From Barcelona to Tehran: Day 68-9

Day 68-9: Khoshkebijar  in Iran 

July 7-8, 2012; Distance covered today: 0 Km; Total: 5596 Km

I woke up at 9 to have a huge breakfast; organic eggs, cheese, butter, homemade marmalade, and tea. With my sister, I sat in the porch an enjoyed watching the chickens and ducks in the yard. 

My sister's chiks

My sister's

With my nephew, I went to his shop to check my email. He, Bahador, would tell everyone and anyone, “me dayee; Ba charrkh az Espania Bomad Inja. GPS, laptop, hame chi dare berar”. This means, “This is my uncle who has ridden his bike from Spain. He has GPS, a labtop and everything, bro.”  He kind of bragged about my trip. For the whole day, he was introducing me with the same style.

We went to a teahouse in Khoshkebijar which was said to make the best tea in Gilan county! I talked to the owner, Hamid, who said that he would mix a few kind of local tea. It is very common to drink tea in the teahouses in this area. 

Lunch with Vodka

 We went out to have lunch in a very good restaurant. Sometime during our lunch, asked me if I would like to have some vodka with my lunch. Surprised, I asked if there was vodka served in that restaurant. Then he produced a bottle of vodka from under his T-shirt and mixed it with his and his friend’s Coca cola! So much for Islamic country.

The best tea in Gilan County

We also went to the beach where I saw some really upsetting scenes of people being watched, controlled, and ordered. The religious police were omnipresent to make sure people were following “Islam”. They would arrest people if they were listening to loud music even in their cars, if women were not covering their hair, if anyone was drinking alcohol or was under the effect of alcohol, and such deeds. 

Religion female police

When I was on the beach, I witnessed a young boy being rescued by the life guards. He was hanging on a football in high weaves. The ball saved his life.

The ball and the survivor

We went to the only gym in Koshkebijar where I met the coach who was proud to help two obese patients to lose 120 Kilos within a year. I met the champion who had lost the weight. It was amazing to hear their stories and their achievements with such limited equipment.

The magic gym which has set a world record in weight loss: 126 kg in one year

I then went to use the unfiltered Internet in one of Bahador’s friends where I met some young people who bombarded me with questions about the West. I put up my blog and talked for them for about an hour. They were very funny.

Happy kids of the towm

I went back to my sister’s and had dinner.

On Day 69, I did nothing but rested and enjoyed good food.