“You were ripped off!”

In order to buy a train ticket to the city center as well as a local SIM card, we first had to exchange some Euros to Iranian Rial (international Credit Cards are useless in Iran). We had checked the latest exchange rate in advance on the Internet: For 1 € we should get about 50,000 Rial. After the first bank did not want to change money for us, a private person offered to exchange our money for the official rate without fee. How nice, we thought – and should have been skeptical. Only 5 minutes later, the IranCell employee as well as the train ticket seller told us “you were ripped off, you should have gotten 15,000 for one Euro!” Huh!? We got 50,000, that’s a lot better, isn’t it? It took another several conversations before we fully understood how the currency works in Iran. There are two exchange rates: the official government rate for foreign trade (1€ ≙ 50,000 Rials) and the 3 times better “street rate” used by the Iranians within the country (1€ ≙ 150,000 Rials). The confusion got even worse due to the fact that Iranians say “15,000” when they mean “150,000” Rial. That’s because they speak in Toman (1 Toman ≙ 10 Rial). So, when we were told we could not accept less than 15,000, the Iranians meant 15,000 Toman, which is 150,000 Rials. Conclusion: Yes, a single guy “ripped us off” – but because WE asked for it and his government invited him to.

Why traveling to countries that others avoid?

In the following two weeks between Tehran and Shiraz, we were rewarded for this decision. Like other tourists, we were amazed how open, welcoming and honest the Iranians are. Their extraordinary hospitality made us perceive our own culture as distrustful, selfish and cold. But why is it that visiting less touristic countries often results in the most incredible travel experiences? For us, these are the five decisive factors:

1. Few tourists. In Europe and Southeast Asia, you have to share the most beautiful spots with thousands of others; in these countries only with a few. No queues, fair prices, more room to enjoy.
2. Welcoming locals. While the locals are being pushed out of town by the sheer number of tourists in Venice, the Iranians are constantly inviting them into their homes. Where there are only few tourists, locals still have plenty of curiosity for foreign visitors. Several times we were offered to spend the night with an Iranian family. During religious holidays, we were given free food when passing a mosque (rejecting this “gift of God” was considered to be very rude). And even the taxi driver who almost ran us over with his car, shouted out of his car with a smile “Welcome to Iran!” After all, the hospitality of the Iranians may also be attributed to their religion, the Islam.
3. Safe traveling. There is only one extremely dangerous place in Iran: the road. We thought Georgia is bad, but Iran is worse. Even red traffic lights are pure decoration here. Besides that, the Iranians were eager to make us feel as safe as possible in their country. Only the slightest sign of a question mark in our faces prompted passengers to offer help immediately. Here, it is absolutely common to tell the cashier your credit card’s PIN number because there is not the slightest security concern. Even the Islamic dress code eventually resulted in a pleasant sense of adaptation to and respect for the Iranian culture.
4. The good feeling when prejudices are unmasked. When we chatted with an Iranian about a possible desert tour, he suggested to first travel to his place where we would discuss the different tour options. As Central Europeans we don’t like to buy the pig in a poke but nevertheless, we traveled to Yosuf without prior agreement. We not only had an unforgettable tour to the desert, on top Yosuf also offered us to stay in his apartment for free, while his mother took care of our diet.
5. Who expects little, is rarely disappointed. Prejudices are not necessarily bad. In countries that many prefer to avoid, expectations are often low. As a result, positive events have a much stronger effect.