Iran - Facts and figures
Trip Start
Sep 20, 2007
1
27
40
Trip End
Dec 24, 2007
Yuksekova,
Turkey
Thursday, November 22, 2007
Itinary : Singapore - Malaysia - Thailand - Laos - Thailand - Nepal - India - Pakistan - Iran
Total days since I left : 61 days.
Mileage done : 15400 km
Total riding time excluding the stops : 232 hours.
Number of riding days : 42 days.
Average mileage per day when riding : 365 km.
Average mileage per day (inclusive of the no riding days) : 252 km.
Highest altitude : 5370 meters - India
Highest Temperature : + 34 - Malaysia
Lowest Temperature : - 15 - India
Highest Mileage : Bahawalpur - Quetta, 770 km - Pakistan
IRAN - 10th November to 22nd November 2007
Itinary : Mirjaveh - Bam - Kerman - Shiraz - Yazd - Esfahan - Qasvin - Tabriz - Serou
My thoughts on Iran : Much nicer and less scarier than I thought. Iran is surprisingly very clean like Singapore! People are friendly and it looks pretty much like Europe! Especially when you see the roads and the cars! I would estimate that more than 50% of the cars on the road are French made. The peogeot 206 and 405 seem to be the car to have here. For your information, the peugeot cars are made locally and for the local market (like Ranault in Thailand). The only negative point about Iran would be the food...Indeed I was a bit disappointed as I was really expecting to stuff myself with the local dishes but it was pretty much hamburgers most of the time...As for the ladies, well all I can say is that the make-up and cosmetic market must be booming in Iran! The face is all I could see! Like I said earlier, people are very friendly and not aggressive at all, It's the safest place I've felt since leaving south-east Asia.
Living data
But I still noticed that people are not satisfied with the current situation and the second question they ask after getting to know your country of origin is "how do you like Iran?". So I honestly reply that it's a great place and the nicest place I've been to during this trip, and to which they return a surprise look and say "oh it's funny because everyone one likes Iran except us the Iranians...". What to reply to that! Another little detail, there are no terrorists here. Most people are against terrorism and have expressed their disagreement towards their doings. The only terrorist here is maybe Kevin...Finally for those that want to visit Iran (and that are not English or American), Shiraz, Yazd and Esfahan are the places you have to visit. Avoid or rush trough the eastern part of Iran between Zahedan and Kerman where it seems to be a dangerous place to hang out. Tourist are rare in Iran and you'll be treated like VIP...Last tip, no need to negociate in this country, people are too honest...Or maybe I'm too naïve?Road : The main roads are of world class standard and nothing to say. It's actually too good that this trip didn't feel like an adventure or rather that the end is approaching...The only bad point are the erratic driving in cities. It's a big country to cross but the quality of the roads makes it that you can do some serious mileage and zoom trough it easily (when it will be bombed...).
Petrol : Unlike what you can think petrol is a problem in Iran! The government decided 6 months ago to impose a quota and they have implement a petrol card system.
Riding data 1
So Iranians are limited to a certain amount of petrol at 10 usd cents/liter. Once they have used up their quota, they can apply for extra petrol allowance to which they have to pay 50 usd for 100 liters (which is a lot of money for them) and still pay 10 cents/liter at the pump. Finding the card was a problem for us and you have to go to a NIOPTC office to apply for one. We have no quota and have to straight away buy at 50 usd for 100 liter and pay 10cents/liter at the petrol station. So the total price price for a liter of petrol is 60 cents/liter. Cheapest do far...Finally petrol station are only in town entrance or exit and it can be quite a distance between petrol stations, so fill up when you can. Kevin that has only a 17 liter tank ran out of petrol twice.Food : I'm a bit disappointed as I didn't get the local food treat that I was looking for except in Yazd. I'm not sure but I think it's not really in the culture to eat outside and it was difficult to find real restaurants. The only thing we could find in the streets are fast foods such as hamburgers. The only way to eat local dishes are in good hotels. Fast food meal would cost 3 usd and a nice local meal at a restaurant about 8 usd/meal.
Accommodation : We stayed in good hotels but we still found the price was rather expensive. So most of the time we shared rooms. The only nice and cheap hotel we stayed in was in Yazd for 10 usd /night. If you want to stay in a descent hotel, expect to pay in average 40 usd/night. A good hotel would cost about 60 to 80 usd/night.
weather : it was cold and dry in the east, and it gets colder as you go in the western part of the country in the mountains. It's also more moist and a bit greener. We crossed the country diagonally in the middle of Iran (a line from Kerman to Orumiyeh) and it was pretty much a desert landscape except for the mountains ýn the north west and south west of iran.
Currency : Rial, 1 usd = 9200 Rial.
My high : My 3 day stay in Yazd and the friendly people.
My low : Police escort from Zahedan to Kerman.
Total days in country : 13 days.
Mileage done : 3660 km
Total riding time : 43 hours.
Number of riding days : 10 days.
Average riding time per day : 4,3 hours.
Average time on the road per day : 6,4 hours.
Average riding speed (excluding the stops) : 85 km/h.
Average riding speed including the stops : 57 km/h.
Average mileage per day when riding : 365 km.
Average mileage per day (inclusive of the no riding days) : 280 km.
Highest altitude : 3200 meters - North of Qasvin
Highest Temperature : 26 - Yazd
Lowest Temperature : 0 - Serou
Highest Mileage : Kerman - Shiraz, 600 km.
