OverlandSphere
Overland Travel, Expedition & Adventure Information for 4x4, motorcycle and truck overlanders
After 4 weeks in Iran it is time to look back, and to reflect on the experiences. We have had so many new adventures, and we have seen so many new things that we could fill books with the stories. What fascinated us most and left us deeply impressed were the people of Iran, their cordiality, their hospitality, and their…
Many things are different here – very different. Even after three weeks in this country, we have not comprehended many things. But we want to tell you about some particularities, that have surprised us, or that are very characteristic. 1. Hospitality Nowhere else have we experienced such a big hospitality like here in Iran. We are regularly invited for tea…
We are in Iran now since 15 days, and we are already so full of new experiences and stories, it is hard to summarize everything. Iran is definitely completely different from the picture the media draw of it in western countries. All people we have met so far were friendly, welcoming, and honestly interested in us. Also police and officials…
We have been in Iran now for about one week, and since so many at home were worried because of our travel to Iran we wanted to give you a short update. Our experiences so far were mainly positive, and the country really is fantastic. The people are friendly, open, helpful and the hospitality is enormous. We will write more…
I should have known I was going to have my issues with Iran, when an officious member of the crew told me I had to put on my chador almost as soon as we had scrambled up into the seating deck on the ferry. I could feel the usually dormant feminist within me sharpening her claws. Theresa all covered up…
Waste Management There seems to be a general waste management problem in Iran. Public rubbish bins are available at petrol stations, and in parks. Otherwise no rubbish bins were evident. Roadsides or embankments from roads into valleys seem to be the preferred place for dumping building and municipal waste. People take the initiative to burn litter at the roadside when…
‘Your garbage is my garbage, my garbage is your garbage’ – Ahmad Nadalian This is our first blog from on the road. We left Dubai via the ferry from Sharjah to Bandar Abbass, Iran, and arrived in Tehran yesterday in the early afternoon after a wonderful three day journey through the Iranian countryside. We are very grateful to have had…
Iran is long in the rear-view now, and the post-game roundup has been rattling around in the back of my head like the unknown object that fell through the parking brake casing into the chassis. It’s late enough after the party that memories are starting to blur together: Did we eat goat brain in Tehran or Shiraz? Is that photo…
We’ve experienced the interesting phenomenon as we’ve moved eastward of being fervently warned against the terrors and the dangers of the bogeymen we are bound to encounter further east. It began as far back as Bosnia, where we were cautioned about driving through Serbia, but has been more pronounced ever since Turkey. In Istanbul, we we were warned about traveling…
To completely contradict the start of my Iranian visit, it ended it on such a high note, with a family in Sanadaj. Sanadaj is in the heart of Kurdistan, Iran, where the traditions, clothing and culture were entirely different to the rest of Iran. People had told me Tehran was pretty liberal, but here in Sanadaj I hardly saw a woman…
Twenty two million people would scare anyone, when driving into the heart of Tehran and the majority of them are all on the road all at the same time, trying to elbowing themselves to the head of the queue at every traffic light. I had been warned by many people about how manic and dangerous this traffic was going to be. Dread set…
I wasn’t quick enough trying to crank my head around to get a second glance at the sign post, nope I definitely missed it. Did it really tell me to turn right? I better turn around and check it out again. Just as I was about to drive off, a banged up pickup truck pulled up next to me, with the…
The little village of Toodeshk was the home of a young man, who at the age of 13 was working hard and was really curious about these travellers he saw cycling past him. He then approached them to offer them a place to stay and food for the night all for free. Thirteen years later he has arrange two beautiful rooms within his…
Squinting as I look up into the deep blue sky to the cooling towers and minarets that extrude into the skyline, I drag my fingers along the narrow alleyway walls, feeling the warmth from the mud and straw texture under my tips, absent minded I follow the smell of fresh bread wafting into the air. Boy it was good to…
It’s 6 in the evening and we’re driving into Tabriz, Iran. The sun went down 30 minutes ago, but we’ve been driving through a storm-induced twilight for the last few hours. The air is thick with diesel fumes and giant sticky-wet snowflakes and the visibility is from here to the taillights of the next car. Of course, when only about…
I wake to the sounds of sniffing around my tent. I wished then I hadn’t read the short story in my guide book just before I feel asleep, about an Iranian girl too scared to camp in the mountains because wolves might eat her. The sniffing stopped and I drifted back off to sleep again, glad to not be eaten. Once again, it’s…
Wind on my face, free from escorts, I just rode all I wanted to get as far away from that man in Kerman as soon as possible. He was acting like an over caring father that drove me crazy. Despite the desperate need to join the main tourist crowd and make myself feel normal again, I headed south into the desert, where I had hopes…
Akbar opened the gates and helped me push my bike through into the court yard of his guest house, the first act of kindness I had received since entering Iran, 300 kilometres deep into the country. I guess the escorts thought they were helping, but their abrupt, rude joking, their fast driving and trying to push me along by driving incredibly…
Licking my lips, I feel my tears crunch between my teeth, which only must mean I have a sand streaked face, one that must look pretty ridiculous for those who look at it. ‘Don’t pass me on to another police station just take to me a hotel for fuck’s sake, it’s been four hours and all you have is done is pass me…
After two days of rest we made our way to the Iran border Cat in full longsleeves and headscarf and under her bike gear. As we got close near Mount Ararat we saw another biker so I decided to pull over and see if he was ok. He was but he was just stopping to take some photos. His name…
By Johno Apologies for spelling mistakes etc – this was written after a a very long stint without sleep [Now only two, Craig and Johno were left waiting to cross the Iran-Pakistan border after two days of trying...] We were woken at 6am by the blazing sun and the usual ear-splitting call to prayer from the mosque less than a…
By Johno *Warning: Contains strong language * [The previous blog saw the car falling apart near the Afghanistan border and the team failing to find a mechanic who could fix it in the dodgy border town of Mirajaveh.] I slept surprisingly well until I was woken by the ear-splitting Call to Prayer from the adjacent mosque at 6am. Michael…
By Johno [The previous blog saw Paul and Leigh stuck in Dubai leaving Johno to drive the car across Baluchistan with two new companions...] Baluchistan is name given to the large expanse of barren desert that straddles the Pakistan-Iran border and is so notorious for drug-smuggling, banditry and kidnappings that all foreigners must be accompanied by compulsory armed escorts. The…
The last blog closed wth Leigh stuck in Dubai, Johno waiting in Iran and Paul being deported from Tehran… Leigh: Sitting on a balcony, swigging a cold beer back. I had resigned myself to missing out on possibly the most adventurous part of the expedition (if not the most dangerous) and meeting up with the others half way through…
By Paul Archer Iranian Coaches, Gangsta Leigh and I arrived at Shiraz’s small airport to take the flight to Dubai, where we would hopefully be picking up our long awaited visas for Pakistan. I would then fly back as soon as possible to meet up with Johno to take the taxi through Pakistan, where we would meet Leigh (who would…
By Paul Archer Another breathe taking Mosque In South West Iran, there is a small city called Yazd. One of the hottest places in the country, and what felt like the world, it was our destination after Shiraz. FLAGS! Heading along the sunbaked smooth road, we stopped at sundown; searching for a desert campsite we spied a mud fort and…
By Paul Archer It’s a bit deserty out Leigh has an unquenchable need to fix and fiddle with things. Based purely on a love of engineering of all forms, this admirable trait in a team mechanic occasionally backfires. In one particular case it involved plugging the most important bit of electrical equipment, the GPS unit tracking our progress for the…
Iran regularly features in the media, but never in a good way. When you say you’re going to Iran, most people’s reaction is comparable to telling them you’re going for a beach break and sailing excursion along the Somalian coast. However, although the government and its foreign policy supposedly presents one of the largest threats to ‘Western’ security, the country…
By Leigh. Crossing the border in the dark was a daunting prospect. We had just proven the British officials wrong by crossing the border between Iraq and Iran but had now arrived in a country which was named an ‘Axis of evil’ by the United States and was the centre of many news stories in the press back home. As…
By Johno A lot hung on the Iraq-Iran border. If we couldn’t cross, as the British Embassy in Erbil had told us would almost definitely be the case, then we would have to drive all the way back through Kurdistan and into Turkey for the third time on the trip. The detour would cost us at least two days and…