So I just touched down in Tehran, all female passengers have to put on their head scarfs before they disembark,
because that's just a rule. Scarfs are a must.
For Singaporeans, you can apply for visa on arrival when you get into Tehran Airport,
and all you need to do is just look for the signs that says
Visa Issuance and Insurance Issuance for Foreign Nationals.
Because you need to get Visa and your insurance before you can get your Visa on arrival.
So the process is very easy. Once you come in, it all happens in one space
for us to get your insurance and you get it behind the counter, it's about 14 euros or 16 US dollars.
Very simple, just pay and then you walk to that end.
So the next thing you do, you get a form, like some sort of an arrival card,
and then you pay at this bank.
It's about 75 euros for Singaporeans, and then you play the waiting game.
There's usually quite a lot of people here but today I'm lucky I'm the first,
and there's only 5 of us in total.
And just like that I think I took about 20 minutes from start to end to get my visa.
It was really painless, everything is electronic now.
It's an e-visa, nothing is pasted in my passport.
This is my room, I've got a private room in this hostel.
It's quite a nice place. And there's a balcony that comes with it.
And it looks down to the courtyard. So beautiful.
There are options for female dormitory, male dormitory and a mixed dormitory as well.
The beds are quite cheap, it's about 7 to 8 euros per bed.
This room of mine is about 28 euros for a private room and 3 people can sleep in here,
so I think it's quite a bang for the buck.
By the way, it's a shared bathroom, so this is where everyone takes a shower.
It's pretty clean. And this is the reception area, really really sweet right?
This is pretty much the check in area.
I'm here at the old US embassy.
This is where the espionage case took place if you watched Argo the movie,
this is pretty much the building where it's based around and now it's turned into a little museum!
There's a little carving there, pretty much shows a foot stepping on the American flag.
It's quite controversial. The outer area was where the students pretty launched a protest.
They were trying to break in and they eventually did.
The old US Embassy is definitely one place you need to stop by if you are interested in history and get a guide.
They're free of charge but you need to give them a small tip.
So I'm about to have a really heavy lunch. A traditional Persian meal.
Oh look at the place. Wow! So beautiful!
Oh my god guys, this is unreal.
This is part 1 of the dizi, just the broth, a bit of lamb fat and bread soaked in.
Part 2, all the beans and all the meat are mashed up into some sort of a meat mash
and then eat it with all these vegetables and pickled chilli, pickled onions and pickled brinjal.
So we are waiting for our "Uber" the Iranian version is called Snapp,
and I'm here with my friends from Tehran!
Our car is coming from here, and we need to jump over this and then get into the car.
And then get stuck in a jam. This is what I love about the country.
I'm not into exploring all the touristic sites, I like to know the quirks of a place.
How people live.
Is it safe to say that there's no regard for rules for traffic?
Yeah.
Nobody gives a fuck, like seriously.
The light can be red and people will drive if they need to.
And if the pedestrian crossing sign in green flashes, doesn't matter!
Doesn't faze the cars, they will still drive if they can find a little pocket of space to drive. I love this.
We're now in the village of Orost.
We drove for like 10 hours?
Our original house is not available, and someone just decided to take us in for the night. That's really nice.
This is our host combing some sheep fur.
6:30am right now, and this was our sleeping room.
It's so cold! It was 0 degrees celcius at night? I don't know, I stopped feeling anymore.
But yes, I'm going to set off right now.
On a really bumpy road on the way to Badab-e Surt.
This place is so off the beaten path that there're literally no tour groups here.
I had to rent a van from a local to take me up.
I'm here at Badab-e Surt.
When I was researching for places to visit in Iran,
I didn't want to go to the usual places like the city,
so I came across this website which has a list of a lot of off the beaten path places, it's called Atlasobscura,
it's pretty much like the cool version of Lonely Planet.
If you want to go to the places all the tourists go to, you go to Lonely Planet.
But if you want something pretty out of this world, it's Atlasobscura.
This is not a sponsored post.
This is pretty much a natural formation when water and wind work against each other.
So the water will be flowing down the mountain and the wind will be pushing up against it,
creating this stunning formation.
It takes around 10 years to make just one layer of terrances.
When I say one layer, it means one centimetre.
Oh my god, so these ones have been here for hundreds? Thousands?
Yes, maybe longer.
Wow.
Here in Orost village, there is hardly anyone,
it's just pretty much locals, farmers.
We're just about to head into someones's house for breakfast.
Because this is how it is, there's not restaurants here.
I love how thank you sounds like thank you in French.
Merci.
Look at this house! There's bread! That's nice.
Breakfast is served!
This is nuts. Walnuts. Cheese.
And this is a kind of halva, and this is carrot jam.
Here at the Akhavan Hotel, my home for the night here in Kerman.
The Akhavan brothers who run the hotel,
Amir, one of the brothers, was really really helpful when I was in Singapore and trying to plan my travels and my tours.
He's got some of the most competitive rate in town, and trust me on this,
you'll save a lot when you book through Amir.
This whole building feels like it's trapped in the 70s,
but believe me, it is clean, well-kept, well maintained.
Look at this! I can imagine this hotel in its glory days in the 70s.
I'm now at the Stone Garden of Sirjan,
this is about a 2 and a half hours drive from the city of Kerman.
Now the Stone Garden has a pretty interesting story.
It was created by a visually and hearing impaired man named Darvish Khan.
Starting in 1961, he started to hang rocks from wires off these broken and dead limbs of trees
as a form of a silent protest against the land reforms imposed by the then Shah Reza.
Which caused this poor man to lose some of his land and his real garden.
Darvish Khan's body is also rightfully buried beneath the Stone Garden.
One man's political artwork before he died.
I'm here at the Shahid Haghani Marine Passenger Terminal.
Going to be taking a ferry to Hormuz Island!
This is our ride! And that's Farah my guide, it's a video!
Welcome to Hormuz!
So you're into rocks and minerals, then Hormuz Island is literally your wet dream come true.
A lot of geology students come here to do their field studies, and you know what I was just told?
There are about one hundred different colours of minerals just here on Hormuz Island alone.
These are the hard salt, known as the male salt.
And this is what the locals use when they chip some off and grind it to use as cooking salt.
These salt almost look like ice.
This side of Hormuz Island is not really crawling with too many tourists,
just the ones in the know, and a lot of the local Iranians as well.
This is not part of my tour, but Farah decided that this is a site that I cannot miss, so she added this in. Love you!
So I'm here at Statues Valley, and this comes with a stunning view of the coastline
and a deadly drop, if you slip.
This is how close I am to the edge, which is, I don't want to be slipping, you know.
It's so cute, even local Iranians are so bowled over by this view!
No one is expecting to see this! It's like they're tourists in their own country.
So cute!
It's another day, and another island.
I'm on my way to Qeshm, this is the only island in Iran that doesn't require any foreigners to have a visa.
It's a tax free island and I'm going be spending 3 days there, I cannot wait.
Hello! I'm here in the Valley of Stars, one of the 25 geo sites here on Qeshm Island,
which is been classified by UNESCO as a Geopark.
These canyons are pretty much carved by wind, sand and water.
Pretty damn dope!
It's about 27 degrees right now, it's the best time to visit the South Iran
because it gets really hot in the summer, about 40,45 degrees celcius.
Now, these rocks here are limestones, and it's very very volatile and fragile,
so follow the signs, if you can't read Farsi, it's ok, it's a universal Do Not Enter sign.
I'll be straight up, I believe in global warming, but the question is, will global warming cause the end of the Earth as we know it?
Or the end of human kind?
I'm leaning towards the end of human kind.
The ground I'm standing on right now used to be a seabed and look where it is.
It's dry, it's become a canyon, and you know parts of the world where it used to be dry are now the ocean.
If you ask me, I think it's bye bye human beings in no time.
The earth will fix itself, don't you worry about that.
Guess who joined us? Other tourist from Iran! They are having a big party here!
Look at that!
This is nuts!
This structure here is made by water channeling the stones in a circular motion and creating these little holes in this valley.
It's nuts.
So if you decide to explore Qeshm Island, I've got a recommendation for you.
There are hardly any hotels unless you want to stay in Qeshm City itself,
but if you want to stay out in the nature, this guesthouse is what you should consider.
This is the entrance to Medali Guesthouse, so the house is like that, made of stone.
The courtyard, oh so nice.
This is the owner. Hello! And then you've got 1, 2, 3, 4 hammocks to just chill on.
This is the entrance to the living space.
This is the shared bathroom. It's not bad, it's very very clean.
Wow, I love this.
So pretty much sleep on the floor, very homestay vibes.
I like the aesthetic of this place.
It's very clean, sandy, almost minimalist.
This is our dining space where we were eating.
Here is about 1 million rials per night, and it's full board.
So breakfast, lunch and dinner is included.
Check them out. Food is really good guys.
We're going to see dolphins today right?
Yah, if we're lucky, we're going to see some dolphins.
So the goal is to take a boat to Hengam island and hopefully catch some of these wild creatures live in their own natural habitat.
We're going to board the boat for the dolphin tour.
About 10 - 12 people per boat, it's abit chaotic.
We just spotted some dolphins, now the trick is to catch them on camera.
Oh! look at this!
Oh yes!
Oh my god, they are there!
Look at it!
Wow! Super close!
Oh my god, that was so amazing! We saw so many dolphins up close! Is this rare?
Not rare, but it only happens sometimes in a year?
This year it is too many though.
Never too many dolphins!
I just arrived in Shiraz, this is my final leg in my tour of Iran
and I'm just exploring the city, the bazaars, markets, checking out famous mosques.
I'm here at the Pink mosque, this is the very famous mosque where everyone comes and take Instagram photos.
Now the best time to visit the mosque is during winter because that's when the sunlight is the longest.
And, yes, as you can see behind me, it is crowded with people.
One of the highlights of Shiraz, very touristy, but worth a visit, for sure.
Of course, don't forget to look up, all the intricate, Persian style artwork.
All the beautiful tiles. This is amazing.
The magic of the stained glass mosque, and the reality of the many people wanting a photo.
I've said it before, and I'll said it again, the best way to get to know a country
is to see how they shop for food at the wet market,
as this is where the true blue locals hangout.
This one is considerably cleaner, and dryer than the ones in Singapore.
Everyone's so friendly.
I love it when carrots come like this. You know why?
It's not natural to have them all straight. Roots are meant to be bent.
This is a traditional soap, where they use some sort of a mineral mixed with the fat of the lamb.
Supposedly very good for your skin if you just wet it with some water and then rub it all over your face.
We're actually heading into the Vakil Bazaar right now,
and this is the entrance where all the carpets are being sold.
I try to avoid touristy places as much as I can, but they are not all bad.
When you come to Iran, you have to visit the Bazaar.
It is the one thing that you must do because that's where you get all the goods, you get to bargain, you get all the wears in one place.
This is a shop selling costumes that nomadic tribes wear.
Nomadic tribes still exists in Iran and they move according to the seasons to where it's the warmest.
The Bazaar leads out to a courtyard.
You know the usual, birds chirping, people gathering, chilling out.
What you're going to have now is a special dessert, Shiraz dessert, it's called faloodeh.
Faloodeh is made out of starch noodles,
this icy noodles, they added some rose water and is soaked with lime juice.
Yummy?
I will describe it to be like mee sua, soggy noodles?
Frozen, it's slightly crunchy as well.
And very very refreshing.
Oh my god, I love this better than I love ice cream.
Oh this is so yummy!
We are in Ali Ibn Hamzeh Holly Shrine and in each shrine you have to wear this kind of thing, which is called chador.
More coverings, ok. Like that.
To be as simple as possible.
But it's so floral.
Yeah, it just cover your body and also your clothes.
And all your beauty.
This is like the most floral thing that I've ever -
I don't wear flowers, but the mosque is beautiful, so I will shut my mouth.
Oh my god!
Oh shit.
This is so beautiful!
Oh my god.
Even if I look my best, this will still look better than me.
This is the exterior of the mosque, it looks unassuming,
but the ground that I'm stepping on is pretty special.
I feel a bit bad walking on this ground because they're literally tombstones.
And there are actually people buried underneath.
Before the 1979 revolution, Iran glittered with western influence.
Women were wearing short skirts and there were fast food restaurants, you name it.
And then the revolution happened and Iran came under Islamic rule.
But you know what? Underneath the traditional surface, Iranians still have a strong appreciation for western culture.
I'm standing right outside of the Kentucky Fried Chicken.
It is not the real deal, it's a muslim fast food restaurant, and it's just one of the many.
Mash Donald's, Pizza Hat, you name it.
And I'm going to try out what Kentucky Fried Chicken in Iran taste like.
Oh my god, they even got Colonel Sanders.
I have my KFC right here, and I'm going to dig in!
It tastes very different from the Colonel's secret spice blend, but I don't expect it to taste the same.
It's still good though! If it's fried, if it's spiced and it's hot, you can't go wrong.
It is my last night in Iran.
Prior coming to Iran, the number one thing that I keep getting from people whenever I tell them that I'm coming to Iran is
"Oh my god, is it safe?"
Yes, to answer your question, it is very safe to be here.
Like with any country, there is always good parts and bad parts right?
And my main reason for wanting to come to Iran is to show that you can be a solo female traveller
doing Iran and have the best time of your life.
In Iran, it is non-negotiable, women have to wear head scarfs.
Although it is a bit more relaxed right now, I could wear like a hoodie,
or as long as I attempt to cover my hair, that should suffice, right?
Yeah yeah?
Of course the head scarf rule is not hard and fast as well.
When you enter someone's house, or you enter into a hotel, basically a private space,
sometimes they can even close an eye if you're in a car and it kind of falls off.
But I feel like as a tourist, to a foreign land,
you need to respect people's culture,
even if you see Iranian ladies with 80% of their hair is showing with just a tiny little scarf,
it doesn't mean that you can do the same thing because you really literally just got to their land.
I highly recommend this place to anyone who wants to do something a bit off the beaten track.
You know, forget what you hear in the news,
what I've learnt is, the truth is what you see for yourself.
The people here are above and beyond kind and helpful.
Very friendly, very curious, because not many people come to Iran.
Go to my Instagram to check out where I've been, it's @heyrozz.
I'm going to take a flight to capital Cappadocia, my journey continues in Turkey.
I'll catch you then! Meantime, don't forget to download the Clicknetwork APP,
you get to watch the episodes up to a month before they hit YouTube.
I'll catch you on the flip-side. Bye!
