23 to 24 july 2007, kerman

a mosque

women in black chador. this is the official color for women but nowadays, the young and trendy dress differently. one can probably see more colors in other parts of iran...

in Iran, it is a taboo for us to hold hands in public as we were not husband and wife.

as friends, this was how our public photo was taken. contactless...

we took a local bus to this bazaar and the bus driver did not charge us for the ride because we are foreigners. in iran, its people welcome foreigners to their country with a big and friendly smile or hello.

trust me, you will not be left alone unless you look like an iranian. most of the time, there will be someone to show you around or interested to know more about your country and culture.

kerman

roads were very good in iran. no bumps at all!

this was a sunset shot taken from the bus.

to me, Iran was a mysterious country except for the bad publicity about their involvement in nuclear weapons and oil control.

this photograph was taken on an air-conditioned Volvo bus from Zahedan to Kerman.

cakes and drinks were served on every long-distance bus in Iran. and if you understand Farsi, you can watch the Iranian films on all the buses... it's a luxury to travel by buses here! so travelers, dont miss this place

from here, we hitch-hiked to mirjave market. the people at the market were not very helpful. they kept telling us that there were no public buses to Zahedan and that we have to take a taxi. fortunately, we found a military soldier nearby and he helped us to get onto the public bus to Zahedan. from there, we took another bus to kerman.

looking back at the long queue at taftan border crossing into iran. that is the local's queue. foreigners like us don't have to queue. we were seated by one side until the guard think that its our turn to cross. what a privilege...

after the worst bus ride, we arrived at the iranian border in Mirjave at 12 noon.