Tehran | Drinking Tea & Petting Cats at Customs? Unbelievable!

🌍 Days 26-28 of Our World Tour: Iran 🇮🇷 🌟 Arrival We crossed the Astarā land border from Azerbaijan—just the two of us! The Azerbaijani side had to power on the X-ray machine just for us. On the Iranian side, customs officers served us tea and chocolates, chatted via translation apps for 30 minutes, and even let us pet their office cat! 🐱 The coziest border ever. To reach Tehran: Private car: $50 (too pricey for two). Bus: $30, super comfy (7-hour ride, arrived at 9 PM). Surreal footnote: The next day, Iran’s president’s plane crashed near our route—the same dam river I’d photographed. Chilling. 💰 Currency Chaos Two names, one cash: Official: Rials (e.g., 5,800,000). Street usage: Tomans (1 Toman = 10 Rials). A vendor saying "580,000 Tomans" means 5.8M Rials—total brain melt! 💥 Exchange rates: Black market: 1 USD ≈ 58M Rials (use this!). Official rate: 40M Rials (rip-off). Pro tip: Blue 100K note ≈ ¥10. Green 10K note ≈ ¥1. 🔢 Persian Numerals Learn them before arrival—essential for taxis and prices! 🍽️ Food & Culture Headscarves: Mandatory for women (even tourists), but not all wear black chadors. Food relief: After the "-stans," Iran’s fruit trucks, kebabs, and street snacks felt like home. 🍉 City vibe: Gritty streets, murals of historical figures. Traffic madness: Zero pedestrian respect—cross at your own risk! Metro: 7 lines, ¥0.5 per ride. 🏛️ Only Attraction We Visited Former U.S. Embassy – The real-life Argo site. 🎬 #Tehran #IranTravel #OffbeatBorderCrossings