Olympic Expedition: Day 18-24

Something finally went as planned (or at least, hoped) for Richard, Paulo and Edgar on their trek as they obtained their Turkmenistan visa, the only outstanding one until now. Since then it has been smooth sailing through the Middle East.

The Beijing-London trip continues and the guys have ended up in Iran after another week’s travel. After getting their Turkmenistan visa (along with a request for a bribe by the custom’s guard), they crossed back into Uzbekistan and quickly made their way into Turkmenistan.

On Sunday morning the three left Ashgabat for Iran, arriving in Mashad at 6.30pm in the evening. “We also tried to visit the Holy Shrine in Mashad, the most important sanctuary in Iran, and second most important of Islam, but they didn’t allow us to get near the buildings … So, instead of spending the night there, we decided to take a night bus to Tehran. After 14 hours in a bus with no toilet we arrived in the capital of Iran one day ahead of our schedule.”

While in Tehran the travelers have been playing soccer and ping-pong with the locals and snapping photos of the sites.

For more photos, reports and videos of the journey so far check out Olympic Expedition.

Photos: Olympicexpedition.com.