Tourist adoption

Got back to the hostel last night at about one o' clock in the morning and I bumped into two other backpackers who were also just returning. "How was your day?" we asked each other, only to find that we had each suffered a similar fate: Our adoption by non-English speaking Iranians... it's a hardcore situation!

What happens is that you're strolling along and inevitably someone will stop you to ask you where you're from, what you think of Iran etc... (the ability to speak english is not a prequisite here... Hey mista, country wha?). Eventually, they invite you for a tea, which turns into a lunch, which turns into an afternoon, which turns into dinner, which turns into invitations to stay in their house that night... etc. etc. etc. So it's all very friendly.

On Monday, I went to see these shaking minarets and bumped into four lads from the north of iran on their holidays... not a word of english between them but somehow we managed to spend two days together and actually had great craic ripping the piss out of each other with charades and face gestures (hey mista conor, you mista bean!). They brought me for lunch and dinner and gilyan (sheesha type water pipes) and didn't let me put my hand in my pocket. At one stage, I snuck off and bought us all some ice creams and they got very angry and tried to force the money for the ice creams on me... (you guest, you guest...).

We kept on getting lost in translation though... We were talking about countries and I wanted to make the off-hand remark that Iceland is really small and that they're all interbred (my apologies to anyone from Iceland) but somehow they ended up tut-tutting at length and believing that in Iceland everyone must sleep with their family members (Again, my apologies to anyone from Iceland).

One thing was pretty funny. We were sitting around eating our Ice Cream when four girls passed us, two iranians and two obvious backpackers (who had been 'adopted'). We started talking to them and one of the girls was from County Clare, so we started having a bit of banter and talking about the iranians etc. She said she had her high heels in her handbag and that they were on their way to a rave, at which I broke my shits laughing. We were generally chatting and laughing and when eventually we bid them farewell (for single lads talking to single ladies would quickly earn the ire of the fun police), the Iranian guys asked me whether the girl was my sister. They coulnd't believe that I had just met her and would speak so openly and loudly with an unknown woman. They were convinced that we must be related... twas mad!

In other news, I was walking down the street yesterday engrossed in my copy of 'Iran Daily' (Ahmadinejad mouthpiece) and went to cross what I thought was a piece of grass, only to find myself up to my hips in the most putrid pool of sickening foul water, with a scum on top that grass had started to grow on... I was not impressed and went to the fountain in Imam Square to clean myself... Fucking revolting stuff and I spent the whole day squelching around in my shoes.

Also, my various attempts to procure a bottle of whiskey have not been fruitful. I have a last ditch attempt tonight when this Iranian I met is supposed to meet me at the hostel with 'da moichendice'.

Ramazan is still as annoying as ever (I think this is having a negative effect on my whiskey adventures)... especially since I'm now convinced that there's no-one in Iran who actually follows it and fasts. I see everyone smoking and taking sly drinks of water and I'm sure that they're all eating in their homes.

So I've done some research on Pakistan and am really looking forward to it now. I'm going to make a beeline straight for the north (Lahore) and spend my time in the northern mountains there doing some trekking etc. Unfortunately the Kyber Pass into Afghanistan seems to be closed to foreigners so I won't be visiting that (I'm only joking mum, relax, I'm not going near Afghanistan).

I'm also looking forward to going to Shiraz (which I'm gonna do tomorrow) and then Yadz before making my way east. I've put myself in contact with the Irish embassies in both Tehran and Islamabad letting them know that I'm arsing around and they've asked me to keep them up-to-date.... very nice guys!

That's it for today... be good and would someone please leave me a frickin' comment or two?

C.