The Hummer is finally back on Iranian soil
With the Hummer arriving into Bandar Abbas port today at roughly 5pm, it would be a massive struggle and ordeal to organize all the customs and port paperwork before all the offices closed down at 1.30pm for the weekend (Friday and Saturday is the weekend in Iran).
So Dave was up at 8.30am and arrived to the shipping agent’s office for opening at 9am and was told by the staff that there was no way of getting all the port documents and clearance done today and even less of a chance without a representative from the agency there to speak Farsi and speed things along. Getting the necessary documents from the agency anyway he rushed off to the port determined to give it a shot since we would be stuck in this featureless town for the weekend if the car wasn’t released. Pushing through the packed Iranian port offices to get forms stamped and then signed by some other dodgy official to then go somewhere else to collect yet another document was the general order for the day and always with subtle but constant pleas for bribes along the way! Dave reckoned that being the only white guy in the place definitely attracted attention and sped things along and that it’s also amazing how far a smile and a quick mention of Ireland and Roy Keane can get you in these kinds of situations! Having not eaten or drank anything all day he somehow pulled it all off and it was 9.30pm before Dave finally returned to the hotel with the Hummer from the stifling hot port. He jokingly described what had unfolded over the previous 12 hours as probably the worst day of his life!
We hit the road very late bound for Shiraz but with the day taking its toll on Dave we had to pull in for a kip at the small town of Fasa. We found a completely empty government designated tourist inn that looked straight out of the 1970s and had a very strange feel, but it was a pillow to put our heads on and we crashed for a few hours.
So Dave was up at 8.30am and arrived to the shipping agent’s office for opening at 9am and was told by the staff that there was no way of getting all the port documents and clearance done today and even less of a chance without a representative from the agency there to speak Farsi and speed things along. Getting the necessary documents from the agency anyway he rushed off to the port determined to give it a shot since we would be stuck in this featureless town for the weekend if the car wasn’t released. Pushing through the packed Iranian port offices to get forms stamped and then signed by some other dodgy official to then go somewhere else to collect yet another document was the general order for the day and always with subtle but constant pleas for bribes along the way! Dave reckoned that being the only white guy in the place definitely attracted attention and sped things along and that it’s also amazing how far a smile and a quick mention of Ireland and Roy Keane can get you in these kinds of situations! Having not eaten or drank anything all day he somehow pulled it all off and it was 9.30pm before Dave finally returned to the hotel with the Hummer from the stifling hot port. He jokingly described what had unfolded over the previous 12 hours as probably the worst day of his life!
We hit the road very late bound for Shiraz but with the day taking its toll on Dave we had to pull in for a kip at the small town of Fasa. We found a completely empty government designated tourist inn that looked straight out of the 1970s and had a very strange feel, but it was a pillow to put our heads on and we crashed for a few hours.
DAY 146 ROUTEMAP
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