18 Tehran -Esfahan
29. Jan 2007
I spend most of Sunday doing sightseeing in Tehran. Sunday is no public holiday here, and to move around in this city as a pedestrian is a dangerous undertaking! Even on the pavements there is no safety as motorcycles use it without much consideration for people walking. To cross a street is an even more dangerous exercise – the cars do not hold back at all, not even in pedestrian crossings.
Tehran is a dull grey city and the pollution is choking.
Monday it was an early start to the airport. Mr. Askiri from “Safiran” was to meet me in the domestic terminal. He kept me waiting for 20 minutes. Getting to the plane I was told to wait again – and not to get into it….I guess that had something to do with customs.
So after a half an hour wait Mr. Akira turned up with the approved flight plan.
I had decided to cut a 2 night stay in my next destination Esfahan short by 1 day in order to have a stopover in Zahedan, as I had decided that a non-stop flight to Karachi from Esfahan would be to long. But Mr. Akiri was absolutely sure that this was not possible, as the authorities required a 72 hour notice for any changes! I am sure this is just another example of him just not wanting to be bothered to assist!
What if the weather caused the need for changes?
I was very happy to get out of Tehran…
After another climb up to 17.000 feet over the mountains, I landed in Isfahan, a town at an altitude of 5000 feet.
My dealings with Safiran was not over though – I had made the mistake of asking Mr. Askira in Tehran to have his local contact make a hotel reservation in Isfahan, and to check that aviation fuel was available. So I was met by Safiran representation – who did not speak any English. He had me wait for an hour on the tarmac before the fuel truck came. After refuelling he took me to the airport office, and presented me with the cost of his services…650 us dollars. In this country it’s equivalent to a teachers wage in 3 months - according to my guide book!!
And he had not booked the hotel I had requested.
