[hrothgar]

Wonder of wonders, my Iranian visa came through.

This year's January vacation will be a historical and culinary tour of Iran.

I'll be heading into Iran on 1/3/2016. The regime claims that I will be allowed to leave on the January 10th the same year.

[Winstonm]

Have a great trip.

[kenberg]

hrothgar, on 2015-November-27, 16:45, said:

The regime claims that I will be allowed to leave on the January 10th the same year.

I like this combination of humor and hope. I trust that you will be fine, and I look forward to hearing how it goes. I read, but do not all that much remember, Reading Lolita in Tehran. I guess I think most things are more nuanced than you get from just reading the papers, and there is no substitute for walking down the street or sitting in the local cafe. Have a good time.

[MrAce]

I will be in Turkey during same time period, Richard.
Just incase if you cross the border to Turkey due to whatever reason, I can pm you my phone number if needed. Once you cross the border, I got your back bro.

This is assuming that there will be a land called Turkey left by Putin by the time I get there!

[cherdano]

Not that we would be worried, but please do make a post here once you are back

[cherdano]

I think you may have to worry less about whether Iran would let you leave, and more about whether the US would let you back in...

http://www.huffingto..._b_8748200.html

[hrothgar]

If I am not heard from after say, January please go to the following link and follow the directions there-in

https://www.youtube....h?v=lP5Xv7QqXiM

[hrothgar]

10 hours to take off.

My facebook feed is displaying the following as an "ad"

http://www.vocativ.c...ED-BO-15a-E07.2

[diana_eva]

hrothgar, on 2016-January-01, 10:26, said:

10 hours to take off.

My facebook feed is displaying the following as an "ad"

http://www.vocativ.c...ED-BO-15a-E07.2

Very encouraging

Wish you a safe and enjoyable vacation!

[hrothgar]

Alive and well.
Iran is a lovely country with challenging keyboards.

Heartily recommend Iran as a vacation destination.

[Winstonm]

hrothgar, on 2016-January-08, 11:48, said:

Alive and well.
Iran is a lovely country with challenging keyboards.

Heartily recommend Iran as a vacation destination.

Glad to hear you are safe and enjoying the trip.

[kenberg]

hrothgar, on 2016-January-08, 11:48, said:

Alive and well.
Iran is a lovely country with challenging keyboards.

Heartily recommend Iran as a vacation destination.

Welcome back!

[hrothgar]

kenberg, on 2016-January-08, 15:10, said:

Welcome back!

still on the road. fly out tomorrow evening.

today we drive from Esfahan to Tehran, then one last day in Tehran and then we fly out...

[kenberg]

hrothgar, on 2016-January-08, 22:34, said:

still on the road. fly out tomorrow evening.

today we drive from Esfahan to Tehran, then one last day in Tehran and then we fly out...

Would you be up for posting some pictures? Becky reads the travel section of the paper like some guys read the Sports section, so maybe I need to keep her away from them. But it could be interesting to see where you were.

[hrothgar]

kenberg, on 2016-January-09, 07:36, said:

Would you be up for posting some pictures? Becky reads the travel section of the paper like some guys read the Sports section, so maybe I need to keep her away from them. But it could be interesting to see where you were.

I'll see what I can do but it might take a bit (Abby took all the photos and she's going to be hella busy for the next couple of weeks). However, I might be able to get some screen shots of post cards and the like.

With this said and done, here are some representative images from Esfahan

https://upload.wikim...je_at_night.jpg
http://gregcrouch.co...9/Esfahan-a.jpg
http://dl.mehrad-co....mehrad-co.com(L).jpg
http://www.holidayir...ics/esfahan.jpg

[kenberg]

Very nice.
The third one would not load (for me).

Becky and I have been caught up in various family issues good and not so good, more or less resolved, and we are thinking much about wishing everyone the very best and heading out. Out to where? Dunno, but out. I hear Bob Seger's "Joe's run off to Fire Lake" in my head. But the two if us.
Some people turn first to the Sports section of the paper. Becky starts with the travel section.

Anyway, congrats on the good trip.

[hrothgar]

Iran is a lovely country that I highly recommend visiting. Overall, we enjoyed the trip very much. The attack on the Saudi Embassy just added some extra spice. How often does your luxury tour include the chance to throw a Molotov cocktail at a great satan? (That's a joke, folks). On a more serious note, the suspension of diplomatic relations between Iran and much of the Persian Gulf did raise interested questions about exfiltration. However, at the end of the day, it was smooth sailing. The Emirates desire to promote themselves as a transport hub proved much stronger than silly little details like an execution over here or an embassy seizure over there.

FWIW, the single most remarkable thing that I saw were the pigeons. You throw bread to an Iranian pigeon and it just stares at you dumb founded. In my 45+ years of traveling, I have never seen anything like this.

The single weirdest part of the trip is what we are referring to as "The mystery pooper".

Its the last morning of the trip and I have woken up early. I wandered down to the computer room but get hit by a sudden need to use the facilities. So I rush back upstairs to my room. I dash for the door, am relived to find that I left it ajar, make it into the restroom, and take care of business. It is at this moment that I discover that I am in the wrong bathroom. Worse yet, I hear stirrings from the main room. I spend a moment thinking about stuff and decide in turn.

1. Discretion is the better part of valor especially given my complete lack of any Farsi and a 50/50 chance that I am in some woman's room (which would be very bad)
2. It's probably best if I exit quietly and not risk flushing the toilet.
3. Might as well close the door

So I beat a hasty retreat, which is almost the end of the story. However, Abby and I are walking back from breakfast about an hour and a half later and there is quiet the scene going on at this room. Couple guys swapping out a lock and irate noises coming from inside the room.

(FWIW, Abby was completely horrified by this story and the poor choices that I made. I think that I made one understandable mistake and did the best that I could to avoid personal responsibility which seems like a good choice under the circumstances)