New Year's Day 2009 - Esfehan, Iran

HAPPY NEW YEAR to all my readers!! :-)

Well, I spent a very quiet, sober New Year's Eve on a 16-hour bus trip from Orumiyeh to Esfehan. Leading up to midnight, I was listening to the City of Bristol Boys' Choir (particularly my son with his beautiful soprano voice - a few years ago now! Sorry to embarass you, my son); at 12 o'clock I opened a bottle of warm, flat Coke, whilst listening to Il Divo, followed by Madeleine Peyroux. So now you know a little of my musical tastes.

Since my last missive, I have been travelling by lorry, car, minibus, taxi and big bus (coach, I think I mean!); the weather has been bitter, snowy, icy and freezing. A bit like UK, by all accounts. I had to cycle at one point (cos 3 of the 4 lorries travelling in convoy one by one broke down!), but this was not a nice experience: icy and slippery and traffic hooting me off the clear single carriageway. I stopped at a little shop and ended being given a lift to the city of Van. But not without its little misunderstandings by the driver. One of my (very) few, slight incidents I am happy to forget.

Now, though, I am more southerly and so the climate is temperate. Up 'til now the only cycling in Iran has been to cycle from a hotel to a bus station and from a different bus station to a hostel. (don't say I don't experience variety on this trip!). Therefore, I have yet to see what it's like being on the road proper and to see how I fare. From the lofty heights of the coach, I am expecting it to be a little hairy: the hard shoulders do not look cycle-friendly and the driving leaves much to be desired.

I plan to stay two or three days here in Esfehan: to obtain a visa extension beyond the allotted 30 days; to clean my poor bike (it was stashed under the belly of the lorry for 24 hours; I'm surprised it's still talking to me); to see beautiful Esfehan and to get the feel of another new country.

There are 5 other cyclists in the hostel: a Pole and a Korean, each travelling solo and from their home countries; and 3 Slovenians cycling just for a week in Iran. Plus a Japanese backpacker.

I am wearing my buff on my head as my compulsory headcover, but not hiding all of my hair. Why? Because on the first day in Iran I noticed, to my utmost surprise, that many women did not cover ALL of their hair (unlike ALL other Moslem countries I've visited). I have been wearing my charity shop bargain dress as a tunic over my trousers, but today, the hostel manager said I was OK not to wear it. Well, well, knock me down with a feather. After all that's been said about strict dress and head code.