Got up early this morning and went to the police station to get my passport. Haji Omran is a small town with some amazing sceneries

with Then walked to the border crossing which is around 2km away

and got there around 7.45am.
Was driven by a soldier to another room and waited for a short period. There was a roomful of soldiers and I didn’t know what’s going on because no one speak English. One guy turned on Tom and Jerry on the tv this is the only time I appreciate the brilliance of the cartoon. No language was spoken but the joke was understood universally.
Another soldier brought me to another room to photocopy my passport and then finally got the exit stamp on my passport. The soldier was pretty nice, I didn’t have to queue and didn’t have to pay for the photocopy because of him. Had another short interview at the border before allowed to get to the Iran side.

I didn’t have Iranian visa because I read that Malaysian doesn’t need one for 2 weeks stay in the country. However not many people know about it and the border guards on the Iranian side needed some time to make sure. I was a little tense because if I wasn’t allowed to get in, I will be stuck and won’t be able to get to Uzbekistan in time.

Finally got an entry stamp and got to the Iranian side of the border

Took a shared taxi to Piranshar, the closest town at the border. Passed by some wonderful views of the mountains.

Piranshar

Got to the bus terminal at 10.30am, Iranian time is half an hour faster than Iraqi time. There is an overnight bus (100,000 Iranian ~ USD10) to Tehran at 6.30pm so I have some time to kill.
A Kurdish guy (Saadi) wanted to show me around and invited me to his house.

He brought me to more than 10 of his friends and relatives shop, introduced me to everyone.
Had lunch at his place

With Saadi’s brother and nephews. I noticed that Kurdish kids are quite well behaved.

and spent a few hours there.

Went to an internet café to get the address of Turkmenistan and Malaysian embassy. The connection here is very slow.

Got a hair cut (25000 Iranian, around $2.50) at one of his Saddi’s barber shop since I have an extra hour.
I got a lot of stares the whole day and when I got back to the bus terminal, everyone wants to take a photo with me. I guess probably there weren’t many Asian looking people around here.
They forced me to take a photo at the manager’s seat.

At the west part of Iran, majority of the population is Kurdish. In Piranshar, almost everyone is Kurdish. From Turkey to Iran, I had a fantastic experience with the Kurds. They are so nice and everyone smiles all the time, like the Brazilians. Some people even offer me money for cabs, it’s incredible.
Took an overnight bus to Tehran

and the bus ride will take 12 hours. At one of the military checkpoint, I had another short interview about the purposes of my visit. Kurds would love to have their own country since they have their own language and culture. They consist of the majority of the population in most cities surrounding Northern Iraq (Turkey, Iran and Syria) but without a country.

4 Responses to “Piranshar, Iran”

1. Big V says:

   November 12, 2009 at 9:55 pm

   asians are rare. asians are cute. that’s why they like taking pictures with us! that happened to me as well in turkey. haha.
   p/s: i left u a facebook msg! go read it 🙂

2. Min says:

   November 13, 2009 at 4:47 am

   Saw so many times people offered you free money, I know you are handsome, but are you that handsome like I am? haha

3. journey26 says:

   November 18, 2009 at 7:52 pm

   YES, i am..lol

4. journey26 says:

   November 18, 2009 at 7:52 pm

   Surprisingly, korean drama is very popular here..maybe that’s why..haha