Through the mountains of Luristan to Isfahan ...
...is what I have been doing over the last couple of days - mainly over 2000 metres and with fabulous views.
So I will post a few pictures, rather than waffle on...
The Taq e bustan in Kermanshah, right behind my hotel
The highly reviewed, friendly but a bit chaotic Hotel Jamshid
The Bisotun world heritage site outside Kermanshah
The best bit, Darius, was closed for repair!
Had a wave from these guys as I ate my sahnie by the roadside
I decided to break my journey to Isfahan at about 4pm as I had little sleep the night before - my so-called 4 star hotel had turned off the aircon as 'some guests found it cold' so I sweltered instead!
So I ended up in the biggest town around (Aligoudarz) and its one hotel -
although it called itself an international tourist hotel they admitted to me that it was a good while since they had one so I was a bit of a novelty. As a result the manager crept around taking photos of me, whether having a cuppa or eating my dinner!
They insisted I bring the bike to outside the front door (there was hardly a soul around) so I indulged them. When I came out 20 minutes later the receptionist was sitting on the GS, away with his dreams! And indeed the biggest local bike I have seen is a 135cc.
The Luris are another of Iran's ethnic mix - around 2%. Many years ago (1800BC) they were superb metallurgists in bronze, I read, before medieval wars drove them to become nomadic brigands - although they seemed quite sedate to me, this brigand history may be why they wanted the bike kept in sight!
The view made up off it all and I slept far better in this 2star than the posh one!
I was an Early bird the next morning as I wanted to arrive in Isfahan early enough to score a decent hotel room, of which I am told Isfahan has a shortage.
It's cold and I remember : I am at 2000m. For the last day I have changed from my leather Rukka trousers to a pair of armoured Kevlar jeans, and I wonder whether it will be enough today (it was).
When I get underway at 8.10, I am glad I stopped when I did yesterday - the road over the next hour or so is high and lonely, up to 2500m, and the distance to the next place likely to have a hotel is far. From this I formulate another rule for this trip which is always to stop before I feel tired - because there can be few options later, and I am under loose time constraints thanks to my wonderful wife
.
The Approach to Esfahan is pretty grim with lots of speed bumps and traffic starting from 20kms out.
When I arrive the heat and the one-way streets fox both me and Garmin - but I decide to put the bike in a parking garage and walk around to a few hotels in the central area. Soon I land an adequate one, the Hotel Venus - even though they do me for the cost of the double room, it's a seller's market as Esfahan has relatively few hotels.
So by 1 pm I am all sorted and the bike is in their underground garage. So the bazaar and mosque beacon. A few photos in due course
Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
...is what I have been doing over the last couple of days - mainly over 2000 metres and with fabulous views.
So I will post a few pictures, rather than waffle on...
The Taq e bustan in Kermanshah, right behind my hotel
The highly reviewed, friendly but a bit chaotic Hotel Jamshid
The Bisotun world heritage site outside Kermanshah
The best bit, Darius, was closed for repair!
Had a wave from these guys as I ate my sahnie by the roadside
I decided to break my journey to Isfahan at about 4pm as I had little sleep the night before - my so-called 4 star hotel had turned off the aircon as 'some guests found it cold' so I sweltered instead!
So I ended up in the biggest town around (Aligoudarz) and its one hotel -
although it called itself an international tourist hotel they admitted to me that it was a good while since they had one so I was a bit of a novelty. As a result the manager crept around taking photos of me, whether having a cuppa or eating my dinner!
They insisted I bring the bike to outside the front door (there was hardly a soul around) so I indulged them. When I came out 20 minutes later the receptionist was sitting on the GS, away with his dreams! And indeed the biggest local bike I have seen is a 135cc.
The Luris are another of Iran's ethnic mix - around 2%. Many years ago (1800BC) they were superb metallurgists in bronze, I read, before medieval wars drove them to become nomadic brigands - although they seemed quite sedate to me, this brigand history may be why they wanted the bike kept in sight!
The view made up off it all and I slept far better in this 2star than the posh one!
I was an Early bird the next morning as I wanted to arrive in Isfahan early enough to score a decent hotel room, of which I am told Isfahan has a shortage.
It's cold and I remember : I am at 2000m. For the last day I have changed from my leather Rukka trousers to a pair of armoured Kevlar jeans, and I wonder whether it will be enough today (it was).
When I get underway at 8.10, I am glad I stopped when I did yesterday - the road over the next hour or so is high and lonely, up to 2500m, and the distance to the next place likely to have a hotel is far. From this I formulate another rule for this trip which is always to stop before I feel tired - because there can be few options later, and I am under loose time constraints thanks to my wonderful wife
. The Approach to Esfahan is pretty grim with lots of speed bumps and traffic starting from 20kms out.
When I arrive the heat and the one-way streets fox both me and Garmin - but I decide to put the bike in a parking garage and walk around to a few hotels in the central area. Soon I land an adequate one, the Hotel Venus - even though they do me for the cost of the double room, it's a seller's market as Esfahan has relatively few hotels.
So by 1 pm I am all sorted and the bike is in their underground garage. So the bazaar and mosque beacon. A few photos in due course
Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
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