A new video about the first week in Mumbai. It may contain some crazy yet hilarious scenes. Watch it here.
The Green Sheikh
When traveling around the world you learn that interesting encounters are behind every corner. Even in countries who are not well-known for their sustainable efforts you meet people who contribute to the environment and show you that even here the awareness is raising. In the United Arab Emirates I had the honor to meet Sheikh Abdul Aziz Al Nuaimi, member of the royal family of Ajman and also known as the Green Sheikh. I contacted him via e-mail and within a few hours I received a message from his team saying that he was delighted to meet me and wanted to enlighten me with his spiritual energy.
The Green Sheikh has a background as chemical & petroleum engineer and converted to an environmental advocate in the early 90ās, after discovering challenges as climate change, waste, human wellbeing, food and water. He has a clear vision on sustainability and has a wider approach on this subject as he sees āpeace, love and respectā also important aspects in his vision. Abdulaziz names good families and good values as some examples of his approach which all lead to not further damaging the planet. A more holistic approach with clearly influences from the Muslim religion. Holistic approaches on sustainability we see being implemented by many businesses nowadays, however more Western Europe as in the areas that I have just crossed so itās interesting to see that the Sheikh has been doing this for years.
How sustainable or non-sustainable is the UAE exactly? I wanted the know. The UAE has a clear vision on energy. in 2050 half of the countries energy need will be provided by renewable energy, the other half will be clean of fossil fuel. AbdulAziz says. Resources for the other half coming from nuclear energy.
Watch the full interview with the Green Sheikh here:
Day 251 | Sunday November 20
At my next stop in Kashan I was supposed to stay at a friend of someone I met in Tehran. Last night I received a message that they had to get out of town. I had a look at the replies on my Instagram post and there were many people who offered me a place to stay in Kashan so I contacted one of them and 10 minutes later it was confirmed. I love the power of social media. He said he would wait for me at the toll gate at his city. I started driving and suddenly there was a split with 2 options: Kashan or Kashan. I decided to go to Kashan but I would find out this was not the highway but a smaller road. Probably it was the more scenic and interesting route . I arrived in the city without passing the pay toll so I sent him my location via Telegram and a few minutes later he, Saeed, and his sister and cousin picked me up. They all spoke very well English. I followed them to their were the rest of the family was waiting. We had lunch on the floor and they laughed a lot about my tryingsĀ to sit in crossed-legged just like them, my muscles are not so flexible anymore. Everything happens on the ground here and they laughed a lot when I asked them why they have a dinning table here as I thought it was just for decoration.
We explored the city and they brought me to Fin Garden. A historical Persian gardenĀ with a story. It contains Kashan’s Fin Bath, where Amir Kabir, the Qajarid chancellor, was murdered by an assassin sent by King Nasereddin Shah in 1852. Completed in 1590, the Fin Garden is the oldest extant garden in Iran.
Next stop The TabÄtabÄei House, a historic house. It was built in the early 1880s for the affluent Tabatabaei family. It consists of four courtyards, wall paintings with elegant stained glass windows, and includes other classic features of traditional Persian residential architecture, such as biruni and andaruni. The house is almost 5,000 square meters and has been very well renovated. The interior yards have beautiful gardens.
The house had belonged to a trader man in carpet field. the most important trade of Kashan is rugs and carpets and many of rich men are in carpets and textiles fields in this city.
For dinner they decided to change from the floor to the dinning table, a more convenient way to conserve the meal. Iranian food is similar to Turkish food. A lot of meat, kebab, chicken and bread. The breads are different tough, it are long flat beds.
Day 252 | Monday November 21
We visited the old bazar in Kashan, a 2 kilometers long indoor streetĀ with many small shops. You can buy everything here: from cow eyes to fans and brooms to carpets. Kashan is one of the 4 carpet capitals in Iran. They still make it all by hand here.Ā The bazaar has a famous architecture, especially at its Timche-ye Amin od-Dowleh section, where a grand light well was built in the 19th century. The bazaar is still in use and is a few miles in total length. In the bazaar’s complex beside the main bazaars, there are several mosques, tombs, caravanserais, arcades, baths, and water reservoirs that each were constructed in a different period.
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Day 248 | Thursday November 17
We headed back to Tehran and in the afternoon I had another interview. This time with the guys from Radio Budio, a podcast about tech-related stuff. The Iranians really like that there is a Westerling here who gives some positive attention to Iran. What you see mostly on the news is bad stuff and not really true. The guys also arranged that I could stay at one of their friends and we went there with the crew for dinner and watch some movies.
Day 249 | Friday November 18
Good internet is a rarity in Iran and as I had a decent connection at my host and time (which is a rarity too the last weeks) I spend some hours working.
For lunch I went with Nima to a cafe were the guys from Radio Budio joined us. Some of their friends came by and said I was a celebrity etc. Cool stuff.
Today I was actually supposed to leave to Qom early in the morning but I still had my luggage at Aliās place and he had some delay. He was supposed to return in the afternoon but it became evening and I stayed another night in Tehran.
Day 250 | Saturday November 19
Now it was really time to leave. I said goodbye to my new dear friend Ali. Even since before entering Iran he had been taken care of me and he made my stay in Iran so far very pleasant. He set up meetings with sustainable related companies and organized the presentation at the University. He has a girlfriend in Holland so Iām sure I will see him again.
Time to leave to Qom. Aidin, who interviewed me last week had a friend there were I could stay. The road to Qom was pretty amazing, I suppose you can call this already the desert and I had never been in the desert before. Sand blew over the highway. Some people had warned me not to go to Qom. Itās the most religious city in Iran and until just 3 years ago it was forbidden for non-moslim people and some areas are still not safe.
My host Leilli was a cool woman who welcomed me with some pizza and french fries. Iranians really love fastfood. She showed me the city and the highlight was the holy shrine, or more like holy shit! From the inside the building was decorated with mirrors and silver, it shined so bright it almost hurt my eyes. In the middle of the mosque was the cemetery of some special person. People were crying while touching the grave, a special moment to witness.
Leilli got tired and went to her parents place to rest. I walked around through the small alleys and old neighborhoods, very interesting to visit. Funny moment: a kid saw me taking pictures and they approached me to take one of them. Exactly at the moment that I shot the picture he sneezed and I captured him at his not most prettiest moment. Watch the picture below.
When it started to get dark I walked back home, the whole day I didn’t feel unsafe for one moment.
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Day 246 | Tuesday November 15
Today started with a second meeting at NRI. The researchers explained me their renewable energy programs. They are in the progress of creating a battery car with a micro turbine inside. An interesting and intelligent concept. I interviewed them about the projects and how sustainability is being applied in Iran. Stay tuned for the video.
Tehran
The afternoon I had no appointments and finally some time to explore the city. TehranĀ is the capital of Iran and Tehran Province. With a population of around 9 million in the city and 16 million in the wider metropolitan area, Tehran is the most populous city of Iran, the 2nd-most populous city in Western Asia and the 3rd-largest metropolitan area in the Middle East. It is ranked 29th in the world by the population of its metropolitan area.
The majority of the people of Tehran are Persian-speaking people,and roughly 99% of the population understand and speak Persian; but there are also large populations of other Iranian ethnicities in the city such as Azerbaijanis, Armenians, Lurs, and Kurds who speak Persian as their second language.
There have been plans to relocate Iran’s capital from Tehran to another area; due mainly to air pollution and the city’s exposure to earthquakes. To date, no definitive plans have been approved. A 2016 survey of 230 cities by consultant Mercer ranked Tehran 203rd for quality of living.According to the Global Destinations Cities Index, Tehran is among the top ten fastest growing destinations.
Day 247 | Wednesday November 16
Another day, another interview. This time with Aidin from IranKhodro Magazine. IranKhodro is one of Iranās 2 biggest car manufacturers (I have visited them both now) and they have their own magazine. Of course they write about cars. Aidin was a very nice guy and like most Iranians they tell me things like: itās a big honor to meet you, I had the best day this month etc. Itās very heartwarming. Aidin took me for breakfast and wanted to shoot pictures after. He thought the car was dirty (which was true, the last time I cleaned the outside was in Norway) so we went through a carwash. The the car isĀ 50 shades more blue now.
2 days ago at the office of Autoworld I was interviewed by a journalist, Pegah. Today we met again and she showed me her city. We went to SaāDabad Complex, this is a 300 hectare complex built by the Qajar and Pahlavi monarchs, located in Shemiran. Today, the official residence of the President of Iran is located adjacent to the complex.
The complex includes more than 180 hectares of natural forest, streets, qanats, galleries, and museums. The complex was first built and inhabited by Qajar monarchs in the 19th century. After an expansion of the compounds, Reza Shah of the Pahlavi Dynasty lived there in the 1920s, and his son, Mohammad Reza Pahlavi, moved there in the 1970s. After the 1979 Revolution, the complex became a museum.
We arrived a bit late and only had time to see the Green House. An impressive building which was the resort of one of the kings. One room was completely decorated with mirrors and silver. The king didnāt had a bed in his bedroom because he preferred to sleep on the floor. He used to be a soldier and sleeping on the ground was common. He always had his boot within reach so he could take action when needed, a strong guy.
In the evening Pegah took me to her friends, about 20km outside of the city. We had a lot of drinks and this was the first time in Iran and probably since Istanbul that I had some alcohol. Good times.
Day 245 | Monday November 14
With professor Afshar I went to the R&D department of Saipa. Saipa is Iranās biggest car manufacturer. A representative came to the presentation yesterday and invited me to come over. They gave a presentation about the brand and their plans to produce their own electric car. The car will be an existing model which they would convert to electric. Some specs: 20 kWh battery, 150km range, topspeed 140 km/h. I was given a tour e around their facility which they call ERIC. They have areas were they simulate different environments, acceleration tests, quality control and more.
It was an interesting visit and great to see that there are companies who want to bring electric cars to Iranian customers.
In the afternoon I had a special meeting, I was invited by the deputy of the Iranian Minister of Environment. He heard about my visit to Iran and contacted me via via, interesting how things are arranged here. The meeting was at NRI (Niroo Research Institute). NRI has played a leading role in developing new technologies for the Electric Power Industry and is the major research organization affiliated to the Ministry of Energy of Iran. There were a lot of very interested professors, researchers and delegates who came to have a look at the car. Because I found out they are doing a lot of interesting things regarding to renewable energy I asked them if I could come back tomorrow for some interviews.
Than we headed back to the office and from there we went to the office of Autoworld, who published an article about me in their newspaper today. The owner wanted to meet me and we had some talks about the project. Every Iranian who I speak to wants to know how I experience the people in the country. Apparently they find it very important that the people here are friendly and welcoming, which is definitely so.
After the meeting the guys from Asbebokhar picked me up and they took me to the Milad towner. The worldās 4th biggest broadcasting tower. Itās 400 something meters tall and it has stores, restaurants and a museum. Unfortunately it was not possible to go to the top today as the level of pollution was to high. Instead we went to a pizza restaurant for dinner and after they brought me home.
Today was a crazy hectic day. Especially here in Tehran as the traffic is so busy and crazy and it exhausts me a lot. Im staying at Aliās place at the moment who still takes care of me like a hero.
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Day 244 | Sunday November 13
One of the journalists who interviewed me yesterday was part of Asbebokhar, itās a Youtube channel about cars in general and they wanted to meet me to make a movie about the car. I met them in a deserted part of the city were some buildings were destroyed. They had a big land rover and in this setting they wanted to show the differences between big polluting cars and electric cars. It were all young guys who published these videos on their youtube channel and are very active on social media. After the interview they invited me for lunch at a very fancy restaurant in the rich part of Tehran. I am really getting spoiled in Iran! The guys posted some photos about me on their Instagram account and within an hour I got 250+ new followers! So great. This is their account and also check out The Rick Kids of Tehran on Instagram. Itās a very interesting account about how young and rich people life in the city. Itās another world.
After lunch we drove to the office of BYD. Itās a Chinese electric car maker and they are planning to bring their EV to the Iranian market. They heard about my project and wanted to meet me. They explained that Taxi companies are interested in electric cars. Taxiās drive about 200km a day and their car (the E6) can drive 400km. In the city are 5 million cars and of course this contributes a lot to the air pollution in the city, which is huge. I could testdrive the E6, itās a big car and very heavy, 2.400kg but itās silent and drives good. It also has a very flashy and futuristic display which looks like a Japanese pinball-machine.
Than I had to rush back to the city. The traffic here is very aggressive and dangerous sometimes. Drivers totally donāt care, they just go wherever they want without thinking about the cars around them and not even using their turning signals. Apparently there is just one rule here: fill in the gaps.
Professor Afshar invited me for dinner, I drove to the office of Ali and Mehmet and met the professor and 2 other ones of the university. The restaurant was very fancy. Between waterfalls we have a private cabin were we ate some delicious local food. Pure joy.
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First impression of Mumbai in a new video. Watch it here.
The last weeks have been full of adventure, interesting encounters and hecticness. I try to summarize my experiences in this blog which is this time not a day-to-day overview.
Some days in Muscat
Way before my host woke up I left his apartment in Sohar because I wanted to be in Muscat around noon. It was a 209km drive and 200km is about the maximum I can do. However the car is capable of doing 250km max under the most ideal conditions. Meaning 20+ temperatures, flat road, no wind and max speed 90km/h. Today all these condition were there so I decided to test it. And it was a succes, with even 15% left I arrived in Muscat at my host Faisal. When I posted I was going to Oman a Norwegian guy told his friend Faisal that I was coming there and he wanted to help me out. Faisal is a really good guy and owner of the Brotherhood motorbike shop. He even arranged that I could stay in an apartment for 5 days
On one of the first days in Muscat I was contacted by a journalist from Muscat Daily who wanted to do an interview with me. That article was published a day later and I received a lot of requests. Not just from nice people who could offer me a place to stay but from 3 different school. They wanted to know if I was willing to give a presentation. Why not?
Presentations
The first school I visited was the OurPlanet School, a grade school were the children get lessons on the environment from already a young age, unique in Oman the principal told me. I did a presentation in 3 different classes and they all were so enthusiastic. The questions I got from the kids were hilarious āhow do you brush your teeth?ā and ācan I play with my playstation on the screen?ā were some of the best ones. 2 kids who āhave their own washing companyā even did a nice wash on the car. A few days later I went to the American School for another presentation.
After I stayed in the apartment for 5 days I went to a Dutch family. Very kind people who showed me around town. The next day I went to another Dutch couple, Agnes en Goos. Agnes contacted me earlier as she is working for a magazine for the Dutch community here and wanted to run an article about me. Coincidence or not this night was the annual Dutch Gala night and Agnes managed to get a ticket for me. We parked the car right next to the red carpet. It turned out the be a great night, free Heinekens and bitterballen were served so it couldnāt be a bad party.
The Green Sheikh whatsapped me, he saw I was in Muscat and he needed to be there for a presentation at The Sultanās School and he invited me to join him. He gave several presentations and asked me to give a few words too.
Visa issues / Leaving Oman
The reason I needed to go to Oman was because there was a possibility that I could receive the visa for India in 2 weeks time. If I needed to wait for that my visa for the UAE would have expired and I would be in trouble. After just 3 days in Oman I already received a call that I could pick up the visa. So on Tuesday the 15th I decided to go back to the UAE to make the final arrangements.
In the morning I had some time to visit the Sultan Qabooz Grand Mosque, a stunning piece of architecture. Up until a few years ago they had the biggest chandelier in the world here, until some Emiratis decided to make a bigger one. They also had to biggest carpet in the world, until some Qataris decided to make bigger one.
First I made a stop in Sohar were Mark was waiting for me, he is the CEO of the Port of Sohar and I wanted to interview him because they are working on sustainable projects in the port.Ā
I left from the far side of Muscat and it was 250km to the port, I wanted to see how far I could go. So on the final day of the first year I set a new personal record: 233km on a single charge. I had 7% left but was sure I couldnāt reach the port and stopped at a fuel station. Some nice people allowed me to recharge there and the driver of Mark picked me up to bring me to the port.
At the port I gave a presentation for the the team including some Dutch people as the port is partially owned by the Port of Rotterdam. Than Mark took me for a tour around the port, which is quite huge and told me about their efforts to make the port more sustainable. At the moment they are building a unit which is fully self-sustainable. A unique project in this country as the awareness on environmental issues is very low here, the country relies on 99.8% on oil.
The next day I tried to reach Dubai, I stopped at Mikkels place (where I stayed on the way to Oman) and recharged for a few hours. I really wanted to reach Dubai today. I needed to bring my passport to the visa company and it would take 4-5 days before it would be returned. I managed to reach Dubai around 6 and handed over my passport.
1 year!
Today I am also on the road for one year! Itās still a dream and canāt believe all the interesting encounters and adventures I had in the past year. What a ride it was.
Damn…
Than I suddenly realized I might have another issue. On Sunday the car would be shipped by the nice people of DGL, however to enter the port you need your passport and I would receive this on Monday at earliest. I called with the company and they confirmed, fortunately it was no problem to delay the shipment. This night I stayed at Jan Willemās place, the legend who were I stayed in the first weeks of the arrival. The next 2 days I went to Adnane who I had also stayed before. With Adnane I went into the desert to take some nice shots with my drone of the car. This will be seen later in a very special movie.
On Saturday I already received the news that my passport would be returned to me today. That was only after 1 official working day so that was kind of a surprise. So now the car will be delivered to the port on Wednesday and on Saturday I will fly to Mumbai.
Eco Donut Boats
Sunday morning I had a meeting with Dubai Carbon, a governmental organization and I wanted to know from them everything about energy in the country, the video interview will be online later.
After the interview I went to Abu Dhabi to visit Eco Donut Boats. This is a cool company who has donut shaped boats powered by the sun. The owner, Berend, sponsored me with a drone and in return I will make a movie about this project.
I didnāt had a place to sleep for tonight yet but next to the Donut Boats was a beautiful hotel, the Eastern Mangroves Hotel by Anantara and Berend knew someone there. We asked if they could host me for a night and they were ok with that! And I am very lucky as this was a 5 star hotel! The suite was stunning and it had a bath which was big enough for my tall body, great!
The next day I spend the morning at the outside infinity pool after I had one of the best breakfasts ever. The buffet in the hotel had more than I could even wish for.
Now I am back in Dubai to do the final preparations before setting off to Mumbai. It will be hard to leave but I am really up to the next stage of this journey.
PS. Yesterday I was on Dutch TV program Hart van Nederland! Check it here: www.hartvannederland.nl/nieuws/2017/wiebe-ziet-de-hele-wereld-zonder-een-cent-uit-te-geven/
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Day 242 | Friday November 11
Time to head to Tehran. It was over 200km and Ali arranged a recharge place at his family in Karaj. When I got there I had 37% left and it could be possible to reach Tehran. Because there were enough possibilities to charge the car in the chance I couldnāt make it I gave it a go. With 15% left I got to my address in the capital and did 211km on a single charge, thatās a record!
So finally I met Ali. Ali had been helping me to get from the border to Tehran by connecting his friends and family and he had made the first week very easy for me. We drove to his parents place were I was introduced to his family. Later Mehmet, a colleague of Ali came by with his kids. His 3-year old son called me āBibiā all the time.
Day 243 | Saturday November 12
Ali arranged a presentation at the K.N. Toosi University in Tehran, a technical university. I was welcomed students of the uni and professor Afshar who builded his own electric car already in 2010. The story behind this was a sad one: his mother died because of the air pollution in the city. He than decided to build an environmental friendly car while using only cheap and local parts.
All the students came to see the car and they even made a banner with my name and personal welcome message on it, how great!
In the big auditorium I gave a presentation about Plug Me In, how the first months have been, my experiences with the electric car and my findings on sustainability. It was the first time I had to speak for a big audience. I always hated to speak to audiences, for examples at school but now I kind of enjoyed it. I thought it was special that so many people came to hear my story.
After the presentation there were some interviews and I was introduced to the board of the university. Everyone was very polite and eager to hear my story. I found it’s also really great that even in Iran they find sustainable mobility important.
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