Introduction
Finally it was off to Teheran. Arrived about midnight
feeling like I wanted to die. Teheran is eerything
that is bad about Asian cities - growing rapidly
(about 10- million new people in the last 10 years)
and nothing but traffic and bad concrete buildings.
Hotel - crappy. Paul - crappy. I head for bad and
sleep in till check out time. I head for the museum -
about the only thing open in Tehran on a Friday -
which is could but not very big (nothing like the one
in Istanbul!) and then to a famous country walk
nothing but huge piles of litter, people and concrete
teahouses it looks a bit like china town in London!
I dont like Tehran.
Low point - in the morning when I was at my lowest the
zip went on the bag that I was using to carry the
carpets and other purchases. I lost my temper and
kicked the bag - unfortunately I missed the carpet nad
hit a large tile which took a chunk out of my foot.
Life was not looking very good at that point.
I was booked on a flight at 0500 from the new Imam
Khomeini airport - so I headed out about 2100 with the
intention of getting some sleep at the airport.
IK airport is so new that they have not finished it
and are only using it for flights to Dubai (6 flihts a
day) so it is very surreal. The place was empty -
three peele had decided to do the same thing as me and
we were outnumbered by the 10 people manning the
information desks.
Fly to Dubai - very bright and modern and full of
Mancunians. I spotted a Costa and decided that I was
in another world! I was the person that you avoid at
airports - worn out old trousers that I lived in for
one whole week inthe pamirs and had not really managed
to get washed since - baggy old shirt that only just
got me around Iran (they dont really like teashirts) -
dried blood on the dusty old sandals - red eyes and
nose and coughing from the allergy! People were
definately avoiding me.
Fly to Singapore. Emirates (the airline) have this
great thing where they have cameras pointing forward
and down and broadcast the picture for the whole
flight - the down picture is amazing when it is
daylight and clear - flying over the Deccan watching
fields and desserts underneath a bit like the pictures
that they release from bomb runs - with a Ramstein
soundtrack.
Arrive in Singapore - clothes in the washing machine -
Paul in a long hot bath and it is all over.
FADE TO BLACK