Abyaneh en route to Esfahan

Our driver with a really bad hairpiece showed up on time at 0900.  We had arranged for a transfer to Esfahan via Abyaneh and Natanz for EUR30 per car.  With Mikel and Puri, it was a convenient sum of EUR10 per person. The ride took just over an hour and we were in Abyaneh by […]

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Kashan’s historical mansions

I woke at 0400 and fell asleep again till I heard faint tinkling of my alarm.  I readied myself for breakfast at 0800 before leaving the hostel at 0900.  It was hot already but there was no point starting too early as various sights open at 0900. First up, I wanted to visit Hammam-e Sultan […]

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Moving south to Kashan

I woke early due to the time difference and headed downstairs for breakfast.  It was a disappointing first breakfast in Iran as I was looking forward to the usual tomatoes and cucumber. Upon check-out, I walked to the nearby taxis to Haftado-do-tan roundabout for transport to Kashan.  There were supposed to be buses and taxis […]

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Eating on Mahan Air

  I'm starting to think that lesser known airlines like Mahan Air (Iran's second airline) are a worthy alternative to the well-known favourites. Posted by Alex Chan on Saturday, June 2, 2018

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Arriving in and exploring Qom

Flying to Tehran With the aid of a sleeping pill after supper, I slept for around 3h30 and rested for another 30 minutes before opening my eyes.  The entertainment system (marked with Olympic Airways who kindly specified thick wide sumptuous seats with plenty of legroom) was not utilised. A snack of a very good quality […]

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On the road again

Leaving family After 9 nights in Kuching, I leave today for Kuala Lumpur connecting to Tehran.  It was great to meet my step-sister for the first time since childhood.  We worked well together on various issues facing our elderly and deteriorating parents … her dad with dementia and my mum who had suffered a fall […]

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Lunch at the estuary

Today we had organised a family at the estuary village of Muara Tebas. It is noted for its fresh seafood but my brother had driven his own fish from a recent fishing trip here yesterday, so it could be nicely marinated for our meal today. What a champion! We had to be ready at 1030 […]

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Border market and a cave

Today, we had an excursion to the Serikin Border Market at one of the border crossings with Indonesia.  It is about 1h30 from the apartment and to avoid the heat ,we left at 0545 with a detour to Aunty Margaret’s.  We ended up proceeding with a headstart and arrived at 0730 We paid for parking […]

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Family time

I had spent yesterday in town with my cousin and her son.  Strangely, I showed them two great places that I’m surprised they didn’t know. Firstly, the Singapore superstore that is called Mustafa.  It kinda has anything and everything ranging from nightmarket cheapies to Mont Blanc belts side-by-side!  There’s electronics, clothing, luggage, pharmaceuticals  … but […]

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From the big republic to the tiny one

Today I fly from the big republic that is Indonesia to the smaller one, Singapore.  I started the day with a breakfast of muesli and milk with papaya, purchased from the supermarket yesterday.  I checked out around 0930 and used Grab to order a ride to the airport.  The driver got near the airport and […]

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