well i'm here now! and this place is unreal! its a complete fantasy world created by turkmenistans first president. his face and statue are literally everywhere (even though he is now dead). whole parts of ashgabat have been flattened for these massive new hotels and apartments he has built everywhere! its like a disney world of palaces and high rises! i could not believe it after crossing the border with iran! so i have been staying in a homestay trying to sta...

ok, so i'm not actually here yet. but they dont have internet in Turkmenistan so i'm cheating a little! Just spent a great day hiking in the hills of Mashhad in North East Iran and travel to the border and cross to Ashgabat tomorrow morning! Exciting stuff! Almost as exciting as sneaking into Imam Reza's shrine yesterday (irans holiest site) and touching his tomb! i am definitely passing the 'look like an iranian' test at present! So have had a blast here after...