Taftan to Kerman

Day 4 July 14, 2001 Taftan to Bam

The crossing went very smoothly and in less than an hour we were through and moving swiftly along smooth roads to Zahedan. Iran is a pleasant change from Pakistan. The roads are smooth and fast, the vehicles comfortable and we can make ourselves understood most of the time.

In Zahedan we had a couple of hours before our bus left so we went and had some kebabs for brunch. We had come in to town with a Japanese tourist who came from Quetta on the same bus. He ended up travelling with us through to Bam.

We left Zahedan for Bam at about 1am (half an hour late) for what was supposed t be a 4 hour trip but turned out closer to 6 hours thanks to the military check posts along the way. The ticket said Kerman and we were paying the full fare to Kerman. When we queried this we were told there was no a/c service to Bam. We were on the Kerman bus and getting off early. That meant we paid for the seat, something we were familiar with from "flying coaches" in Pakistan but that our Japanese friend found hard to understand.

We were dropped at the roundabout at the edge of town and any fears about finding our way into town were dispelled by the horde of taxis that descended on us, 5 or 6 nosing in to our position by the bus like cows all trying to reach the same manger. This set the tone for our time in Iran, jumping in and out of taxis with gay abandon.

The first guest house only had space left in a co-ed dorm so we went on to Aziz Ameeri's where Marilyn and Sharon took a double and Jason and Robin took beds in the dorm. Then, after a much needed shower, we went out to look for a restaurant.

We wandered on the street near the guest house and it seemed that most of the stores were engineering supply stores. Eventually we asked someone for directions and he took us, in his car, to a local hotel where we had chelo kebab.

The "Arg" at Bam

Day 5 July 15, 2001 Bam to Kerman

We tried to leave early this morning but we are still on a learning curve for this life style so it was about 9am and already getting hot when we caught a taxi down to the Arg (fort) which is the main attraction here. It is huge, actually a walled town with a central keep, built entirely of mud brick. Very worth a visit. The town goes back to Sassanian times but most of what is there now dates from the 17 century.

It was hot though, probably around 50C, and Marilyn and Sharon were really suffering in the polyester hejabs (called "manteau" here) they bought in Peshawar. It was a good excuse, though, to visit a traditional tea shop in the Arg and be refreshed. Then it was back to the guest house to pick up our gear, Marilyn and Sharon to change into something cooler (western clothes and chadars) then out to the main road to catch a savari (shared taxi) to Kerman. Shared taxis are a good way of travel. That is how we got from the border to Zahedan (88km for 15,000R each) and from Bam to Kerman (200km for 85,000R ($10) for the whole car).

Once in Kerman we ran into what was becoming a problem. Our guide book is out of date so the prices and places are not accurate. We spent an hour hunting round Kerman for a place to stay then ended up at a travellers' hotel that asked $40 for a double. Marilyn got them down to $25 for a triple! It seems that travellers' hotels have an affinity for machine shops. This one is in the same kind of area. This is also where we found out that temperatures at the moment are 10C above normal!

Today went better in terms of structure. After a nap we went out to the bus station to by tickets to Shiraz for tomorrow. Then, after the girls changed back to hejab (Kerman is cooler) we went to the Vakil Bazaar, one of Iran's oldest surviving covered bazaars. It was quite amazing to spend the morning wandering down a ruined bazaar and then spend the evening walking down a fully functional one. The high domed ceilings make these places cool in summer and warm in winter and this one was big. We must have walked at least a kilometer down the main bazaar, like a 2-300 year old shopping mall with side lanes, cool green squares and even a "food court" a beautifully tiled traditional tea house complete with live music.

Then it was off on the restaurant hunt again. Again we failed and instead bought some bread and meat at a deli. Later, when Jason and Robin went shopping for provisions for tomorrow's trip, we passed three restaurants. They were easy to miss. Just a doorway onto the street with the restaurant opening out behind the shop fronts. We'll be on the lookout in future.

The ceiling (above) and tea house (below) in Kerman's Vakil Bazaar.

Our pictures from Iran