Happy New Year!

Here in the future, we have anti-fungal silver suits.

Gosh, the donkey issue in the rural south west is far different to that for the metropolitan elite in Beijing. In September this year, there were terrible problems in Beijing with fake donkey meat. Unscrupulous restaurateurs and butchers were collaborating to take beef and pork and treat it with chemicals so that it looked and tasted like donkey. People who thought they were eating donkey in Beijing were actually eating a cheap fake.

I remember when it did seem "other". But I've been in and around it for so long now that urban China seems like just another normality. If anything, landing in Beijing is a kind of welcome familiarity. Sometimes rural areas can seem quite alien, still, though.

I think the closest to a new whole-country experience of "other" that I've had recently was my four-day trip to Qatar. That was properly foreign for me.

We're currently considering spending the Easter holiday in Iran. That would be a new and different experience too, I expect.

My father-in-law loves them. He hasn't tried the donkey flavour, though.

 

Yes, I'd rather be there for Nowruz too: it sounds excellent.

However, rather inconsiderately, Australian schools don't have a Nowruz holiday. They do, however, have an Easter holiday. So that's why we have to go then.

 

Excellent. Thank you.

But it appears that because of school holidays, we'll have to go at Thenruz rather than Nowruz.

 

My guess would be no.

 

You'd definitely get on with Mrs hkmb, who is very much a rug lady.

Esfahan is top of the list. I'm told Qom is nice. And Mrs hkmb is keen on Shiraz, for rug-related reasons. The elder of the little hkmbs is keen on Persepolis, because she likes her ancient history. Yazd and Kashan also sound appealing, but we will only have a couple of weeks (school holidays again....) so we need to prioritise. Tabriz sounds intriguing too. Hmmm...

Have you been? If so, I must pick your brains.

 

Ah, that's a shame. I was hoping for some free advice....

Well, if we do make it there, I shall tell you all about it.

 

I don't. While I love a good hummus as much as the next man, I've never been to Israel.

My Dad used to have two passports: one for visiting Israel, and the other for visiting Saudi Arabia (he had to visit both regularly for work: it was important for the company he worked for to make sure both countries were capable of annihilating each other).

Mrs hkmb and the girls will be happy in trousers and headscarves, so that shouldn't be a problem.

 

It is indeed. Welcome to the year. HNY to you too.

They're mostly centred over the Harbour Bridge, which is a few hundred metres west of the Opera House - it's all in post #4.

 

Of course, on the subject of passports.....

Mrs hkmb and the little hkmbs get visa-free access, because they're Australian. Because I am a citizen of The Little Satan, I have to pay the equivalent of about US$600 for a visa. Grrr. Ah, well, from everything I've heard, it should be worth it.