Tehran Travel Forum

So, my father is iranian and my mother is swedish. I dont look iranian at all, hair, eyes, skin, nothing. I speak very litle farsi. I dont have a iranian passport cause I see no benefit from it. And my father has never gone back to iran since he came here to swe, 35 years ago.

Now, im going to study in baku, azerbaijan and I saw that I dont need a visa if i fly to tehran. I can stay up to 14 days without visa. Thats awesome.

I always wanted to go to iran to see what the fu*k is going on. Fu*king eat ***load of iranian food, love that stuff. Smoke some waterpipe and relax.

Now, I have a few questions.

1. Why are hotels so expensive in tehran? Which iranian citizen can pay 100-200 dollar per night for a room? Thats like 0.1% of the population, who can.

2. What should I do in tehran? Dont tell me to go and see old buildings and stuff, thats not vacation for me. I wanna hit the shoppingmalls, coffeshops, restaurants and stuff. I dont want to spend energy walking around. Since beach/pool is out of question, I need to find something to spend my time with.

I would love to chat some with the iranian youth, like people around 20 years.
Where can i meet such people in tehran?

3. IS IT TRUE THAT I HAVE TO WEAR JEANS? for god sake, i would sweat to death, its not allowed to wear shorts for men?

thanks

Can't answer your other questions, but you don't have to wear jeans - in fact as you said they would be too heavy.

Get some 100% cotton slacks like chinos or cargo pants, loose fitting and comfortable. They are best for the climate.

I assume you have a Swedish passport? It is not true that you don't need a visa. Everyone needs a visa unless you are from Slovenia, Macedonia, Turkey or Japan. What you can obtain at the airport is a Tourist Visa, if you hold a Swedish passport. For that you will need a passport photo, a return ticket, passport with at least six months validity, US$50 issuance fee, and the patience to fill in the forms upon arrival. As to the return ticket, I assume you would have a ticket showing an onward flight, which might suffice.
As to what you can do in Tehran - I suggest you look at the VT Iran Forum. You are obviously not at all interested in your father's background and so on but I would have thought that you might be at least, in the interests of curiosity in a new and different way of life, a tiny bit motivated to understand the country and its people and to visting a few of the sights would be worthwhile. Perhaps a read of a basic gujide book would be a good idea, so that you have a clearer understanding of what it is you might expect. I would especially try and come to grips with the manners and courtesies of the country, so that you don't inadvertently offend someone.
The hotels in Tehran are expensive because for the most part their business is aimed at foreigners and foreign business visitors, and tourists, at that. Up until a few years ago, even the tourist sites e.g. Persepolis had a dual rate of admission - cheap for Iranians, and much more for foreigners.
I understand that it is very easy to meet Iranians and they are friendly and courteous and curious. I am sure as you go around you will have ample oportunity, as you will obviously look like a foreigner. And if you can come out with even a few words of Farsi, all to be better.

There are certain countries that can obtain visas from the airport for 7 days. The link is from the Iranian Consulate in Dubai. I got one month in the Airport. I won't be surprised if he got 2 weeks.

http://www.iranconsul.org.ae/newvizarul.html

Hi! Have you tried Facebook, Myspace etc to connect with 20 somethings from Iran? You might find what You're looking for on these types of sites, rather than VT.
From what I've read recently,Since my visit in June, there has been a bit of a clampdown in Tehran on females hajab, and males with 'modern haircuts'- ie gelled up, and piercings.
Also, the waterpipe (qalyan), is 'illegal' too - I didn't see it in Tehran (but I'm sure there are places where you can find it there, along with alcohol etc)Away from Tehran I came across many places where people openly smoked the qalyan - myself included.

You're wingeing about wearing jeans! You can wear cotton trousers/ cut offs and t-shirt.

Try wearing a headscarf, long sleeved top and trousers!!!! Hmmmm!

No shorts allowed for men, and the Iranian police are clamping down on 'modern' haircuts as Sue said.

Tehran is a friendly place, but nowhere near as friendly as other cities in Iran. For meeting other people your own age, I would recommend either Esfahan or Shiraz. You will aslo find that hotels are cheaper away from the capital.

You really do not sound very interested in Iran, its history and its citizens! Why do you want to go to Tehran!?
Iran is good for someone who loves history, literature , architecture and civilization, also by going to a shopping mall you can not see people’s “Actual” life style, the life-style behind the doors ,in private ,is interesting not in public! In Public people need to adjust themselves to the rules and regulations everyone almost looks the same... and yes you are not allowed to wear shorts!

PS: Please don't say F@c* if you decide to answer

A.

History.... Is boring. Not something I would spend time on when it comes to vacation. I want to go to iran to talk to the youth and eat good food, maybe shop some stuff too. I thought I made it clear in previous posts, others seemed to understand but not you? Shopping malls are good, cause they have aircondition in there.

We all like different things when we go on vacation, so please understand, I have no intrest going to Iran to learn how Khomeini ***ed Iran with his islamic revolution.

My intrest is speaking to locals, eating, shopping etc

Good reply, Adazadeh! However, in this case, it is patently obvious that it is no good preaching to the converted!