For about one week, my bicycle was having a serious problem with the lower gear shifting and the rear wheel was once again a bit wobbly. After searching for a while I found a bicycle shop in Samarkand today, but the mechanic told me that he would not be able to fix the gear problem … Read more
After three days of hard cycling and covering 270 kilometres I reached the historic city of Samarkand today. Though I was totally exhausted due to today’s ride, I still spent like over four hours walking in the city. I mainly stayed at the Registan square where the city’s most iconic ensemble of buildings are located. At … Read more
Samosa seller at Labi-havz in Bukhara, Uzebekistan. Unlike Pakistani Samosas which are deep fried, the Uzbek Samosas are rather baked in a Tandoor oven.
Nasreddin was a sufi satirist known for his witty anecdotes which contained bits of wisdom. His jokes and stories have been translated to many languages including Urdu language where he is known as Mullah Naseer-ud-din. Uzbek people believe he was born and lived in Bukhara. Here are a couple of anecdotes about him. One evening … Read more
This is how I look after cycling like a mad man over the past six days. A five-day Turkmenistan transit visa and almost 500 kilometres to cross desolate stretch of Karakum desert meant there was absolutely no leeway whatsoever, and it was going to be a race against the time. Day 1 was spent getting … Read more
For the last three days I am again stuck in Mashhad as Turkmen consulate hasn’t issued me a transit visa yet. They have asked me to come back tomorrow again, which turns out be my last day on Iranian visa as well. Yesterday I went to a bicycle shop to get my bicycle repaired, and … Read more
Best view of the Naqsh-e-Jahan square in Esfahan, Iran with the Loftollah mosque on the left and Shah Mosque in the middle.
A reunion with my dear friend Mohsin who flew in from Qatar to visit me in Mashhad while I am waiting here for Turkmenistan transit visa. As I had few days visa left, I came by train to Mashhad to apply for Turkmen visa, but the consulate here was closed for one week for no … Read more
It turns out it was indeed wise to apply for the Chinese Visa in Tehran as it couldn’t have been any easier. All it was required was a filled application form, which included the itinerary details, a passport photo, and a visa support letter from the German Embassy in Tehran. Apart from that, no supporting … Read more
Here is my camping location in Milli Park, Rudsar in Iran. I was granted permission to put up my tent near to the entrance. I was first worried because it was close to road and asked if I could pitch the tent on the back of the park, but Ali, who worked at the park said … Read more
Iran’s official currency is Iranian Rial, but everywhere the currency people use is Tomans. In a simple scenario, 1 Toman = 10 Rials. So far so good, but things get confusing when number of zeros increase. If for example a taxi driver shows you 3 fingers, it means means he wants 3000 Tomans = 30,000 … Read more
I met Thierry in Marand, Iran by chance when my host Akbar was leading me to a guesthouse. On the way we saw Thierry surrounded by a number of policemen and passersby outside a police station. He had been brought there by a taxi driver whom he had refused to pay after a terrible misunderstanding … Read more
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