Tags: tehran, travels
almost 10 days in tehran now. nami and sora flew back to chicago last night. i am so happy they had a chance to visit tehran, and the family. they were stars here.
i have taken over a thousand pictures and will post a few here as soon as i return. the trip so far has been very good. a few highlights:
- went to my boarding school/high school. the boarding school is now a women’s school but the school is still there and remains one of the best in iran. the doorman remembered me from 32 years ago!
- while at school, a few kids came to us, saying “hi” and “i love america”
- many people on the streets tell us hi.
- caught a cold. went to a doctor. she did not accept money from me saying i am a guest.
- many beautiful women, covering part of their head as they have to in public; but actually you notice their beauty even more. when you see them at a party, the cover comes off and they (well, most) look brilliant.
- low cut pants are rather common among young men. not the most beautiful scene imho.
- i have been pigging out. so much delicious food. pictures to be posted soon.
- facebook, twitter, linkedin, and other social networking sites are filtered here. many people buy programs to break this filter. i have not been able to do so as i use a mac.
- everyone has been courteous and friendly to us. this includes places we have been going to like museums, palaces, and a mosque, giving us free catalogues and trying to make us feel like a guest of honor.
- i find tehran cleaner than chicago, and certainly much cleaner than san francisco. i am also surprised how clean everyone, even the street cleaning people are. most i see are on the young side, clean shaven, and put gels on their hair, using their brooms to clean the city.
- the gentleman you see in many pictures is my brother whom i met after about 31 years in antalya, turkey a couple of months ago. i love him more than ever and am proud of the good person he is.
- one of my biggest fears was going through the customs and the immigration office. again, was pleasantly surprised how smooth and professional it was.
- seeing most my family members after 32 years is a bit an emotional event. a few of the loved ones have passed away during this time. as i see them through the lens of my camera, can not help but wonder who may be next.
Tags: iran, travels
music lives high in iran where you can find a tight knit group of audiophiles. my friend sirous omidvar of avin ava is contributing well to that. nami, sora and i had a great meal at sirous, shadi and avin’s home talking about cultures, life, and music. we adjourned to sirous’s meticulous showroom while nami, sora, and avin played with their four new kittys.
Tags: iran, travels
i am now in tehran, visiting my home country after about 32 years. there are many cousins i am now meeting for the first time. my aunts and uncles look much older now. everyone is so kind and i am so proud of the good people they are.
the trip through customs was uneventful and easy. the immigration officers were very professional to everyone. i was wearing conservative clothing (versus my usual music type of a guy dude stuff) but i soon realized my concern was a bit unfounded. you see all kinds of people, albeit it still makes sense to be on the conservative side to avoid the fashion police.
i have only had a two hour walk outside home. i passed by many men who appear to be gay. so yes, forget what you heard at columbia university! women cover their head with a scarf but it is often pretty fashionable and does not cover the head fully. in fact, some of their fashion and scarves draw attention to them more. e.g. a young woman covering half of her head with a scarf and her hair closer to the front was blue.
access to facebook and twitter is very difficult. i am taking a lot of pictures that i will be posting here. so far there have been two trips in my life i have been most excited about. this trip to visit iran, and my 1977 trip out of iran when i moved to switzerland.
Tags: travels
excited to be in vienna, the city of gorgeous architecture, beautiful music, and of course klimt. pictures to be posted soon. great lunch at plachutta. great coffee and some kinda viennese cake at the quaint leopold hawelka. open sandwiches at a nice shop in front of it. met a lady who happens to be from the same city as the character of bruno, played by sacha cohen.
Tags: travels
i am very happy i came to warsaw. met many new people and of course some audiophiles too. the dinner last night was bad. i went to a restaurant called belvedere. i was told it is the best restaurant in warsaw but my fear proved true. it is the kinda place businessmen and diplomats with an expense account and no taste, wanting to impress others go to. unfortunately it cost me over $200 to realize that.
so, tonight i went back to the same restaurant i had gone two nights ago. i love it. polish food, great good. they recommended a few places for me to go to in vienna. i ended the evening with the opening party of pedro almodovar movie. met some very nice people. one person was an american champ living here and studying polish and wanting to get his master’s degree in economics. impressive. how often do we run into someone wanting to learn polish?
many thanks go to my friends in poland. appreciate your hospitality and hope to see you in chicago – hopefully the host city for the olympics.
