I just got back from an intense 2 weeks trip from HK -> Tehran -> Yazd -> Kharanaq -> Shiraz -> Kazeroon -> Tehran. It has been one of the most therapeutic trip I've had for a very long while. There was no internet, no telecommunication, just people, my team, faci team delegates and friends. I haven't actually interact with people without any sorts of "distraction" for a long time. People are genuinely listen and talk to each other, finding out each other's interest, adventures and at what stage of live they're living at this point.
I met a very interesting cycler once I got to the guesthouse in Kharanaq. It was early in the morning when we got there and the cycler was having his breakfast with us. He's from Ireland and decided one day he's fed up about his work, bored of his life in London and so he saved up money from a year to cycle around the world. He was in about 5 weeks in Iran and we talked a lot about his adventures from cycling from Europe to here, where would be his destination next and all.
We also talked about impossibility. In life we always make excuses to NOT do certain things. We said it's impossible, we have take care of our parents, we have to have a job, we have blah blah blah, and for the most part it's not the case. There is actually nothing is impossible in this world. He mentioned he met a family while he went through Germany. It's a family of 4, husband, wife and 2 kids. They're cycling from the north of Germany to the South, to let the kid to see the world. Most people would say it's impossible, the kids have to go to school and they need to save money for the kids when they grow up, but they did it. And I think they did it pretty damn well to make an impression on a cycler that travel around the world.
He got me thinking, how many times in life I've said it's impossible to something? How many things I've missed out in achieving because of it's "impossible"? Then I recall, my dad has always been telling me, his staff that nothing is impossible unless you don't want to make it happen. How would I miss out on this? I have my dad with me for 23 years and all these didn't click until today? Personal reflection is a powerful thing and often something that we don't do. If I have learned about personal reflection early on in my life, I would have probably achieve a lot more things than I would've today. In the end though, it didn't matter. I still get to achieve things that I would have never thought I would be able to. I never thought I would be interested in volunteering in a not-for-profit organization. I never thought I would be able to take action for what I care for. I never thought I would be able to lead a team of individuals to have a life-changing experience. I never thought of going to Iran and never in my life had thought that I have the power to change. To change a person's life by living this experience myself, by bringing in something that give them a chance. A chance to learn, develop and explore.
Throughout this trip, I get to explore many many beautiful site in Iran - a place where most people misunderstood. There are many times when I was traveling in Iran and wished there could be more people be able to see the things that I'm seeing. When I was in Esfahan, I wished people could see the Imam Mosque, that in my opinion is even more magnificent than the Blue Mosque in Istanbul. When I was in Persepolis, I wished people could see all the wall craving that survived 2500 years and the burnt down of Alexander the Great. All the ancient ruin that remains is so impressive that I was more stunned than visiting Ephesus in Turkey or Colosseum in Italy. When I was looking at the sunset in Kazeroon or the beautiful sky with a million stars at night Kharanaq, I wish people have a chance to see and feel the powerful scenery that has made such a lasting impact to me.
It's a shame really that people have such a wrong impression about Iran. It was so hard for me to get insurance to cover my stay in Iran because it's considered to be a "unstable" country. In reality, I've never felt so safe in a place where women might not have the equal rights as men, but at least they're very respected. When we're at the Mullah's office in my trip, he was asking us, as a group of elite students who gives the right to the western media to portray Iran with its nuclear program and all the other negative views about it.
