in pumping lets all the air back out. Thank goodness for the friendly neighbours who reinflated the tire with their pump, poured us a glass of tea and sent us off with a bagful of fresh bread. They seemed amused by the stranded tourists we were so grateful for their help. Our only other option was to hitch a lift, missing out on some of the best descents of the whole journey from Shiraz.
Once on the road we worked hard to keep up a good speed, knowing there was a long day ahead in order to reach the Persian Gulf coastal city of Bushehr. After five days without a shower there was no question we wanted to get there but we weren’t sure we’d have enough light to make the distance. All was going well until we hit Ahram just after lunch and made the mistake of asking at a police station for water. (more…)
No Comments » - Posted in Cycling Trips, Iran, Journal Entries by andrew
Monday, January 21st, 2008
56km Pahnapahn to Bushkan
We started our day by cycling through the flat farmland and palm tree oases that surround the village of Pahnapahn. As usual, our arrival caused a bit of a stir. It’s rather funny to watch men do an about turn in the street and come back just to watch what we buy. Ooooooh, bananas. And cheese! There’s always a considerable amount of chatter as we pick up our very ordinary shopping and often a huddle of girls and women in one corner giggling. We’re not sure what exactly sends them into fits of laughter but it’s good to know we’ve contributed to gross national happiness across Iran. The days of being a show stopper just by being a tourist are certainly not over in the world.
After filling our panniers it was time to head into the hills. There are more climbs than we’d imagined for our trip to the seashore and today we had a series of short ascents and descents that ended up tiring us out quite quickly. Stopping to fix a flat tire didn’t help much with the energy levels either. It takes a long time to pump up a tire by hand, especially when you need enough pressure to support our hefty loads. The scenery kept us amused though; a lunar like landscape that was almost devoid of any vegetation as well as people. Only the occasional car separated us from total isolation. We could sit and relax in complete silence, not even hearing a bird singing or a breeze blowing by our ears. (more…)
