IRAN
   
    I woke up this morning very early also really cold and still very tired from the long drive the day before. After the usual couple of cups of tea I put the sleeping bag away had a short walk to stretch my legs and prepared myself for the next challenge which was to get out of Pakistan and into Iran, to my great surprise it was not complicated at all, it just took a long time that’s all, and once all the usual paperwork was done and everyone satisfied there left only one little thing to remember which was to start driving on the wrong side of the road, not that I have any reservations about that because I am quite used to it.
   
    Welcome to Iran, the sign said as I drove through the customs gate. Now we are getting somewhere I thought to myself, nothing but good roads all the way home, and I will soon catch up the lost time.
   
    Well what do you know, the roads are good and I began to really fly along. I did have to stop on many occasions because of the police check points which are just about every where and I even had to wait at one check point for an escort as I was told the mountain area was very unsafe for lone travellers. The Iranians seem to be very friendly and once they have looked at the passport I was waved on with a bus behind me acting as the escort. I drove for about five hours in total this day crossing the most amazing dessert area and I didn’t see a tree for the first 250 miles though I managed to get 273 miles done, until I got to a town called Bam where I pulled in and parked the car outside a large modern hotel and went in to ask if I could sleep for the night in the car park. After a bit of trouble finding someone who could speak English I was told I could and I settled down for the night cooking dinned next to the car and then just writing my diary before going off to sleep. The wind was cold that night and not a very nice nights sleep was had though it was a very safe place to stay. Next morning I had an early start and made very good progress today heading north and getting ever closer to Turkey. The car is starting to make strange noises now from the drive shafts and gearbox I think it is the bearings that are getting worn out on the drive shafts and I do have spares but the noise from the gearbox is a little worrying as I have no spares at all.
   
    After quite a long day’s drive I decided it was time to find a safe place to stop for the night and also try to sort out the front off side bearings which were getting worse, so as soon as I got to Yazd I started my search. I knew there was an airport in this own and it must have taken about two hours to find it. As soon as I did I headed straight for it as I knew it would be a safe place to stop for the night. I drove into the airport and parked the car in a car park close to the main entrance though it was nothing like an international airport and the main terminal was closed. I think they must only have two flights per day or so. The manager came out to see me and I was invited in while he checked with the local authority to get permission for me to stop over night in the car park. All went well until the local police turned up and as soon as they knew I had satellite communications and navigation equipment onboard I was told I could not stop there and was basically made to feel most unwelcome but the only problem was I had already started on the wheel bearings and the drive shaft was off. So I had to quickly finish what I was doing and get out of there. I took a couple of hours to finish what I was doing and then I left, I went in search of a hotel so I could park the car in the car park as I did the night before but it seemed that the police had already telephoned all the local hotels and I was turned away from them all so the only course of action was to get back onto the main highway and head straight out of town, which is exactly what I did and I drove for another couple of hours in the dark which is just what I don’t like.
   
    I got to another town about 120 miles from Yazd and parked the car next to some lorry’s on a lay by. I have come to the conclusion that the only people to trust are lorry drivers and the places they stop as we are all in the same boat "just trying to get from A to B". By this time I was exhausted and so tired that I could hardly get to sleep.
   
    Another good day’s driving was done though the bearings were still knocking and the gearbox sounded worse especially when I first started but as the car warmed up the noise went away. Iran is nothing more than dessert and mountains with a landscape that resembles the surface of Mars, quite red and baron. I love the dessert and I felt very happy to be driving through such a place, it is so peaceful and quiet and unspoilt.
   
    Another 500 plus miles done today and I found myself well past Tehran parked up at another lorry park some five thousand feet up right on the snow line and it was bloody cold. I pulled over just after a toll station but still on the highway at around eleven in the evening, I had been on the move for well over fourteen hours this day and was more than pleased with my progress. After a small dinner I climbed into my sleeping bag and had a few hours sleep.
   
    When I woke the next morning I saw it was snowing and there was a wind blowing right through the car which felt very cold indeed and just as soon as I could get a couple of cups of tea inside of me I was back on the road. I only got 92 miles down the road when an almighty bang came from the engine and I had to dip the clutch as fast as possible as I pulled over I found the engine had lost all it’s drive and I was stuck with nothing to be done.
   
    I got my tow rope out and attached it to the front of the car and held it up as a lorry approached and to my complete amazement the driver stopped and gave my car a tow into the next town which was only a couple of kilometres up the road. I decided the only thing to do would be to get the car transported on a lorry to the boarded which was only 300 miles away and get into Turkey where I would be safe to work on the car and get going again, so after a lot of negotiating with the local I managed to get the car loaded onto the back of a small lorry and later that evening we were on the way to the boarder. I slept in the car as the driver sped towards Turkey and boy was it ever cold. I did keep the engine running just to have the heater on and that was one little bonus and I actually had a long sleep.
   
    Next morning at around 5:00am we arrived at the boarded town and unloaded the car then I was towed through the boarder. Plenty of paper work had to be done before I was in Turkey which took over five hours to do but now I was in Europe and felt a lot happier. I paid the driver before I left Iran and thanked him for his troubles though it cost me a lot more than I wanted to pay.
   
    So I am now in Europe Turkey Asia minor and it is snowing like crazy with the temperature around minus 5 to minus 12 degrees in a car that has no drive and the closest town is some 28 kilometres away.