Above: Old phone in my room at the Naderi Hotel in Tehran.
Leaving Singapore
I woke around 0130 and dozed till 0500. My aunt insisted that I have some breakfast so I had a peanut butter sandwich before taxiing to the airport around 0540.
The check-in desk for my 0745 flight to Doha was deserted. If it weren’t for the cautiousness of the check-in agent with my visa-free entry into Iran, it would have been a non-event.
I think the aircraft was coming from Cebu and that’s why there weren’t many people at check-in. It was already filled-up. My Filipino neighbour. Orlando, was on his way to Doha to connect to Frankfurt.
The Airbus A330-200 wasn’t fitted with no individual air-vents. This seems to be a growing trend amongst airlines to cut back. The flight attendant in my area was nameless, with her badge saying “Trainee”. She served a dense omelette (with no other choice) for breakfast and then a sandwich before landing. No alcohol was served perhaps because of the breakfast timing.
It was my first time flying Qatar Airways and while it was good, it wasn’t quite the same level as Emirates. Most of their crew are Asian (eg. Indian, Filipino) and Eastern Europeans.
Doha Transit
I caught a glimpse of Palm Island as we descended over Dubai to Qatar’s Doha International Airport. It was 36 degC at Doha when we landed around 1040. The airport was bursting at the seams and it was only bus gates for both arrival and departure. The airport would have been OK if the airline hadn’t grown at breakneck pace. There were queues for the toilet and people on the floor everywhere since seating was inadequate.
I collected my boarding pass for my Tehran flight from an Iranian transit staff member. With things moving along smoothly, the 1h50 transit seemed quite long. But I was ready to get out of Doha’s congested airport.
I boarded the next flight, an A320 by stairs from the rear. Oh, the air-con was such a welcome change from the outside. That was short-lived as the plane filled up and we were delayed by about 30 mins as we had to offload some people who were already on board (for some reason).
It was a chicken kebab on yellow rice for lunch, or a lamb which I didn’t see. I chatted to my neighbour who was a medical student. His father works for Iran Air so he gets to travel a little. He kindly invited me to stay with his family but I declined.
Back to Iran
We landed into Tehran’s new airport for my second visit to Iran, a country that’s supposed to be part of the Axis of Evil. We were about 30 mins late at around 1630. The airport looked very flash from the outside but once inside the poor finishing really shows up. For a new airport, it wasn’t very big. Perhaps it is because domestic flights are still being retained at the old Mehrabad airport.
I changed USD100 while waiting for my luggage. I got a whole stack of notes back and felt right. Immigration beforehand and customs afterwards were both quick. No landing cards were required at immigration. Entering Iran is easy if you have the right passport!
My mate from the flight helped me with the taxi. It was a pay-at-counter jobbie to avoid being ripped off by taxi drivers. It was cheaper than I had expected for the 30km ride to Tehran. We passed Imam Khomeini’s shrine. It had a very big gold dome and four gold minarets too. It took about half hour to get from the airport to the city and a further 15 mins around the city to reach Naderi Hotel where I’m putting up.
I was assigned a quiet room at the back, away from the traffic noise. I showered and planned the remainder of my day. I walked down Manouchehri Street which had beautiful antique shops, bag shops and bakeries. I loved the bread here but decided a loose beef sandwich at Tomato Fast Food near the hotel was more appropriate.
Back at the hotel, I appreciated its old world lobby. It was a simple place. The room was hot and humid but nothing like Doha. It kinda came with air-con but not an effective one. Just enough to bring the temperature down.