In Summation

So the question will inevitably rise in many people - whether Iran is worth going to. "The Book" raves on and on about gracious hospitality, great food, welcoming people, friendly youth, and lots of historic... shit. I guess it comes down to what you're really after. There is indeed much of the above. Here's a brief rundown

 

Hospitality

Yea, it's mostly true. People in Iran are quite hospitable and you do get home invasions invitations at times. I only got a few, the authors seem to run into at least one or two per day. I think it really depends on how you look and where you come from. Being an Asian definitely gets you much different reactions in public than if you are a white man, likewise much less home invitations. There is still some cultural ignorance towards Asians as they seem to think all Asians are Chinese (fair point considering China is 1b + people). So I can't say that I did receive the immensely warm hospitality that is raved on about so much on the forums. People in general are quite friendly and very happy to talk to foreigners. Don't, however, think that you are an automatic celebrity, it's more like you are a strange sight. Hospitality also varies depending on which cities you are in.

 

There is no shortage of people who want to rip you off, especially taxi drivers. This is the case in every country, but the internet opinions of Iran rarely mention this sad but real aspect. There are also a few scammers who will offer their friendly time to just show you around but then demand money at the end. I turned down most offers.

 

 

History, Sites, Attractions

The history and historical sites in Iran are rich. There are more mosques than I can count (although I can only count to 21) and as beautiful as they are, they get quite boring after the third or so. They all start to look the same and if you're not religious, muslim, or have a strong interest in mosques, then only architectural points of marvel remain which are few anyway. I do remember in Yazd I did a little walking tour around the mud-brick houses as the sun was setting, that was quite beautiful.

 

 

 

Then of course there is beautiful Shiraz and the nearby Persepolis, Esfahan and its Najahaheahahajan Rectangle and nearby bridges, abundance of bazaars and markets, enough museums for a lifetime, lots of parks and botanic gardens (which are pretty crap botanically), cool cars, amazingly beautiful women, and other miscellaneous commodities. There are no shortage of nearby mountains which Iranians like to picnic at on Thursday and Friday. Here's one of them. The sound of wind generators is very soothing. Some quacks think they cause cancer. Kids, this is one of those fans which you don't put your finger in (or any body part). Overall, there are no major sites that are absolutely 'must go to Iran for'. Sorry Iran.

 

 

 

 

Great Food

Hmm, had a lot of kebabs, plus some traditional Iranian dishes, and fast food. Overall, very very far from anything that resembles fantastic food. Even at traditional restaurants that were known and raved about, the food was average to good, never fantastic. Am I being a food snob? Nah, I'm happy to eat this stuff day in day out, don't care. But there's definitely no passion in the cooking that I came across. Every time I ate a hot dish, it came out on a cold plate, making the food completely warm and unappetising - even in the higher end restaurants where you pay 2-3 times the average price. Maybe I'm bias, but Vietnamese food rocks ass (sometimes literally). My culinary highlights would have to be drinking tea, eating baclava, and smoking shisha. That's just so relaxing (but remember to come up for air occasionally).

 

 

In Summation

I'm not sure if I'd ever come back to Iran unless it was to see how the people have progressed. For me, Iran was totally an anthropological expedition. I don't think I could really recommend Iran to others who are likeminded to me. In Tehran, one of the biggest tourist attractions and one which has a constant stream of Western tourists is the Jewel museum, which is filled with... lots of rocks that are (very) expensive and not the type that you skip across ponds. It was beautiful and stunning yes, amazing, but it's more a depressing site to see if you think about its origins in exploitation and slavery. Outside of the postcard attractions, for the majority of tourists, there isn't actually much to do or see. And for that reason I don't think it's worth the effort of getting a visa and flying over.

 

Now I can say that I've done it yes, and I don't regret it at all, but there are perhaps better 'experiences' for the money. Admittedly it's hard to put a monetary value on my experiences there, but I'm not a rich male escort so I have to draw the line somewhere. So my final overall rating of Iran would be 113/151, which equates to about 74.8%. Not bad, but could improve.