Ramsar Hotel Tehran

... through the morning rush-hour on our way to the northern suburbs.

Arriving at Nikki and Heath's we were happy to see that the pool boys had finally finished painting and that the pool was ready to go. After 2 weeks travelling through the scorched earth of middle Iran, dressed from head to toe, we were both relishing the thought of taking a few layers off and getting into the water. We spent much of the rest of the afternoon lazing about the pool and catching ...

... of home with the NZ Herald and the Listener magazine in the reception, plus pictures of New Zealand scattered around the office. It was Sunday and everyone was back at work. Most Iranians have Thursday afternoon and Friday as their weekend, while Heath had Friday and Saturday off. We had our first swim in Iran at friend of Nikki and Heath's (while their own pool was getting filled). It was a welcome respite from the hot afternoon sun.

James and I made dinner (a bit of a ...

... 8217;t see NZ though – shoddy!). The Sea of Light (Darya-ye Nur) diamond weighs in at a staggering 182 carats and is believed to be the largest uncut diamond in the world. There are also some relatively recent 20th century creations from the likes of Faberge, all using the vast supply of precious gems still stockpiled in the vault.


Glass cases contain tray upon tray of unused stones, both cut and uncut, and all of the highest ...

... que révoltant, instructif qu'écoeurant. J'enchainai pourtant avec le musée "national des bijoux", collection d'une richesse inimaginable des trésors des souverains Safavides et Qajars. Sacs, appareils photos et portables interdits, très haute protection et présentation superbe (une pièce immense, en sous-sol, dont l'obscurité n'est troublée que par le brillant ...

... opinion. Other than serving cold beef burger as an inflight meal mind you! The nougat served on board was just lovely, and yer man David doing a collection of the empty jelly cartons as he was going to make jelly when he got home was just as bizarre! Great flight. Bag almost first off the plane. Some security type chappy wanting a baggage receipt. 'Go away and leave me alone!' I replied. Well, in my mind anyway. I played the old 'I speak English and don't understand what you ...

Assuming that my observations can be generalized to the whole country, I can say that Iran is being run by a minority group. The people on the streets are neither extremely religious nor pre-dominantly conservative. The way many ladies cover their hair here is sexy rather than concealing: the headscarf only pulled half-way with a tiny bit of flesh visible on the neck. I did not expect to see women driving, George Clooney ...

... there is something wrong with me. I always respond "In Shallah" which I think means "God willing". They laugh at my response and then move on to their next set of questions. Another thing that surprised me was when she commented on my appeareance. She was more than generous with her comments and it really caught me off guard. I just didn't think women were allowed to talk that way to men they didn't know. I looked at Majid in confused way but he didn't have any reaction to my ...

... would make me feel guilty about saying no. It really frustrated me as he was so adamant that I go with him. I was grateful for everything he did for me but at the same time I didn't want to feel like a hostage. I think it was the first time on my trip that I became angry and Ali noticed it. He would say "I want you to be relaxed. If you suffer, I suffer. Do what you want. If you are relaxed, then I am relaxed." However each time I would say I didn't want to go to Shayse's place ...

... Before the 1979 Revolution everything was different, people were much freer and one lady told me she wore a mini skirt into university everyday. Then a tyrant called Khomeini came into power and amongst other things reduced the age a girl could marry to 9... He also encouraged women to have at least 6 or 7 children so combined with few job opportunities, there is now massive unemployment amongst the younger generation. In 1997 a moderate, reform minded man ...

... desk looked stunned as I walked in, never peeling her eyes away from me. Not able to speak a word of English, and I not a word of Farsi, she quickly summoned a young man who showed me the rooms. The rickety elevator automatically cranks out a tinny rendition of "Careless Whispers" followed by a soft female voice announcing something in Farsi; it was probably the strangest elevator music I've ever heard. For $15 a night, I got an airless room with a couple of sunken twin ...