Matthewlive and let's fly

A Spur of the Moment Trip to the Islamic Republic of Iran

IRAN_currency_rial_with_US_passport

It all started around the brunch table Saturday in Dubai. I casually mentioned that Kish Island, a small Iranian island just 30 minutes from Dubai by air, would be an interesting place to visit.  Why Iran? For years I have heard that the Iranian people are the kindest and friendliest people in the world and I wanted to see for myself. Plus, I knew my chances of ever visiting “mainland” Iran were slim to none, so visiting Kish Island (which is a free trade zone and does not require a visa to visit) was the best and perhaps the only way to gain some perspective on life in Iran.

My colleague I was traveling with from Frankfurt was keen to go as well, so we stopped by Terminal 2 at Dubai Airport that evening, where the flights to Kish Island depart from. There are only two flights a day run by Kish Air, one midday and the other in the late evening, and as we entered the small ticket office on the right side of the departure zone, we found a man with a scowl on his face, who looked like he had put up with a lot of crap all day.

We asked him if tickets were available for tomorrow’s flight and he shook his head and said, “No. Tomorrow is full.” We asked if it would be worthwhile to come to the airport anyway, just in case there were no-shows. He said, “Maybe. You come tomorrow.” With that response, we returned to the Park Hyatt with a glimmer of hope that we would get on the flight.

The following day would be quite interesting at the Kish Air office click to read more.

Posted on: 22 Jun 2011

Comments

#1
Darren June 22, 2011 at 07:21 pm

You tease!

#2
Matthew June 23, 2011 at 05:14 am

@Darren: I know! But I just could not stay awake last night. The story continues soon.

#3
Hunter June 23, 2011 at 05:33 am

Don't forget to tell us about the part where they torture you with jumper cables.

#4
Marcus June 23, 2011 at 10:31 am

This is like getting a story by cable wire or something a couple of sentence at a time. Excruciating! :)

#5
Matthew June 23, 2011 at 01:55 pm

@Marcus: I want to make sure you and other readers keep coming back to UPGRD! ;)

@Hunter: Thankfully, this wasn't quite as painful.

#6
Kamran December 29, 2011 at 05:18 am

Don't forget that youwould be treated in Iran as a Spy and they will deal with you as a hostage.

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