IRAN: WHERE EVERYTHING IS POSSIBLE, But Not So Easy

Do you fancy a beer? No problem, we’ll call our smuggler.Do you want to go on Facebook? No problem, just download a VPN app.Do you want to exchange currency? No problem, but don’t use an ATM, you will get a much better rate on the black market….

- Marta Jastrzab

CROSSING THE BORDER

There are often guys at borders waiting to help tourists through the process. Of course, this service comes with a fee, often not small. There was little choice at the border crossing where we chose to enter Iran. And it didn’t take much time for a border officer to approach me, making it clear I’d have to wear my helmet if I did not have a headscarf. It’s an Iranian law that women must cover their heads at all times when in public. So, there I was, going from window to window with the helmet on until our guide told me that I could take it off because the law did not apply to tourists. I’d just taken it off when another man came up and apologetically repeated that I had to cover my head. A little confused, I put the helmet back on, whereupon the guide wandered back over and told me to take it off. And so it went throughout the border process.

MANAGING CURRENCY EXCHANGE AND INFLATION