HALi BABA JOURNAL

Today's destination is Persepolis...an ancient Persian city/palace complex built around 550 BC at the height of the Persian Empire. It's a World Heritage site and one of the places I was very much looking forward to seeing. It's about an hour drive from downtown Shiraz through a flat dry landscape. Did I mention it was HOT...about 90 with no shade. The ruins were okay...not as prepossessing as I had imagined them to be...there were a couple of cool friezes...and the layout of the place was understandable but the ruins just weren't complete enough to wow and it was HOT. A little further down the road we came to another site...this was the tombs of the various Persian rulers. They were Petra-like in construction and pretty cool...did I mention it was HOT.

 Today was a sorta interesting day. We started off with a visit to the former US Embassy...the site of the famous hostage taking event that riveted international attention. However, as world attention has moved on it remains an important piece of the contemporary Iranian narrative. The Embassy has now been converted into a museum. Everything as it was then has been kept intact and in some ways fetishized..."this is the Ambassador's desk...these are the encryption machines...etc." It's like a time capsule of 1970's technology. An earnest young man gave us a tour, referring to various hostages by name and the books they wrote and was surprised that we weren't familiar with them. Throughout the tour he stressed how humanely the hostages were treated...it was important to him as it seems to be to all Iranians we've encountered that we take away the understanding that they are all good people. Wherever we go people are always asking what we think of their count...

 The flight was uneventful...I made it this time and had a window seat. Surprisingly the flight was full. Qatar Air is seemingly the airline of choice for Indians returning home. Fortunately the economy seats were relatively spacious and I was able to sleep  for a good portion of the flight.  When we arrived in Doha I only had 45 minutes to connect to my onward flight to Tehran. When I got off the plane there was someone with my name on a sign...we walked/ran several concourses away to the next flight..I was the last one to board...so I made the flight but my luggage did not.  When I arrived in Tehran I watched the luggage carousel go around about a million times before accepting the fact the my bag was not there. The luggage guys had been advised by Qatar that my bag had missed the flight and they had paperwork waiting for me. They spoke English and told me my bag would arrive on the next flight the following day and be delivered to my hotel. Not particularly stress...

 So the day started off like a scene from Willie Wonker and the Chocolate Factory...my passport arrived at the FedEx in Miami early this morning and I was able to pick it up around 10AM. I stood outside holding it as if it were a golden ticket. I would be leaving today after all ...all I had to do was run a few errands...drop the dog off...and kill some time until my flight at 20:15...10:15 PM...right? NO!!!😱😱😱 That's when the second movie started..."Contagion"...clearly you can't live in the Land of the Stupids without becoming infected yourself...I obviously was infected with a case of stupid...7:00PM rolled around and I thought I'd check to see if my flight was still on time...I was a little confused when my app told me that it was too late to check in...then..OOOPS...my case of stupid cleared up for a moment and I realized that 20:15 was not 10:15...I called an Uber and was on the road by 7:12...at the counter by 7:37...no way...flight was closed. Booked th...

 It's Tuesday evening and I still don't have my passport and visa. In the late afternoon I started to bow to the inevitable reality that I was going to have to cancel this trip and reschedule. Around 4pm I was on the phone with the airline exploring my options when I got an email from FedEx. It said that at 3:45 PM a package was posted by the Pakistani Embassy in Washington DC and I could expect to receive it by 8PM tomorrow...WTF.  Fortunately dealing with FedEx was a lot more productive then dealing with the Pakistanis and I've made arrangements to pick it up early in the morning at the FedEx shipping center. So barring any sudden unpleasant surprises I should be set to go tomorrow evening. I'm all packed...downloaded a bunch of books and charging all my devices. Fingers crossed 🙏🙏🙏 (hmm...no crossed finger emoji available)

No, not me, but my passport! In order to travel to Iran it is necessary for US citizens to obtain special permission from the Iranian government to get a visa. Since the Iran does not have diplomatic relations with the US, the Pakistani Embassy in Washington DC issues their visas. Two weeks ago my visa was authorized by the Iranians and I FedExed my passport to the Pakistani Embassy. Still waiting...they said they sent it out 🙏🙏🙏 For me the anticipation of travel...the planning...the organization of clothing and gear...thinking about what books to bring, what restaurants to visit are all part of the excitement of travel. Unfortunately, the ordeal of getting my visa is sucking a little of the pleasure out of the experience. I'm ready to roll but I'm also ready for the trip not to happen.