Day 30 Tehran

7 am Polur Federation Camp. Plan for today: Tehran by bus: I need to get some dollars converted to Iranian currency and buy a new mobile phone, so I can get in touch with the outside world. My nose is incredibly sunburnt - looks like I've been punched in the face! Anyway, at last I've had a good night's sleep: a proper bed (bunk - I always opt for the top one where available - the risk of falling out in the night is far outweighed by the risk of being fallen on(!)). View out of the window here: Damavand - shrouded top in clouds; other 'hills'; nearer by, small heaps of dry earth (like on a building site); some dogs (wild(ish)? and black); old oil drums; a pile of bricks; plants typical of dry places (with spiky thorns / leaves). Birds singing. By the way, lost my Guadalajara base ball cap yesterday - got a ride down the last few miles of road in the back of a pickup truck - incredibly bumpy, so anyway need a new cap from Tehran.


9:40 am - somewhere on the outskirts of Tehran - sat in the back of a taxi - Simon is trying to change some dollars into Rials - so (amongst other things) we can pay the taxi fare. Seems inordinately difficult to change dollars into Rials - don't really understand why the driver won't take the dollars anyhow. In the end we had to try three different banks. And this is Tehran. 9:35 am and Simon and the taxi driver are still in the latest bank - surely this is a good sign? At least this bank is actually open. Lots of signs for Bic pens, writing with cheap pens must be big in Iran. Still on the outskirts of the city: there is a noticeable smog thing going on down the road: a sort of yellow and grey cloud: guess this is where Tehran proper is located. Spent much time traipsing about the city proper (bus in to downtown Tehran from taxi drop off point). Used taxis, walking and metro to get around; lots of street vendors. Bought a mobile. Eventually found the Azadi tower (or برج آزادی) - difficult to get to because of the traffic: in particular trying to get across six lanes of traffic is a nightmare - to get to Azadi Square, where the tower is located. Looks a bit unfinished - but apparently it was inaugurated way back in 1971. Bus back to Polur - a real convoluted effort - culminating in the driver overshooting Polur by several km and Simon and I having to hitch back along the road, arriving back at the Federation Camp pretty late.