Train Ride from Mumbai to Udiapur, India

After leaving Mumbai, we boarded an overnight train north to Udiapur - besides being yet another mode of transportation on our trip, the overnight train ride allowed us to cover more distance over a shorter period of time. As you can see from the pic "Frank really enjoyed the train ride".

Mani Bhayan - Gandhi’s House – Mumbai, India

During our city tour of Mumbai (Bombay), we visited the building where Mahatma Gandhi stayed during his visits to Mumbai (Bombay) from 1917 to 1934. The building now houses a small museum, which contains a replica of his simple bedroom and a wonderful photographic record of his life.

Gandhi’s Simple Bedroom – Mumbai, India

Gandhi's Simple Bedroom - Mumbai, India

Hindu Temple – Mumbai, India

After spending two months touring the Middle East, visiting mostly Muslim mosques and Christian churches and monasteries, we have now landed in the land of Hinduism, Jainism, Buddhism, and Sikhism. Pictured is a Hindu Temple.

Municipal Laundry - Mahalaxmi Dhobi Ghat – Mumbai, India

Each day at Mumbai's municipal laundry, some 5000 men use rows of open-air troughs to beat out the dirt out of the thousands of kilograms of soiled clothes brought from all over the city each day. The picture doesn't really capture the chaos of the wash area, but it give you a flavor of the chaos. Hopefully.

New Group Members - Mumbai, India

Two of the Middle East group members, Jussi and Chris, finished their leg of the trip and left the group in Tehran. Once arriving in Mumbai, India we acquired six additional group members. Five of the six new members are pictured: Brendan, Anne, Malcolm, Nicole, and Jayne (l to r). The sixth member, Richard, is missing from the picture.

The new members are only participating in the India-Nepal leg of the trip and will be departing in Katmandu, where we will be picking up different "new" people for the China-Southeast Asia leg of the trip.

U.S. Den of Espionage (a.k.a. Former U.S. Embassy) – Tehran, Iran

We spent the last two days in Iran, in the capital city of Tehran, visiting palaces, mosques, museums and the Former U.S Embassy, now referred to as the U.S. Den of Espionage. Yumi tried to sweet talk the guard into allow us on the grounds of the Former U.S. Embassy, but the guard clearly stated the building was off limits to visitors, unless special permission from the government was granted. Our visit was limited to walking around the compound. The compound walls displayed some anti-American slogans, but most of them where starting to fade. Iran refers to the compound as the U.S. Den of Espionage, because of the secret documents found in the Embassy during the siege in 1979. The Iranian government was being spied on by the American government.

Overall, visiting Iran was very enlightening. From a western eye, I'd say Iran is awaiting some major cultural and governmental reforms, especially with two-thirds of the population under the age of 30. On the other hand, the current, conservative government has a huge financial arsenal from oil revenue. The financial arsenal may be able to keep the masses happy and content for a number of years to come, protracting such reforms.

Holy Shrine of Ayatollah Khomeini - Tehran, Iran

As evident from the grandeur of this shrine, you can ascertain the country's (and the government) enormous esteem for the late Ayatollah, the Revolutionary Leader, who died in 1989.

Tea Room, Esfahan, Iran

Our visit to Iran is ending. If asked what I thought of Iran in a word, I'd say very homogenous. The cities look similar to each other. They all have similar, streets, roundabouts, parks, infrastructure, housing, etc. The people are basically from the same ethic background (at least when compared to America) and are Muslim. I would also describe the country as prosperous and extremely clean, and the people very friendly and happy. The stores are well stocked with food and consumer goods. Every city has numerous, manicured parks. Education is free, including at the University level. Not knowing for sure, I'd guess most of the country's prosperity is financed by the government's oil revenues. All of Iran's oil reserves are owned by the government and the profits are given back to the country and its people.

On the other hand, the dress code, especially for women, is very restrictive. And there is no alcohol severed in the country. Yes, that is right; it's been almost two weeks since I've had a beer! There seems to be an air of conservatism about the country which limits personal freedoms and diversification. Whether the limitation on personal freedom outweighs the benefits provided by the government, I don't know. The development of science and technology also seems to be absent from the society. While Iranians seem to adopt the product of scientific and technological discoveries, there seems to be little effort to develop new discoveries. We visited a number of museums mostly related ancient civilizations and anthropology, but none related to science or technology.

Sheikh Lotfollah Mosque – Esfahan, Iran

A camera can not capture the incredible beauty of the mosques in Esfahan. Pictured is just a small example of the tile work in the mosque.