Traveling to Iran would not be complete without visiting historic sites of the Great Archaemenid Empire. Since these sites are not too far away from Shiraz, I decided to visit them as soon as we arrive in the city from Yazd early morning. An Iranian guide, recommended by Lonely Planet, picks us up from the bus station to our ultimate destination. I'm hoping that by having a tour guide, we'd not only visit these places and be amazed with their architectures, but also learn about the history behind them.
We arrive in Esfahan just after the call to a morning prayer. I managed to sleep a little bit during the 6-hour long train ride. It was noisy and bumpy, but this was expected as I was too used to the comfort of European trains. But I'm happy that I'm in Esfahan now! I've always wanted to go to this city, which is the former capital city of Persia. When I think of Iran, Esfahan is the first thing that comes into my mind. The famous Square is the reason why I am drawn into this place.
The minute we step into Sharaf El Islam Restaurant we know that this is indeed a perfect place to taste authentic Iranian foods. My host, Reza, recommended me this restaurant located right inside the Grand Brazaar of Tehran. The restaurant is packed with Iranians and the tables are arranged very close to each other. The place is quite narrow and it is quite tricky to find a place to sit.
It was only a year and five months ago when I first stepped my foot in KL, with nothing but my luggage, a tourist visa, and the hope of getting a job. After only a month, I landed myself a job in a middle-sized IT company and tried my best to build my life here from scratch. At that moment in time, my journey in Malaysia had – more or less — started. I have to admit though — itRead more
After what seems like the most boring 15-hour transit experience ever, my plane arrives in Tehran. I am finally here, in Iran. Today, 17th of December 2011, marks the start of my Middle East trip. The trip that I have always been waiting for. One dream can soon be checked off the list. I feel excited, thrilled, and nervous at the same time. Yes, I am alone here, at this moment. One part of me screams that I am insane. What am I doing in this totally strange place alone? The other part of me applauds myself for having the courage to do this. Well done, you have finally conquered your fear!
A friend once told me, “Their language is the same as ours. Their culture is similar too. Why do you still need to adapt?” Ooooh, yes! I still need to adapt and I’m struggling with it. Culture shock is inevitable, even for a person like me who have lived in 6 different countries across 3 continents. Living in a new country is like starting your life all over again from scratch. Finding new friends. Getting acquainted with a new culture.Read more
Death. The word you won’t understand until you have a person you love breathing for the last time in front of your eyes. I never witnessed death in my whole life. I never understood the feeling of losing loved ones. I had no idea how it felt. I never experienced it. Having to live abroad for most of my life, I don’t get the luxury of being close to my extended family and relatives. We seldom see each other, perhapsRead more
It’s been years since the last time I had a “major” trip. I did New Zealand during my last year in Australia. I did it as part of my official farewell to the continent. It was one of the most memorable trips that I had ever done. New Zealand’s natural beauty was not like any other places I had ever seen (mind you, I hadn’t explored Indonesia yet!). After that amazing trip, I vowed to myself that I would doRead more
* This post was first published in my Project 365 “Love language” is the concept developed by Gary Chapman, which defines a primary way of expressing and interpreting love. Everyone has different ways to make others feel loved and appreciated. Some people prefer to use their own love language when expressing love to others and some would prefer to use other love languages than their own to do that. There are five different love languages that Chapman mentioned: Words ofRead more
About two weeks ago, my friends and I organised a concert dedicated to those affected by the Wasior, Mentawai, and Merapi disasters. The concert, Angklung Charity Concert: “Bamboo in Harmony”, was first initiated by teh Desiree, who was a member of an angklung group years ago, and was led by our lovely conductor, teh Ida Soesanti.
The CouchSurfing Project (CS) is currently the world’s largest hospitality exchange network, founded by Casey Fenton in 1999. The network connects like-minded travellers for cultural exchange, friendship, and learning experience. Travellers can be hosted by the locals for free and sleep in whatever empty space available (floor, couch, or bed). The idea of CS came up when Fenton got a cheap flight ticket to Iceland. Rather than staying in a hotel, he spammed over 1,500 Icelandic students in Reykjavik toRead more
Blogging has been part of my life since 6 years ago. When I started the blog, privacy was not my biggest concern. I just didn't care about it. I was an unknown girl in a virtual world. Nobody would be interested in my crappy stories, I thought. I didn't feel hesitant to write anything I wanted on my blog. I was quite ignorant about it. That's why most of my posts (especially those published in the first 3 years) wereRead more
Time passes by so quickly and I can’t believe that I’ve lived in this country for 7 months. That means, I’ll go back home in 2 more months and I can’t wait for it! Despite the homesickness, I’ve been living my life to the max. And sometimes I’m worried that I probably have too much fun. But I never regret it; because I’ve learnt and experienced so many things on the way. I feel great about living here. It providesRead more
I actually don’t really know this country that much. After all, I’ve only lived here for less than 4 months. And I haven’t been able to travel around the Netherlands (yes, I still haven’t been to Amsterdam. Who cares, seriously. LOL). I’ve only seen fake windmills not inside the country, but in Belgium. I haven’t seen any tulips around — either because I was too ignorant and didn’t pay attention to detail or because it’s just not here! But allRead more
