Holidaying in Iran
Categories : Travel, books |
I’m reading a very interesting book at the moment. It’s a travel book, which is a genre that I have a growing enjoyment of, being well and truly infected with the travel bug (my case of travel bug continues to grow, although Jenni is well and truly over it, no doubt in part due to the rigours of early pregnancy…)
Anyway, it’s a travel book with a difference - Tony Wheeler’s Badlands. In this book Tony, the founder of Lonely Planet, describes 
some of his experiences in some of the world’s dodgiest countries - Afghanistan, Iraq, Cuba, Libya, and North Korea, among others. It’s a fascinating read that describes some of the problems he saw in these countries, but also many of the lesser known tourist delights to be found there. I’ve just read the chapter on Iran and it comes across as being a really great place to visit, with heaps to see and very welcoming people, quite different to the scary image we see in the media all the time. I must say all the Iranians/Persians I’ve ever met here in Australia have always been very friendly. This book makes me really want to go there (though I can’t see that happening any time soon) - it also makes me hope even more that Bush & Co don’t embark on another crazy military misadventure by bombing or invading Iran - political disasters aside, it would be a shame to see the people of that country (which is relatively stable internally) be drawn into a mess like we have in Iraq.
Anyway I digress. This book is an enjoyable, easy read and well worth checking out if you have an interest in out of the way places. Just be warned, the dreaded travel bug is definitely lurking within these pages too…
