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3 nights in Esfahan

The motorway between Tehran and Esfahan is almost dead straight and consists of flat brown desert, interspersed with some brown hills. The most interesting thing to see was a series of anti-aircraft guns spread out along one stretch, not far from the road.

We got into Esfahan mid-afternoon where it was a lot hotter than anywhere we had been so far - low-30s and worse in the sun. The hostel is clean but very hot in the 3-bed room we have.

We went out for a group meal tonight at the Jolfa Hotel, in the Armenian quarter across the river. The river area looks really nice but the river itself has only small pools of water in it - we found out later they had very little rain during the last winter so now the river is not flowing. The dinner at the hotel was really nice - a lot of people had steak which they said was great. We got a taxi back again (more crazy dodgems) to Imam Square, the huge square in the centre of the old town. The square is surrounded by arcades and arches, and no less than 2 mosques, a palace and the entrance to the bazaar. We were going to Saeed's carpet shop, Aladdin carpets, where he laid out some kilims on the grass outside and gave us tea. His niece, Sheherazade (!) is learning English and talked to us for a little while. We've met a few students around the place who just like a chat to practise.

Next morning I went walking with Annette because Shane's foot is still very sore - bought a few things although there weren't many shops open because it's Friday. Later, Shane and I walked a bit of a way down the road to the faster internet cafe so that I could upload some photos (got to put in for you readers), then we wandered into Imam Square to look at the beautiful handicrafts shops. We met a guy who spoke English really well, and he took us to his carpet shop for tea, but didn't try to sell us any carpets. Best quote of the day: "You're driving all the way from London to Sydney? Isn't that really boring?" They recommended a restaurant on the other side of the square. There we found most of the truck, having dinner... we just can't get away from these people sometimes! We had Dizi, which is meat and bean stew cooked in a tall pot. They pour off the juice into a bowl then the get this masher and mash up the rest of the beans and meat, and you eat that separately. Looks kinda gross but tastes great.

Saturday was a much better day in Esfahan because everything was open. Saeed, the guy from the carpet shop had offered to show us around the bazaar, and because everyone wanted to go along we split up into two groups, morning and afternoon. We headed into the labyrinth from Imam Square, where we saw different types of artisans at work including a tile painter, carpet finishing, a spice mill and tablecloth printing. He also showed us where the different sections of the bazaar are and quite a few of the caravansarais inside the bazaar. We didn't buy anything but later went back to the shop close to the mosque that we had found the other night to buy a small hand-painted camelbone chest (hopefully will make it through customs). We visited the palace - it had an interesting feature in the entrance hall where if you stood in one corner and spoke, then someone in the opposite corner can hear you quite clearly, bounced around the high ceiling. The rooms were decorated with intricate patterns but there didn't seem to be enough rooms to house the Shah's hundred wives and children. We also visited the two mosques in the square (very beautiful and only cost 40 or 50c to get in).

We had to head back to the hotel for a meeting at 8 so that Steve could update us on the Pakistan situation - the trouble in the north is really bad and there are 1.5 million refugees from the swot valley in Islamabad, so it would be a really bad idea to take a truck laden with food up there. The best option it seems is to try to drive straight across as quickly and as southerly as possible, crossing the Iranian border at a southern crossing rather than drive through to Quetta, as that is one of the dangerous areas close to Afghanistan. It's all a bit worrying but this seems like the safest option and at least we will have a bit longer in India. It is a real shame to miss the Karakorum Highway though, as it is one of the highlights and the reason a lot of people came on the trip. So, 5 days bush camping to the Iranian border then 5 days through Pakistan, then a hotel with beer as soon as we get into India. We're losing another one of our passengers tomorrow - Kim had news that her dad had suffered a heart attack and died yesterday, so she is flying home to South Africa, and is hoping to join us again in Kathmandu.