A new mindset of Iran

Been trying to update this blog but cos I am in middle east right now, I could not understand those language on the taskbar, hence resulted this much delay cos I am in a new place…Iran:p Another new experience of culture.

This is a last minute activation, known only on Saturday evening, just when I was meeting some of my ex-colleague, my boss called up to inform me of some vessel incident happening at this part of the world. So got myself booked on the next available flight...2330hr on Sunday night and spends the next 2 days of frantic traveling, from Dubai to Tehran then Bushehr, where we then hit the road for another 2.5hrs before I get to spend 3hours onboard, after that back on the same track once more. Oh boy… this is damn tiring lah.

Surprisingly, climate in Iran is pretty cool right now, on an average of 17 degree in the day time. And peoples here are really friendly. This is very different from the mindset I have before I comes here. As what I have gathered, the infrastructure and economy had improved a great deal as compare to two years ago, as experienced by my boss. So the number of new cars on the road is also pretty high, the road condition was great, unlike what I experienced in our southern neighbor, where port holes are common on the road. The road here is clean and smooth. So that 2.5hr of journey wasn’t a bad one. But the two places have the similar traffic condition… Chaotic. Or maybe correction, over here is at least 10 times more chaotic. With the numbers of cars on the road, everybody is fighting for the extra distant of traveling, traffic light is not even consider as reference, as it had been totally ignored. Traveling on highway at 140km/hr is norm so drivers are going through like F1 everyday. But in the heartland, traffic is so heavy that at times, you will be consider as road hazard should you give way to others. What an experience here.

While I tot US$0.30/ltr of petrol is cheap in Saudi, over in Iran, it is even cheaper, at only US$0.10/ltr. But somehow there is a catch, there is a petrol ration policy for car owners here, and I was told that everyone is entitled to only 100Ltr of petrol per month, so if you hit the ceiling early, their car would just have to sit in their backyard till next month. But of cos, human are one of the smartest living things on earth, so the people have their way to obtain that extra liters of petrol elsewhere:)

Finally, back in Dubai last night, and gonna stuck here for the next 7 days, at least. See how it goes from here then:)