If you need medical care in Central Asia a place we recommend is the Taskent International Medical Clinic (TIMC).

They have Western and Ouzbek doctors and everybody speaks fluent English.

They have good material and X-ray. A short visit costs 55 USD.

The TIMC new address is 38, Sarikulskaya street, Tashkent.
Phone: (998 71) 191-0142
Mobile: (998 90) 1852088

If you need to cash out US dollars with a visa card in Ashgabat the only place you can go is The State Bank for Foreign Economic Affairs of Turkmenistan (in Turkmen: Turkmenistanyn dasary ykdysady dowlet banky).

The bank is between the centre and Berzengi at the corner of Moskovskaya and Sovetskaya.

You need to take a taxi (around 10.000 manats one way from the centre).

It is only worthy if you are really short of cash because they take 5% commission…

All other bank addresses of the Lonely Planet Central Asia 2004 Edition (National Bank of Pakistan and other) are obsolete.

During our 30 days in Iran we visited 9 towns. We took 8 long distance buses, 13 city buses, 2 modern trains, 4 Tehrani metros and… 22 taxis (including 6 savaris, shared cars).

We ate 20 chelo kebabs (with rice), drank 18 delicious fruit shakes, tens of litres of water, dozens of cays (local tea).

We sent 7 postcards (did any of them arrive?), spent 15 hours on the Net, gave 3 international phone calls (after 7 unsuccessful attempts).

We managed to avoid the way of 2 rats and spotted 5 cockroaches during a home stay.

Maïté had 3 scarf warnings by the Guardians of the Revolution while J-F spent 1 dollar for his new haircut.

Most of all we made countless Iranian friends and we can tell that the country’s hospitality is not a myth…

Some other remarkable facts and figures about Iran:

-Men and women are separated in the public buses.

-During an overnight journey, a train would stop twice for the prayer and everybody would have to leave the carriage to join the station’s prayer room…

-1 liter of oil (0.1 USD) is twice as cheap as 1 litre of water (0.2 USD), some other prices: loaf of bread 0.025 USD, metro ticket 0.075 USD, double room 8-25 USD (depending on category), restaurant for 2 person 3-10 USD…

-The proportion of women at university is 65%.

-Iran is the 4th biggest oil producer in the world and detains the 2nd largest oil and gas reserves. Still the country is importing 40% of its oil products due to the lack of refineries (worth 5 billion USD a year).

-7 million cars pollute Iranian roads half of them in and around Tehran.

-Tap water is drinkable almost everywhere (in opposition to all neighbour countries).

-Iran is the 1st pistachio producer in the world.

-The National Jewels Museum of Tehran houses the Darya-ye-Nur a pink diamond of 182 carat which is said to be the largest uncut diamond in the world.

-Each year 12 million pilgrims go to the Holy Shrine of Iman Reza (8th Iman of the Shiia) in Mashad, North Eastern Iran.

-Persepolis a 125,000 sq metres site built by Darius and his successors during the Achaemenid Empire was burned to the ground during Alexander the Great’s « visit » in 330 BC.

-About 250,000 Iranians live in California where they have their own TV channel. The mayor of Beverly Hills was even an Iranian.

View from the hill surrounding Mashad, North East of Iran:

Some bazaar conversations:

Iranian teenager: Ingliz?
Iranian teenager: German?
Iranian teenager: French?
J-F (annoyed): No Belgian!
Iranian teenager: BELGIQUE! I love your country. Jean-Claude Van Damme my favourite actor. I have all his films at home. You like?
J-F: Famous man indeed. Probably more American than Belgian these days…
Iranian teenager: I like when he is naked, you can see all his muscles.
J-F: Hum, yes… Very impressive.
Iranian guy: Is Prague the capital of Belgium?
J-F: Not quite yet… Today it is still Brussels. You know The capital of Europe?
Iranian guy: What’s temperature like in Belgium?
J-F: It is cold and rainy all year round…
Iranian teenager (enthusiastic): Oh what nice! Seems very good country.

Iranian teenager 2: Mister!
Iranian teenager 2: You speak English?
J-F: I try to…
Iranian teenager 2: Where you from?
J-F: Belgium
Iranian teenager 2: Oh… Do you have skateboard in your country?
J-F: Yes we have… Also BMX and Roller Blade… But can’t say Belgium is the Mecca of these sports.
Iranian teenager 2: Do you know Tony Hawk?
J-F: Afraid not…
Iranian teenager 2: He is skateboard champion… He lives in California.
Iranian teenager 2: Do you have bank account?
J-F (surprised): Yes…
Iranian teenager 2: I send you money.
J-F: Sounds nice!
Iranian teenager 2: You send me DVD from Tony Hawk.
J-F: Listen I am doing a tour around the world and won’t be back home before long… You know the Silk Road?
Iranian teenager 2: No.
J-F: If you are in a hurry, you better download your skate videos from YouTube.
Iranian teenager 2: But Iranian internet is filtered!
J-F: Forgot than one…

Iranian man (speaking Farsi): thytrsyarrty?
J-F: Sorry my Farsi is very limited…
Iranian man (repeating louder): thytrsyarrty?
J-F (trying): Belgique and my name is John…
Iranian man: Oh… Nice… I have friend in Antwerp, he has Iranian restaurant Persepolis.
J-F: Don’t know that one. Good idea for a kebab when we will be back in Belgium.
Iranian man: Is Iran good?
J-F (enthusiastic): Iran very beautiful and people very nice!
Iranian man (smiling face): Want to buy carpet? Cheap price for you!
J-F: Not really my cup of tea.
Iranian man: Want tea? I have cay in my shop.
J-F: That’s very nice from you but we have to go…
Iranian man: Is THAT your wife?
J-F (lying): Yes SHE is.
Iranian man: Good.
Iranian man: Can you sign my guest book?
J-F (slightly annoyed): Don’t have a lot of time…
Iranian man (insisting): Just two minutes Mister.
We both enter the shop, willing to get out asap. As I sit down to sign the book, two cups of tea suddenly appear on the desk.
Iranian man: Sign here… You see I have Korean, Holland, Swiss…
J-F: No Belgians?
Iranian man: No.
J-F: Happy to be the first one then!

When leaving former Yugoslavian countries and Bulgaria I thought that I would now cross a new frontier.

In my mind going East was like going away from occidental civilisation, crossing the border for something new, more oriental…

In fact in many ways Turkey is more westernised than eastern Europe: probably one of Ataturk’s heritage.

Roads are wide and well maintained, public and private transport is comfortable and leave on time, most of the young people speak English.

One sure thing is that we met in Turkey and particularly in the eastern part one of the most welcoming population. We had countless çay’s (local tea) with guys we did not know a minute before and most of the people tried to help us with a suggestion, an explanation or just a smiling face.

Cities of Istanbul and Ankara, villages of Göreme, Sanliurfa and Mardin, World Heritage site of Mount Nemrut were extraordinary examples of the beauty of Turkey and the kindness of its people.

Just to name some of them: Mehmet in his lost Cappadocian valley, Bekir the guardian of the troglodyte Dark Church, the Karadut dolmus (local mini-bus) driver who also acts as the village postman, grocer, pharmacist and confident.

So going East is a real pleasure that will bring us back home one day!

1. Visit extraordinary Blue Mosque and Aya Sophya

2. Get lost in the Grand Bazaar, buy what you do not need and then recover in a hamam

3. Taste water pipe and çay (local tea) while playing backgammon on the Galata Bridge

4. Take a breathtaking boat trip on the Bosporus up to the Black Sea

5. Wander around Beyoglu streets and meet the Istanbulite fashion victims

1. Cycling around Vis and Mjlet islands and discovering secret coves

2. Walking on Dubrovnik walls

3. Wandering around the Krka National Park and its impressive waterfalls

4. Swimming in the Adriatic blue water

5. Eating marinated sardines, seafood risotto or grilled fish in a Konoba

Difficult to leave Rovinj and its particular atmosphere: big Venetian cathedral surrounded by small fisher houses. Surely the town will be crowded of tourists in July and August.

The water is so blue we are even more keen on scuba diving. Looks like it might be difficult in this low season because most of the tourist attractions are still closed down.

We leave thus Rovinj with the firm intention to catch a ferry from Pula to the island of Mali Losinj and then Zadar. In Pula we hear that this ferry is not active any more and that we have to change our plans. Another example of inaccuracy of our Lonely Planet guide book, perhaps the 2005 version is already too old for a moving country like Croatia. But the Book took us out of trouble many times so we can accept mistakes from time to time. Flexibility is what we have!

We visited the town of Pula and its impressive Roman theatre, temple and arch. From the more recent castle we can observe the frenetic activity of the nearby shipyard obstructing the sea view. I am impressed by the number of yards around the country. The maritime industry is still a big part of the Croatian economy. With my shipping experience I explain to Maïté the difference between a dry bulker and a car carrier (yes I can distinguish them ).

We decide then to head to Rijeka before the fall of the night. We follow a narrow road alongside the Istrian coast with fantastic views over the surrounding islands. Rijeka is an even bigger city and welcomes us with its many beer terraces on the pedestrian « Korzo ». We are one more time surprised by the age of the crowds. The Croatian population is young and noisy. With their future entry in EU they will give a boost to the « old » Europe. The only place where we can still find something to eat is a Belgian café. We tried our best to avoid it but just had no choice! Rijeka would probably not ring a bell to the readers not familiar with the shipping world. In my former job I had to include the discharge port of Rijeka to many tanker freight contracts so I am happy to see now how it looks like.

We found a clean room at Maria Popovic guest house and had a good sleep. In the next morning we took another bus to Zadar. We enjoyed a dramatic view on the islands of Rab, Pag and Krk, most of them being desertic.

Zadar is a nice place full of churches and bell towers. The small streets and big walls keep the air fresh. The sea organ on the promenade gives a melodious concert. We were planning to visit the nearby Kornati Islands but decided to go further south to have more chances to find open dive centres. Looks like the real start of the season is on the long week-end of the 1st of May.