Farewell Iran

My departure from Iran was plotted from the outpost of Zahedan. Not regarded by Iranians as the safest of places, I wasn't wandering too far. Next morning when I got up and was heading for the door the receptionist who had no English made it clear that I wasn't getting out without a police escort. He called for one and a cool plain clothes customer arrived on a dingy motorbike. About half an hour later he got around to calling me a taxi to bring me to the military check point on the way out of town. Seemingly this is were I would pick up my escort to the border. It was about 40 degrees and there was no shade. I was told that I could go to the border in anything ranging from 5 minutes to 2 hours. Nobody had a clue what was going on. I kept at it. Eventually a guy of about 17 turned up with a machine gun on the back of a fairly tin pot Honda. Next mission was for me to get a car to travel in. The first taxi that the soldiers spotted coming, even though it was full they made him take me in. He certainly was none to happy traveling with a military escort (most of the violence in the area is against military targets), so he took of at about 140 km/hr. The 'escort' wasn't long about disappearing.

The border post was a little more than a shed, especially on the Pakistani side. No problems, except for the choking dust storms that were blowing in the desert. Part one of the feared crossing completed. Now to get on the Quetta.

I had always heard that Iran was a great country to travel in and nothing like what the media might suggest, but it is difficult to be prepared for exactly what lies ahead. Coming across from Turkey, it was almost like I was crossing into a more developed, better maintained country. Eastern Turkish towns can come across as fairly basic and backward. Crossing to Tabriz, my first stop off in Iran, it was noticeable that even though the traffic was just as chaotic as the rest of the country, it really was throbbing with life. The streets were clean, and as with every other Iranian city, even if buried in the desert, every blade of grass is meticulously watered. For a country that most people think of a desert, there are no shortage of trees and greens to brighten the cities.

There was rarely a shortage of Iranians to tell me about how terrible it is that they have to live in the regime that they do and how they are hoping to get a scholarship abroad. It seemed like almost every student that I met was holding out of that golden ticket out of the country. And the country of their dreams, America! The American way is generally idolised among the young people, and they even learn English with an American accent. From what from the outside seems like a very strong country that would fight America in a long battle, seems different from within. Sometimes I wondered if a lot of the youth would join the Americans to fight their leadership.

There are really so many educated young people in the country that it if the politics did change, the country could really take off economically with the right direction.

The country that most westerners would see as a spot to avoid, was one of the safest, most hassle free countries that I have been to. Considering that all tourists must carry all cash they need for their travels with them entering the country (US trade embargo!), it's incredible that there isn't more crime against tourists. The only part of the country that there's a hint of danger is in the south east near the Pakistan/Afghan border. These guys aren't too interested in nuclear power or Danish cartoons. Getting drugs and the likes across trade routes is their business. They get a bit upset when the police try to meddle in their business, and can cause a bit of bother!