I had said in a previous entry how “normal” everything seemed when I was in Iran last week, but about a week since I’ve returned I’ve noted some exceptions. Of course, some of these are via word of mouth through our interpreter, but this is the closest I’m ever going to get short of actually living [...]
Archive for the ‘Way Way Off the Beaten Path’ Category
How to Get into Trouble in Iran
Monday, April 23rd, 2012Magical Moments in Switzerland
Thursday, April 19th, 2012One of the last moments of the trip After 5 hours in Frankfurt, we landed in Geneva, Switzerland where we had a whopping 20 hours to kill. Our options were: Stay in Geneva, meet a friend, and rest up before heading back home Head to Berne, meet a friend, and rest up before heading [...]
Our Free Day in Tehran
Saturday, April 14th, 2012As Americans, you’re not allowed to wander around Iran alone. You’re supposed to be guarded by an MFA-approved tour agency at all times following a strict itinerary. But that was not the case today. In true Monsooning fashion, we decided to skirt the rules a bit and see how far we could push the [...]
Respect for the Dead and The Defaced U.S. Embassy
Saturday, April 14th, 2012We approach the mauseoleum of Ayatollah Khomeini with caution. If there’s anything I learned when I visited the mauseoleum of Kim Il-Sung in North Korea, it’s that you do not fuck around when it comes to visiting the grave of the present country’s revered cult of personality. And if you’re of the nationality [...]
The Revolutionary
Thursday, April 12th, 2012He was a youth in 1979, toppling the statue of Reza Khan in defiance of the Shah. And as one of the many emerging activists of 1979 , he supported the historic regime change that led to the era of Ayatollah Khomeini. But before he was to bear witness to the events that would follow [...]
Running into Gerard Butler…again
Wednesday, January 4th, 20121st time is happenstance, 2nd time is coincidence… Let it be known that Gerard Butler now reads this blog, and I quote from June (left in photo): “It was funny how he mentioned he had read The Monsoon Diaries, because he kept saying how he usually doesn’t look into these things that mention him. I also mentioned [...]
Gerard Butler is in Marrakech
Monday, January 2nd, 2012Usually I would resort to these titles to grab your attention, but if you look at the picture above, you’ll see it’s more than a gimmick. It’s for real: 5 minutes ago we ran into Gerard Butler in the maze of souks within the Marrakech medina. Being born, raised and having lived in Manhattan for [...]
Lake Atitlan
Friday, November 25th, 2011About a month ago I was still debating where I wanted to go for Thanksgiving weekend. To make a long story short, it was seeing a picture of Guatemala’s Lake Atitlan that helped me decide. Consistently rated as one of the top 2 things to see in all of Central America, this lake bore [...]
Our Interview on Radio Freedom!
Wednesday, October 26th, 2011Does this make us famous? We go on at the 64:00 and the interview lasts about an hour. We talk about how we pay for our travel, where my favorite places are, and of course getting into North Korea as an American.
Burmese Performance Art
Wednesday, September 7th, 2011On my last day in Myanmar, I decided to look up an art gallery I had read about in Smithsonian. The article outlined a series of artists who made art that skirted government censorship; artists who made paintings of women trapped in spiderwebs and lied about the meaning to officials. So, curious to see what [...]
