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About Solomon Rastagar

Conceived and born during the last peaceful era in Afghanistan, Solomon got to undertake his first road trip as a two month old baby in the back of a beat up Land Rover from Kabul to the Oxus River along the Soviet border. It cost him a dislocated shoulder from the poor road, but somehow ignited a passion that, to this day, remains to be extinguished. Since then, in the company of his restless parents, he had roamed the entire Middle East and South Asia from India to Turkey by the time he was five. By the time he graduated high school, he had lived in Afghanistan, the UK, Germany, and California, USA. His college years in the USA took him to forty five of fifty states and most of Canada and Mexico, sometimes as a hitch hiker & sometimes on a touring bicycle. Never one to sit still for too long, Solomon has since traveled extensively across Asia, including a stint in post Taliban Afghanistan just recently.

When not on the road, Solomon calls California home, earns a living as a part time biochemist, part time tutor, and part time construction contractor; his free time is usually well spent with his close knit extended family. His languages of choice are Farsi, German, English, a working knowledge of Spanish, and just enough Arabic to slink by when visiting the Middle East. He stays in shape riding bicycles, running, hiking, and surfing the legendary waves of Southern California.

The Fire Temples of Darius

November 1, 2007 by Solomon Rastagar1 Comment

Just down the street from where the Ayatollah Khomeini's simple house stands in a leafy northern suburb of Tehran, someone had scrawled the following on a wall: 'America: there is not a damn thing you can do!' It was spray painted in English. Elsewhere, I spotted large murals depicting skulls on the American flag with the words "Down with the USA!" across it. Also in English. None of this came as a shock to me; in fact I expected to see such … [Read more...]

Filed Under: Middle East · Tagged: Afghanistan, America, Asia, Bus Travel, Desert, Fashion, History, India, Iran, Ski Trip, Volcano

Two donkeys lost in South Africa’s Kruger National Park

June 26, 2007 by Solomon Rastagar3 Comments

Among those who come to Africa to join a safari, the holy grail of animal tracking is the so called 'Big Five'. Originally coined by the big game hunters of days long past, it comprises the lion, African elephant, rhinoceros, leopard, and the Cape buffalo. Supposedly these were not necessarily the biggest animals, but the most difficult to hunt. Now, my brother Abdul and I were definitely not out to hunt these animals. We just wanted to see them … [Read more...]

Filed Under: Africa · Tagged: Africa, Africa Safari, Animal Rescue, Art, Fashion, Kruger National Park, Mountain Climbing, Mozambique, National Geographic, National Park, Shoestring Budget, South Africa, Traffic, Walking tour, Wildlife

The Land of Fire and Ice

October 16, 2006 by Solomon Rastagar2 Comments

I don't know how many times I have flown between Europe and North America and each time, about halfway over the North Atlantic, glanced down on a mysterious and rugged looking island. Big swaths seemed covered in glaciers. But not everything. It looked largely empty, but I could still make out clear imprints of humanity from thirty five thousand feet in the air. Mostly along the coastal lowlands, where the fields had a fresh green color. Just … [Read more...]

Filed Under: Europe · Tagged: Airport, America, Bus Travel, California, Drinking, Europe, Fishing, Hot springs, Iceland, Japan, Mountain Climbing, North America, Norway, Restaurants, Seafood, Spa, Sweden, Traffic, Travel Insurance, Trekking

The Kingdom of the Atlas Mountains

March 11, 2006 by Solomon RastagarLeave a Comment

Dear Friends, I got bitten by the travel bug again, after more than eight months of staying put around my home base of Orange County, California. I gave South America some serious consideration, especially now that it is summer in the more southern and chilly parts of the continent. But for various reasons, the most important of which is the chance to meet up with my brother Abdul, I settled on Africa. He is roaming around South Africa now … [Read more...]

Filed Under: Africa · Tagged: Africa, America, Animal Rescue, Arabic, Architecture, Atlas Mountains, Beer, Bicycle, California, Culture, Drinking, France, Gun, Shopping Mall, South Africa, South America, Spain, Walking tour, Wildlife

India: Sixty million villages and still counting

February 22, 2006 by Solomon Rastagar2 Comments

How on earth do you cover one billion people and more than five thousand years of history in one short article? I am afraid I won't be able to answer that question in regard to writing something about India. I can do no more than give you my week's worth of roaming about in northern India, a country which I found as diverse as it is huge and old. Just to get primed for the speed at which life proceeds in much of this country, our train to … [Read more...]

Filed Under: Asia · Tagged: Animal Rescue, Asia, Bicycle, Bridges, Bus Travel, California, Culture, Fashion, History, India, Markets, New York City, Sand, Taxi, Traffic, Train Travel, Village, Walking tour, Wildlife

Morocco: Where is my crown of olives?

February 20, 2006 by Solomon RastagarLeave a Comment

There is far more to Morocco, Al Maghreb, as it is known among its citizens, than I can describe in just a short little blurb. Other than the intrusions of various cultures into this part of the african continent, the geography plays a large role in shaping Morocco as well. First and foremost, the High Atlas mountain range dominates the heart of the land. Eclipsed only by Kenya's volcanic Mt. Kilimanjaro, the High Atlas rise to a maximum … [Read more...]

Filed Under: Africa · Tagged: Africa, Airport, Animal Rescue, California, Desert, Egypt, Fashion, Kenya, Mountain Climbing, Nevada, Olives, Sahara Desert, Sand, Sierra Nevada, South Africa, Spain, Surfing, Trekking, Walking tour

Bicycling Baja California

February 8, 2006 by Solomon RastagarLeave a Comment

Cabo-San-Luis-Tuna

La Paz, Baja California Sur, Mexico January 06, 2003 Baja 1000 and more Finally!! The Tropic of Cancer (23.5 degrees north latitude, the start of the tropics) is almost upon us after a twelve hundred mile chase down the spine of Baja California, Mexico. From Orange County, California I joined my German pal Bernhard Koch, whom I had met while cycling in Alaska in 2001, to ride our bicycles down the 'Carreterra Transpeninsular', the Mexican … [Read more...]

Filed Under: North America · Tagged: Airport, Alaska, Animal Rescue, Arizona, Art, Baja California, Beach, Beer, Bicycle, Bridges, Bus Travel, California, Canada, Desert, Drinking, Fishing, Flowers, Food and Wine, Germany, Hollywood

Alaska & Canada Bicycle Trip Part III

February 8, 2006 by Solomon RastagarLeave a Comment

Alaska and Canada Bicycle Trip First Leg -- Anchorage, Alaska July 3, 2001 I finally found a computer that I can use to send an update from Alaska. We just arrived in Anchorage after riding a four hundred mile loop through Alaska's Kenai Peninsula. So far, the riding has been absolutely epic with vast expanses of spruce and hemlock forest, fast flowing rivers, snowcapped mountains, hug ice fields, and glaciers. Surprisingly, the weather has … [Read more...]

Filed Under: North America · Tagged: Alaska, America, Animal Rescue, Baja California, Beer, Bicycle, British Columbia, Bus Travel, California, Canada, Canyon, Chocolate, Denali, England, Food and Wine, Germany, Internet, Lodge, Montana, Mountain Climbing

Alaska & Canada Bicycle Trip Part II

February 8, 2006 by Solomon Rastagar2 Comments

Portland, Oregon - September 02, 2001 Victoria and the lower Forty Eight The planned few days off in Victoria turned into two weeks, thanks to the relentless hospitality of my friends Gil and Lynne Blair, both of whom I met on a cycling trip two years ago in Washington State. I am greatly indebted to them for providing me with thousands of calories, electric light, this thing that spews hot water (they call it a 'shower'), and teaching me … [Read more...]

Filed Under: North America · Tagged: Alaska, America, Animal Rescue, Beach, Bicycle, Bridges, British Columbia, California, Canada, Cruising, Desert, England, Farming, Gun, Mountain Climbing, National Park, Nevada, North America, Oregon, Palm Trees

Fjord Water isn’t Salty….Impressions of Scandanavia

February 8, 2006 by Solomon RastagarLeave a Comment

I hadn't been in Sweden for one hour and I found myself sitting in the back of a police van, bicycle and all. Now, I am normally not that much of an outlaw but this time I had decided to buck all Swedish rules against riding on the freeway, when I got picked up by one of the cops. It turned out that Stockholm's international airport was a good forty five kilometers from the city itself, a perfect distance to put my airplane cramped legs to good … [Read more...]

Filed Under: Europe · Tagged: Airport, Bicycle, Bridges, California, Canyon, Cruising, Denmark, Fjord, Food and Wine, Freeways, Germany, London, Mountain Climbing, New Orleans, Norway, Scandanavia, Sweden, Taxi, Traffic, Train Travel

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