Coffenet: Wed 19:59

Tuesday, 14 September, 2010

Stayed at lat/long: n38 33.006 e44 58.031

Khoy Tourist Inn, Khoy, IR

On the Turkish side of the border a man came out of the first police office and became my fixer -- life really isn't that hard without them, how do we get suckered by them every time? Are the officials compliant in that they allow them to emerge offical-like from the offices? Anyway, he was quite efficient so I wasn't too fussed.

What was dumb was my own stupidity. A man appeared and offered a good rate of IR13,000 to EUR1 (the BBC had reported IR12,600 a day or so before). He asked if I wanted to exchange EUR100 and I said yes then I changed my mind to EUR200 as my notes were 200s. So I then open my wallet and for some reason handed over two notes -- don't ask, I don't know, it's an expensive mistake. He pocketed them pretty sharpish (shock!) and started counting out not the IR2.6M but, I think, IR3.6M. So the amount I got was more than EUR200 but clearly not the IR5.2M I should have got had I even realised then that I had handed over EUR400. These were being counted out in IR50,000 notes so I had a flurry of them passing in front of me which I was trying to keep track of too.

Ho hum.

On the Iran side it all started well until it came to customs when I was taken back round by a fixer (who'd just appeared during the passport control and loitered though, to be fair, he did help direct when I did have to go round to the heaving exit side to see the passport man there who wrote down my (made up on the spot) itinerary and then had me fingerprinted twice -- once each digit individually then a second time with the fingers in a mitten formation and the thumbs a second time).

Anyway, at the customs side, The Git whisked my papers out of my hands and had them stamped and signed then for some reason we had to go down to "the terminal" or to another place about "the terminal." They got a taxi and I followed then there was a ding-dong about EUR50 for something to do with benzine and that I couldn't go without it. You are probably meant to have one of these cards but I'm pretty sure it's not EUR50. I understand you can live without. So I argued the toss then started accusing him of a scam after 20 mins when it changed to EUR30. I was safe as we weren't communicating on the basic stuff ("what is a 'terminal'?" I asked repeatedly).

Eventually he gave up when I insisted I wasn't buying one and wanted to get my insurance -- I heard him mutter EUR100 as he walked away (with my papers, of course). In the insurance office the two kids were very quiet (partly as they looked like they didn't know what they were doing or maybe because they didn't know how to react under the circumstances). Anyway, forms filled in, EUR100 was asked for -- third party insurance for 30 days. I looked and exclaimed incredulity but there wasn't any doing and The Git had wasted an hour of my life already.

My hotel manager translated the insurance document as either IR215,000 or IR275,000 -- I forget, either way, somewhat short of the IR1.3M I had to cough up -- it goes without saying that the exchange rate is office dependent. Even more annoying was written on the paperwork (or rather re-written over something else) was EUR50. I'd not seen any paperwork until after payment, of course.

So, I was a bit narked about The Git -- the only good moment in his presence being a truck had covered him in mud when it went past).

The bright side was that on the way to the border on the Turkish side I'd been behind a car heading up the mountain that it took a while for me to realise was Iranian. Good for them, travelling out and about, I thought as I'd not seen another single Iranian vehicle. As I headed off from the Iranian border I tried to switch the GPS to Tehran time but couldn't do it whilst riding so pulled over. A car pulled over in front and asked if I was OK. I started to take my helmet off to answer them clearly and they all got out and it was the Iranian family I'd overtaken earlier -- they recognised me/the bike and I remembered them. Chit-chat chit-chat and I'm invited to their house down the road in Marhaba.

I would take them up but I only have their phone number...

Cue a trip to get an IranCell SIM.

Re: benzine, I was shoo-ed away from the first petrol station (I don't think they had any anyway -- there were a few like that in TR too) but another driver gave me directions to another depot that was OK without a card). I missed it and stopped in a layby to consider what next. The driver pulled in and sent me back and another person in the layby had come over too.

I went back up the road and found a petrol station with a massive queue -- which didn't look appealing to sit in. At that point the other guy from the layby came past and flagged me to follow him to the correct petrol station (no queue) and shoved me to the front of the queue which was seemingly no bother for anyone else who all wanted to chat. Top!

Wednesday, 15 September, 2010 19:09

Currently at lat/long: n37 32.655 e45 4.005

Darya Hotel, Orumiyeh, IR

Following the IR family's advice I headed back north in search of Qurah Kalisa, the Black Church -- I thought if I was going to scam a night I might as well go to one of the sights they'd recommended. Up the road to Chaldiran -- no signs of the Qurah Kalisa. About 50% of the road signs have English translations. In Chaldiran I was told to go back the way I came and as soon as I turned I had the first of three Qurah Kalisa signs, either straight on or a distance to go. Then nothing!

Finding places in Iran could be extremely frustrating.

Anyway, no time to roam small roads in the back ends of Iran I had to head down here to get a news update and a SIM!

And some money!

And some food -- everythimg closes at 9pm.

So, depending on SIM, and now battery, updates might be scarcer.