old tiger's Blog

Iran..was a nice country in the 70's..
I don't know about now..things have changed..
in Tehran..big wide paralell running boulevards..
don't recall much names..I recall..behind Tehran..
you can see the Alborz mountain range..
peaks up to over 4000m high even..nice sight..
Tehran itself lies at an altidude of over 1100m.
this means..cold winters sometimes..but in summer..
temperatures can go quite high in Tehran..
it was a crowded city I saw..hectic traffic..
the Amir Kabir hotel was a must for India overland freaks..
but..I never stayed there..I found a very little hotel..
in a side street of a main boulevard..very friendly owners..
hotel was always full of backpackers..don't know how they
spotted this place??we were 4 in a room..all travellers..
same street..I recall..a little restaurant...very simple but filling
food..beans..soup..or abghoust(stew)very simple food..
I recall I went to a bloodbank in Tehran..to donate blood..
in fact..you got an amount of money to donate blood..
my blood was clean,I guess..I was no junkie..ahah..
lots of foreigners gave blood there..in Greece as well..
Saloniki had a blood bank..I believe they called it *akepi*??
after donating blood..the medical staff gave some vitamines..
I guess B complex..to regain strenght??believe it or not..
but I saw one giant of a bloke..almost fainted..
when they tapped his blood..big mouth...small heart??
so..after this donation..I went for some food..
visited the Bazaar..aww..that's something..that bazaar..
hustle bustle of carpets..handicrafts..anything..
lots of touts..wanted to talk you into carpet stuff..
what would I do with a carpet??going to India..well..well??
I made my visa for India in Tehran..friendly staff..no hassles..
but it takes 2 or 3 days anyway..let me tell you all..
maybe you all have a wrong idea about Iran..
in the 70's..foreigners..going to India..were a curiousity..
Iranian students...wanted to know..why??wherefor..and how??
I was invited quite often to have a tea..even abghoust..
payed by Iranians..and to tell you..they were no capitalists..
it's just into the heart of these people..hospitability..
we can learn a lesson or two today here..
nowadays..people..just behave egoistic..egocentric..
did society change them??were the 60 or 70's better??
in my idea..no..even in the 60's..there was friction..frustration..
don't get to high ideas about hippies..60's..
we had our problems as well..just ask a survivor..
O.K..music..mentality..attitude..were different..
and I was glad to be part of that..deep inside me..
I don't think..I was a hippie..I was a gypsie..
with hippie ideas..the real hippies...
they lived in communes in California..or anywhere else..
they cared a shit..about publicity..they lived together..
with the ones they created a harmony..
I see this is far away nowadays...it's all greed..gossip..
distrust..life has become a game..well..well..
true love..is a matter of trust/respect..
if you play up with that..then you better get lost..
because..you're fooling yourselves..
oh..I'm ranting a bit here...so be it then..
but I can tell you all 1 thing..life..is in your own hands..
love it..or hate it..but don't mess around with it..
so..Tehran...it was hot in the summer..
I went to some bus station..for rates..
towards Qum-Kerman..was gonna make a stop in Kerman..
Tiger

Yes..nice big bus..reclining seats..2 drivers..long trip..
I was the only bloody foreigner on the whole bus...
all seats were not taken..gave us some space in the bus..
some passengers were going to Erzurum only..
I was thinking from Ankara there will be some folks getting on
for destination Tabriz or Tehran..few Istanbul passengers were
going to Iran..probably Iranians??now..Turkey..is a nice country..
once out of Istanbul..it's Asia...Izmit-Bolu-Ankara..nice scenery..
very much countryside..I loved these little Turkish villages..
far away from the madding city crowds..Ankara was first stop..
some food+drinking..just took some snacks..stocked up some
food..fruits...always good..Ankara bus station was a hustle bustle..
I believe next stop was gonna be Erzurum..that's Eastern Turkey..
Anatolia..known for rugged mountains..villages..conservative people..
stricly Muslim mentality over here..we drove Ankara-Sivas-Erzincan..
waww..that Turkish music...saz..you know..great..Erzurum..
don't recall much up till Iran..night,you know..fell asleep..
Iran border..is a stop...all formalities..take time.whole bus..
all passengers..passport/visa control..no hassles for me..
so..we entered Iran...i recall..condition of the roads..
MUCH better then Turkey..Tabriz..was reached..and Tehran..
had been there before..I loved that city..big boulevards..
nice bazaar..nice people..it was under the Shah then..
no ayatolla's or strict Muslim behaviour in the early 70's..
I knew a cheap hotel there..was gonna move in there..
for 2 days..then bus trip down to Zahedan..fucking train
to Pakistan again..took that one before..real adventure..
but travelling..was adventure..so what the fuck??
crazy tiger

day 3 in Istanbul..I just went to reserve my bus ticket to Tehran..
place enough...most people travelled as far east as Erzurum..
Tehran is quite a distance from Istanbul..price was O.K...
and it saved 2 nights sleep as well..I was rather curious about
this bus journey..I got a seat in the front part of the bus...
the Turkish people from the bus company were very friendly..
in the afternoon..I went back to the SultanAhmet area..
there was a kind of square..I saw a German car..a chick in mini skirt
travelling with 2 huge dogs..and the Turks staring like hell...bwaah..
nobody was gonna approach this chick,I was sure of that..
funny people one saw sometimes in these days..the hippie freaks
on the way to Katmandu...were often a colourful lot..travelling..
in painted VW buses..in vivid colurs..bus as well as the people..
mostly Europeans..but also lots of Americans travelled these days..
I met some folks in Lale puding shop..who came from India..
they just said..groovy men..groovy..whatever they meant by that..
so I spent some time drinking beer(Tuborg)and chatting to folks..
tomorrow..was gonna take that bus...via Ankara-Sivas-Erzurum-
Agri-Dogubayazit-Bazargan(border Iran)Tabriz-Tehran..
long haul indeed..I did that stretch before..but in parts then..
quite a hassle...since every otogar(bus station)
had lots of companies going same itineraries..
touts wanted to you to travell in their companie buses..
Ankara bus station..was a nightmare..noisy..hectic..
I did not like it last time..this time..no hassles..
straight bus...they stopped in lokanta's=restaurants
where food was cheap..but usually these lokanta's..
were very busy..since lots of buses stopped there..
Turkish people in general were friendly..very curious..
often they asked Aleman??which means..are you German??
so..I went to sleep..full of expectation for the bus trip to Iran..
Tiger

so..Istanbul..cosmopolitan place..but still...around Sirkeci..
I saw one of these Turkish carriers...omg..even in India...
they did not carry that weight??they call them *hamal*
I don't see..why a human must carry a load..like a mule??
anyway...that's Turkey as well..Istanbul got culture and history..
many beautiful mosques,buildings..worthwhile a glance..
and the Bosphorus..that mighty river..is never far away..
in Turkey..you see poverty and richdom alongside...
ask about a *ge?ekondu* in Istanbul or Ankara..
these are like shantytown dwellings..
big cities attract folks,you know..
Istanbul..is a bustling city..3 days was not enough..to discover it..
I had to come back here on my return..been in Istanbul..
4 times...and each time..it was different..each time..it fascinates..
I took a ferry over the Golden Horn towards the railway station.
situated on the Asia side=Haydarpasa..trains to Erzurum etc..
but..I made up my mind..i was gonna take a direct bus trip..
from Istanbul to Tehran(Iran)would take 3 days..sleeping in the bus..
they drive with few bus drivers..continously..express service...
about the price..in these days..rather cheap..hitch hiking in Turkey??
forget about it,folks..just forget about it..so day 2 in Istanbul..
I hung around the river..went under Galata bridge..
took some fresh grilled fish..tasty..and cheap..
Sirkeci Railway station lies on the European side of Istanbul..
beware for pickpockets..just watch out..
Istanbul got a tramline as well these days..I took one..big fun..
I'm wondering whether they still exist nowadays??
on my way from Sirkeci towards Eminonu..
where I stayed in a cheap hotel..I was approached by touts..
who wanna show you this or that..money changers as well..
black market...watch out here..often they just ripp you off..
keep your wallet safe in your pocket in Istanbul..
Istanbul is full of musea as well..it was to hot to dwell hours
inside a museum..in the evening...I met some fellow travellers..
in Lale pudding shop..took some food there..an Efes Pilsen(beer)
or just chat with all these funny dudes and chicks..
some of them came back from India..others were going..
I could have got a shared ride to India..with some Americans..
going to Delhi(India)but..they wanted sharing in benzine,food etc..
I guess on my own..it would be cheaper..well..it was my second
overland trip..this time...again via Zahedan-Quetta railway..
I met a Brazilian couple in our hotel..we smoked shit in their room...
i recall he played guitar...and sung..take me to the station..
waiting for a train..song from The Rolling Stones..
will tell you about day 3..don't even recall what I did??
I believe..I stocked up some food for the bus trip..long haul...
will tell you crazy peeps later on...yip..Istanbul,you know??
Tiger

Istanbul...aww..I can tell you all stories about that place..
it was a mix of East and West..it still is today,I'm sure of that..
first impression...the Bosphorus..mighty river..the bridge..
the fishermen selling their fresh roasted and tasty fish..hmmm...tasty..
under Galata bridge..the waterpipes(hookahs)in the little caf?s..
anything about this place...reminds me..of a mixture.
East/West..well..well...I think I told you all..about Lale pudding shop..
that was the spot..where hippies met..changed ideas..
we read the prickbord..drank a Tuborg beer..or smoked shit..
but all of us..were either going or returning the hippie trail..
long road to India or back..I did it..4 times..because..
there was only 1 trail..1 road..towards India..the hippie trail...
I met people..discussed life...philosofy..shit..hassles..anything...
different..from what one reads today on this forum maybe...
but..it concerned life issues..travelling...anything..
I met great people..which I never saw back again..pity..
now..to come to the point...Istanbul..visit at least Sultanahmet..
huge mosque..do a ferry ride on the Bosphorus..to Haydarpasa..
or to Burgazada island..they still had horse(at)taxis there..funny..
they served these ?ay(tea)for 25 kurus..cheap...
visit Topkapi if you all can..I did not..a hole in my culture..brrrr..
I recall my Istanbul days...in a nostalgic way..it's where..I smelled.
Asia...the East..I really can't explain it 100% to you peeps here..
just go there..THEN...you all will understand..what I mean..
Istanbul has got a modern part as well..Taksim etc..didn't like it...
it was often a copy of the West in these days...if you catch..
what I mean..oh..before i forget..go to a good Turkish restaurant
on Eminonu..get yourself some good Turkish food..lovely..
and also..visit Kapali Carsi=covered Grand Turkish bazar..
well..it's O.K..if you only visit Turkey..buy YOUR souvenirs,please..
choice enough..learn to talk..to bargain..to the shop keepers..ahaha..
this was my first day in Istanbul..I did the Bosphorus..the bazaar..
will tell you more next time...about the other 2 days..
crazy Tiger..