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There was no way around it. I was never going to find an Irish bar in Iran. In fact, I was never going to find an Iranian bar in Iran. With alcohol strictly off the menu, I was having serious doubts about the capacity for 'having fun' in Iran.
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Frustrations and Friendliness in Persia

Conor_purcell
2005-11-18 13:56:53

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made more friends, and I arranged with one guy, Massoud, to go up to Masuleh the next day on his motor-bike, stay the night, and then go for a long drive around the mountains the next day.

That night though, it pissed rain - Rasht is beside the Caspian, and get heavy rainfall all year round. The next day, it was still lashing, so we called off our expedition, and I decided to come back to Masuleh in a few weeks. Massoud did, however, give me a hour-long ride around Rasht to see the sights - my first experience in the thick of Iranian traffic. I said farwell to my Germans buddies, who were off to Esfahan, and made for the city of Qazvin, intending to use it as a base to visit, and hopefully camp beside, the legendary "Castle of the Assassins". No such luck - after a night in Qazvin, I woke up too late the next day to catch the one and only minibus up to the sight, so I said "F@*K it", and hopped on the next bus to Tehran.

Iranians are the most curious, naturally friendly people you'll ever meet. My bus journey to Tehran was the perfect example. The guy next to me, who spoke no English, learned my nationality straight away. He then spent the next half hour struggling, desperately wanting, to say something to me
At the back of the British embassy, Tehran
- sometimes he'd turn to me, open his mouth, but then think better of it, and turn back. After about a half hour, he pulled open his briefcase, and took out a little book. From glances I was able to see that this 'English Phrase Book' would be no use to him. It was for business, and full of terms like 'Progress Report', 'Accountability', and 'Stamina'. After 15 minutes of flicking through, he was defeated, and so, did what every Iranian would do. He started waffling away to me in Farsi anyway. There's only so many times I can shrug my shoulders, and say "Me no Farsi", before I get tired. There was only one thing for it.

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