Korean Job Discussion Forums

[bucheon bum]

Sounds like Iranians treat tourists like Bangladeshis do; only difference is there are actually cool sights in Iran.

If only it weren't so hard to get a visa for Americans...

[ajgeddes]

Wo buxihuan hanguoren - I brought with me $1600US for my 17 days here and there is no way in hell I will run out. I have spent a bit more than needed, but only because I have been staying in nicer hotels and I spent $90 on hotels on my first day here. Two hotels in one day. Probably, with hotel, I am probably averaging about $50 a day, but you could do it much, much cheaper.

Bucheon Bum - It isn't hard for Americans to get VISA's for Iran. It is easier for Americans than it is for Canadians and I got mine in 10 days. The only difference is that you would HAVE TO take a tour whereas I can travel freely and do whatever I want. However, Americans are more than welcome to wander around at night and in the mornings on their own.

Tiger Beer - Lots of Japanese here too. Iranians love the Japanese people. I see them all over the place. This internet cafe also has signs in Japanese. Some stores even have Japanese on their signs. I think Japanese might be top 3 in tourists here along with French (by far the most) Italians or Dutch.

Anyways, on to today's post. This may overlap a bit with my last post.

Got in at 10PM to realize my hotel is awesome, and for only $15 a night. A lot of the hotels in this city are old buildings that have been restored, so the rooms open up onto inner courtyard/gardens with running water in ponds. I will post pictures later.

Anyways, this city is great, possibly the highlight of the vacation so far. The old part of the city is all made of mud, straw and bricks and has these giant windcatchers that act like natural A/C. It is great to walk through because you just get lost. The only way out is to climb on a roof and look for something you know and head towards it. It's a blast. There are some great historical buildings here and the mosque is great.

Today, took a day trip out of the city to 3 places, with Super-cool-Korean-guy (SCKG). We are now BFF's, haha. Asr Abad, which is now a ghost village and is slowly being consumed by sand. It was a Zoroastrian traditional village and is just in the middle of the desert. It is great to just climb up on the roofs. I saw the skeleton of what looks like a cow just lying in the desert. It was just like in cartoons.

Then we went to Kharanaq which was an old village on the old silk road and now is a little crumbling village, but they are restoring it. We climbed up into the 400 year old minaret, which was a really close fit, and I was barely able to fit and I am not a big guy. You can get up top and then you can shake it and it really moves side to side. The village has an amazing view of the valley and an old aquaduct.

After that, we drove forever through nothing in the desert, into the mountains, and then climbed up to this Zoroastrian shrine that is 1,500 years old. Middle of the desert, halfway up a mountain and there has been a steady drip of water for 1,500 years. There is a whole long story behind it, but I am not going to get into that now. Then we had to drive forever through the desert to get back to the city. It is really strange where the site was because there really was nothing there, but now a big shrine complex.

Got back to the city and visited a Zoroastrian fire temple that has had a fire that has been burning for over 1,600 years. It was pretty cool and a nice building.

The people in this city are also great. Super friendly, and everybody says hi to you. I wish I could stay here longer, but I just don't have the time. To not come to this city would really be missing out on a great experience though. Some wonderful architecture to be seen.

In my opinion, Shiraz was a let down. If it weren't for Persepolis, you could skip it. It isn't so much that it doesn't have anything to see, but just nothing really all that special compared to other cities. One good thing about it is the hospitality of the people, which is reknowned throughout Iran. Also, it has a bunch of international flights. I also had to extend my VISA while in Shiraz. Going to the bank was a painful process, but the actual act of extending it at the Alien's Office was easy and they were really friendly. I got to sit in the office and wait while all the other people from Afghanistan,Turkmenistan, etc. had to wait out on the stairwell.

Should also mention now I am actually eating real meals because of the hotels I am staying at and the food is great. Nice breads and meats, lots of Saffron and curries. Great food. Also, the ice cream here is the bomb. I have had a bunch of different kinds of amazing ice cream 'things' for about 60 cents each.

Anyways, that's it for now. Right more when I get to Kashan. I am actually going to an old Caravanaserai (Inn) which has been restored from the days of the silk road, and I am staying in it tomorrow night.

[bucheon bum]

[trubadour]

whats the deal for Brits? Do we have to so a tour too?
Why don't they like us?

[endo]

As a Canadian how did you go about getting your VISA while in Korea?

[ajgeddes]

Endo - I just applied through a tour company, 5 days later they sent me back an authorization number. Then I went to the embassy in Seoul and 5 days later I had my VISA. Costs like $60 for Canadians.

Trubadour - Sometimes Brits have to take tours, but not always. It seems hit or miss with Brits, but more than likely, you won't have to take a tour. They don't like Brits because Great Britain did nothing but kcuf them for about 75 years, until about the 1950-60's sometime. Basically, from what I have been told, they just think Brits are all liars.

____________________________________________

Anyways, left Yazd yesterday morning to go stay out in a caravanserai (old inn) out in the middle of the desert. From the outside it looked like a fortress, but on the inside it was really nice. It was about 500 years old and was on the southern route of the Silk Road. Turns out that in over a 1000 of these inns around the country, it is the only round one. It was nice being out where these was no light at all and literally nothing in all directions, except for the road. We basically slept on Persian carpets and then had food that was very fresh, as in they killed the chickens and then cooked them. Then I played the owner in backgammon and kicked his butt.

Got up today at 7 to walk around the desert and then at 9:30 left because I had to catch a bus to where I am now. Now, I am in Kashan which is was about a 6 hour bus drive from Yazd and about 2.5 more to Tehran. Just got here, am staying in a really ghetto inn, but I don't care, even though it is for 2 nights. See what happens tomorrow, and then the next day I am going into the mountains for a couple of hours and then back to Tehran for my last 3 days. I don't really want to go to Tehran, but maybe I can buy a few things. Then back to Korea.

[wo buxihuan hanguoren]

Thanks for the updates - great stuff and most appreciated.

[doggyji]

Are you back to Korea? Care to post one or two coolest pic?

Off-topic. Yesterday on tv, I saw an Iranian princess who's living in Korea. She got married to a Korean guy and got naturalized so she's Iranian-Korean, to be precise. She speaks perfect Jeollado dialect. Just thought it's interesting. I wonder how many princes and princesses are in Iran.

[ajgeddes]

Sorry, forgot about this thread. I have posted a bunch of pics over at expats. Go over there and take a look if interested. I am updating it all the time as I process the pics.

http://www.eslcafe.com/bbs/showthread.php?t=4961

[Alyallen]

[wo buxihuan hanguoren]

Yeah those pics are amazing - awesome job.

[indytrucks]

For some reason this thread escaped my attention, and I've just spent the last half hour reading through it and looking through your pics AJG. Some stunners in there. You've got some skills behind the lens, son. Sounds like a fantastic trip to a part of the world I've always been wanting to visit.

Great thread. Food for thought.

[spliff]

Saying you're from Canada is like asking for 2nd class treatment, why would you if you're not?

[ajgeddes]

[ajgeddes]