Day 6 - Karaj to Ramsar

 After a simple breakfast of bread, boiled egg and cheese we set off to tackle the well known and supposedly daunting Chalous road. By now, after going round in circles the day before, we actually had a fair idea of where we were going in Karaj and managed to find where we had gotten to the previous day before being turned back. This is where things went a little pear shaped as we set out on what we thought was the road to Chalous only to discover that again we were going round in circles - oh for a decent GPS. In the end a kindly policeman on his motorbike escorted us to the correct road and it turned out we had been misreading a sign all this time - aaargh. From this point on the next 2 or 3 hours were among the most testing of my driving experience. This would be a challenging road at the best of times and with the amount of traffic I had to be alert 120% of the time. Within the first 20 kms or so we were slowed for quite a while as we passed a serious accident with what looked like a Paykan almost completely in half - more evidence of the extremely high accident and fatality rate here in Iran. The drive via the Chalous road was simply stunning. The views were magnificent and by the time we had arrived in Gilan province I felt fully justified in calling myself a true Iranian driver after surviving this beautiful but dangerous road. Our plans to visit the Namakabrud telecabin were dashed by the low cloud covering the Alborz mountains on the Caspian Sea side  so we continued our drive to Ramsar.  We had a short stop along the way at a teahouse by the beach for some chai and chatted with a couple and their children at the next table while checking out the surf (yes surf) at the Caspian Sea.Without too much trouble (asking a few locals for directions) we then went on and managed to locate our hotel in Ramsar, the Grand Azadi, a former palace set on the hillside overlooking Ramsar and the Caspian Sea. It is quite a grand old establishment and we felt quite like important visitors in such an imposing hotel. After settling in we dined at the hotel before turning in for a well earned nights sleep

Day 5 - Tehran to Karaj - a day of frustrations:-)

This was meant to be headed "Tehran to Nowshahr" but as you will see, this was not to be. Started the day with an extremely helpful young man, Sephyr arriving at our hotel with a car that was much smaller than what we had requested and which clearly would not take our luggage. So first stop became the Europcar office in suburban northwest Tehran to sort out the mix-up. Turns out they didn't have a Renault Tordan as requested as all their vehicles had been rented for the unexpected week long holiday. Got introduced to the very affable and generous Mr Mohammed, owner of the franchise who then offered to buy a car for us and in fact was in the process of doing so. As this transaction was set to take a while and the car needed to be fueled etc we were invited to share lunch with Mr Mohammed and the car vendor, an Iranian who had purchased the vehicle in Iraq and brought it to Tehran. Lunch was a tasty meal of rice, koresh, yoghurt and tea and was very filling. Next problem that then arose was the absence of a requested GPS unit. This necessitated the purchase of a unit from a friend of Mr Mohammed and this involved a trip to another office with me at the wheel and Sephyr riding shotgun. After another long wait we obtained the GPS unit from yet another vendor who brought it to the office. And so we set off much later than we had wanted in the direction of Karaj hoping to find the Chalous road. In no time at all I became an expert Iranian driver managing to dodge the oncoming vehicles and deal capably with all the absurdities that pass for driving over here. At Karaj we experienced our first real problems trying to locate the Chalous road. Without decent maps and a GPS that actually showed roads it was proving impossible to find it. Eventually we did, though, only to be told that the road was closed by the police and no explanation as to why other than we were told it had something to do with the non aligned nations meeting. Anyway this meant we now had to find a hotel in Karaj which we hadn't planned for. This proved almost impossible in the face of peak hour traffic and  us having no idea of anything. It wasn't until after almost collecting a ticket from a policeman for double parking that we enlisted the help of a kind taxi driver who then drove to the Hotel MarMar with us following. Settled in for the night and after a short walk looking for restaurants we opted for the hotel restaurant. Fairly basic but nevertheless good food.

Day 4 - Tehran

Off to a suitably civilized late start of 10 am, again with Parto and Mr H, this time to explore the palaces and bazaars of Tehran. First stop was Golestan Palace which fortunately was open - it is a public holiday here and there was some doubt on this point. This magnificent complex of the Qajar rulers was simply beautiful. Once again words are simply unable to capture the beautiful artwork and inscriptions and the simply awesome mirrored halls in a couple of the buildings. Hopefully my photographs will give some idea. As we were so close when we left the Golestan Palace we walked to the Grand Bazaar - this only had a few shops open, again because of the public holiday, but there were sufficient open and it was crowded enough to get a feel for how busy it would normally be. A short drive then took us to another well known Tehrani restaurant simply called Dizi, I believe. We were here to indulge in a peculiar and very tasty dish called Dizi and once again it was crowded with Iranians on holiday.
(Sue: Eating Dizi is a  really authentic Iranian experience. A plate of wondrous green herbs and leaves, raw onion, and spicy relish is placed on the table with flat bread. The Dizi (lamb stew) is then delivered in a large jug. The bread is broken into pieces and placed in a bowl and the liquid from the top of the stew is poured over the bread and eaten. You then mash up the rest of the stew with the wooden implement provided  and combine this with handfuls of herbs, relish, bread and onion -absolutely delicious! A glass of sour almost liquid yoghurt is also part of the meal and appears with many meals in Iran but doesn't appeal to my taste. The Iranian yogurt that comes with kebabs and other meals is another story altogether-rich smooth and gentle on the palate-as nice as any yoghurt I have tried anywhere.)
Next stop Nieyaavaraan Palace, home to Shah Mohammad Reza Pahlavi and his family for the last 10 years of his royal rule.Not as impressive as Golestan but still pretty special, especially seeing such things as the private dentist office for the Shah, the children's bedrooms with their toys, the guest quarters where such luminaries as President Jimmy Carter, Queen Victoria etc overnighted. From here we traveled back toward the city , first stopping at a cake shop for some tasty treats to take with us. We had arranged to visit our friends that we had met on the flight from KL to Tehran. After saying goodbye to Parto and Mr H we were welcomed into their home and truly felt like honoured guests - once again we are blown away with the friendliness and hospitality of Iranians - if only more people from the west realised this then there might be a great deal less animosity toward Iran. We spent a pleasant hour or so chatting and tasting all manner of sweets that our hosts had prepared before then being driven back to our hotel in the city. A late dinner and bed as tomorrow is the day we set out on our own.

Day 3 - Tehran

Internet access in Iran is proving problematic so my posts will be sporadic at best. This morning we met our guide for the two days in Tehran, the lovely Parto and once again we were chauffeured around by Mr H. I have been taking note of Mr H's driving style in preparation for Tuesday when I get to tackle all this myself - I reckon I can manage it. Parto turned out to be a delightful lady from the west of Tehran who obviously enjoys her job and is clearly experienced in guiding strangers around Tehran.Our first stop was the National Museum. The National Museum was interesting, as most museums are, and contained far too much to attempt to detail here - suffice to say we were very impressed with the exhibits and would need at least a second visit to appreciate them fully. From here we moved on to the National Carpet Museum and again we were in awe of the exhibits - magnificent Persian carpets in all manner of styles from every region of modern day Iran. Following this it was time to focus on the practicalities of life - money changing and lunch. We tackled Ferdosi Street, the street of money exchanges, without too much hope as it being Eid al Fitr everything was closed. Luckily we found one open and proceeded to swap $1k USD for probably a couple of million rial and I still don't know how many toman. Tomans are a strange concept - one that I continue to have difficulty getting my head around and won't even bother trying to explain here - just google the term.From here we proceeded to a self service restaurant that is quite famous in Tehran apparently - Hani Parse. Here we indulged ourselves in ghorme sabzi, kofte balls, some sort of fish with a block of sabzi, Iranian rice etc etc, rosewater custard, drinks all for $23 AUD for 3 persons - incredible value. After lunch we headed to the north of Tehran to a small park called Tajrish park I think. This contained small scale models of many of the major monuments and attractions in Iran such as Azadi Tower, a palace in Imam square Esfahan and so on. Finished this off with tea at a teahouse across the road and then went shopping for another manteau and scarf for Sue. Finished off our sightseeing by visiting Tajrish bazaar which was a fascinating place. We learned that for 10 days a year the central atrium gets converted into a place of prayer and for the rest of the year it houses fruit and vegetable vendors. And lastly, after a long day, dinner at our hotel - kebabs and fish for again a very small amount. I could live like a king in Iran :-)

 

Day 2 - Kuala Lumpur to Tehran

Well again not a great deal to report today - another traveling day today - KL to Tehran at 5 pm. Spent the morning tucking into another Concorde Inn buffet breakfast (one of the many reasons I like this place) followed by a swim in the pool and  catching a few rays. One thing that occupies my mind as I wait for our taxi is wondering how the AirAsia flight attendants will be kitted out on this leg. Can't imagine they will be in their usual garb. We shall see.
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Well what a difference a few hours makes. So many impressions of people and things in such a short time - almost sensory overload :-)   First thing that struck me and continues to strike me is how extraordinarily friendly and welcoming the Iranian people are. From the moment we joined the crowd waiting for the flight to Tehran we encountered folk wanting to talk and ask us about ourselves and our trip to Iran with obvious enthusiasm for welcoming tourists such as ourselves. And the same experience on the flight itself, perhaps even more so as I was able to move around. A group of gents including myself ended up loitering near the rear galley and discussing a wide variety of topics from driving in Iran, to food, money changing, toilets - you name it. I was given a great deal of useful advice and learnt a number of Farsi words as well. And then there was the couple seated directly in front of us - we chatted for much of the journey and now have been invited to their home in Tehran which hopefully we will be able to fit into our busy schedule. Also the large cohort of Iranian women on the flight sans hijab and also the more traditional who did not remove theirs ever. I forgot to mention the unruly scramble to get on the plane in KL. I learnt later that queues don't exist in Iran or at least that was what I was told :-) And then there is the driving - nothing quite as magical as hurtling down the freeway from IKA to Tehran with cars passing on whichever side they please while all the while our lovely driver Mr H seems intent on straddling the broken lane marker whenever the opportunity arises. Perhaps he feared getting lost and was simply following the line to get to Tehran. Nobody uses their indicators - they simply drift from one lane to another without so much as a second thought and usually just missing the vehicle sneaking up beside them. Eventually to the Atlas Hotel which turned out to be a slightly tired but friendly and welcoming 3 star hotel. Oh, and by the way it was still around 32c at the time we arrived which was about 10pm Iran time. Apart from my mistaking the Islamic toilet hose for the loo flush button and as a consequence sending a fountain of water into the air in the bathroom that was quite enough excitement for the day.

Oh, and trouser suits and the obligatory AirAsia scarf for those who were wondering.

Day 1 - Melbourne to KL Malaysia

Arrived safely in KL after an uneventful and enjoyable flight from Melbourne this morning. Had a delightful English couple who live in Malaysia sitting in the seats in front of us with their two little boys who kept me amused for much of the flight. Had the usual excellent service from the AirAsia cabin crew. Now kicking back at our usual haunt near  KLIA the Concorde Inn enjoying the sudden change from Melbourne's climate - has to be well into the thirties at 6pm. Have just enjoyed a delicious a la carte Malaysian meal having arrived too late to secure a table for the Ramadan buffet dinner - always next year I guess :-)