Change of plans!

We were supposed to leave for Isfahan tomorrow by plane (which I've already bought the tickets...), but we were told we have to hand in our equipments for filming by 11PM tonight!
Too late to cancel the plane tickets, and no flights available today...
The only decision I can take is go by land... taking our car!

Time ran out so quickly and it was time to leave the office so we can get to Isfahan by 11PM. We left just before 4PM...
Right after we left the office, it started to rain... By the time we were leaving Tehran, it was quite heavy! They say it always rains like this when spring arrives, and it was not fun at all to hit the road in this kind of stormy weather!


quite heavy!


going past the familiar holy city...

We stopped by a rest area at around 7PM...

fast food restaurant of the rest area...

getting some burgers!

but we weren't that hungry so we just ate the fries and kept the burger for later...

Passing through Qom, Kashan, Natanz, we finally arrived in Isfahan before 10PM. We wandered around to find the designated place to hand in our equipment and it was just before midnight, we finally arrived at the hotel...

Another trip to Qom

I'm really tired to ride the car for two hours to get to the religious city in the south, but I'm getting used to it! Today we filmed a press conference by an Ayatollah, and then filme the city scenes.


the mosque is beautiful though with some constructions going on...

It was already nighttime when we returned to Tehran. Not much progress in the research I've asked my assistant to cover... oh, I'm really doomed...


well... let's at least enjoy some of the souvenirs... Qom's speciality... sohan

A month to go!

The first and challenging goal is just a month away... I really don't care how Tokyo will evaluate my work and it's perfectly fine if they flunk me as a foreign correspondent, but I don't want to be disappointed about myself. Although there could be many ways to dodge criticism from the organization I work for, there's no way to cheat myself about how hard I have tried to get the best outcome. I've tried my best today and though it may not satisfy my bosses or my staff, that's all it counts for me. I've done my best.

It was my fourth trip to Qom and today it was cloudy and cold from the beginning. It started to rain a little in the afternoon and though it was gloomy, I had to believe strongly it would be a nice day for me. Though whatever the religion it may be, to be in one of the religious centers makes me humble and remind myself not to be greedy. Here again the keyword will be Inshallah!

Pics of the day...


it started to rain in the afternoon...


various of Qom with mosques...


another mosques... you can see tons of mosques here!


lunchtime!


the restaurant was called... "One Thousand and One Nights"! interesting!


the moon was starting to appear when we got to the rest area...


this time having a Mochaccino!


the souvenirs this time... not Qom's specialties but nice to munch on!

Long but short journey...

The third time in Qom in 8 days. I made a mistake that almost could have been fatal as I overslept and made the departure from my office half an hour later than planned...
Fortunately we made it on time and we stayed in the city more than 8 hours... It takes two hours to get to the city, so that would make it at least 4 hours riding the car... it really makes it a long journey, but not too long compared to one taking the plane...


view of Qom...


a mosque under construction...


and a mosque with a silverish finish on the roof!


having juje kyabab for lunch!


the coffee shop at the rest area on the way back...


with sofas... can't see this in Tehran...

having a Cappuchino before a long drive back!

Back in Tehran, my concern was...
The Gaza incursion by Israel has made the protests escalate and I'm sure it will take weeks till anything will be resolved... Gotta be ready for any actions!

Another trip...

We went to Qom for the second time in 4 days. This time the outcome was both awful and progressive... It's hard to determine whether it was an inevitable result, but I'm sure God is not making things easy for us...
It could well be that it was a good decision not to go to Muscat as there would have chaos talking to my staff about today's outcome by phone. Also the Summit in the most eastern Gulf country had no surprises in its Communique and it would have been tough to squeeze through a report with short broadcasting time with such a result.
It was also splendid that I was able to celebrate one of my staff's birthday in Tehran with other members of my office. We could not have done so if we went to Muscat.
I just have to say to myself... yes, you've made the right decision!

the great mosque was being restored

PS
It was another day of celebration!

another one of my staff's birthday!

a nice cheese cake to share!