Crossing to Iran at Badgiran border post

Crossing the border between Turkmenistan and Iran was the second big cultural frontier on our trip after the China-Kyrgyzstan border (well, Uighurs of Xinjian were in a way also an odd one out). Border officials were once more very polite and friendly on the Turkmenistan side, making this country's borders maybe the nicest one so far to cross. Hanna of course had to cover her head before entering the gate separating the two border posts. Iranian side was also easy; no questions asked, no papers to fill, no money asked and the customs officials seemed to be having a lunch break so no luggage search either (which kind of made us regret for not having stocked up on cheap vodka on Turkmen side).

On the Iranian side we were offered a ride to Mashhad by a charming Iranian businessman returning to Tehran from his company's side office in Ashgabat - there are no direct flights between these two cities so he could only fly to Mashhad. He had been living in Sweden for ten years and we had interesting discussion about life in contemporary Iran. We stopped to have lunch, and he absolutely refused to let us pay our part: "But you are my guests! It is my pleasure!" A warm welcome to Iran, indeed. On arriving in Mashhad, he once more showed us what hospitality means and insisted in paying for the taxi - our resistance was futile.

Just as we got out of the taxi, we bumped into an Iranian lady we had met at the Turkmenistan Embassy in Tashkent: an unbelievable coincidence! She brought us to the hotel where she stayed: a simple but comfortable room on walking distance of the Holy Shire of Imam Reza. She was travelling alone for a year through a great deal of Asian countries, including Afghanistan. With a background and the experience of having worked for over twenty years in the banking sector, she monitors the social and economic situation on a geopolitical level through travels and through living and communicating with the local people (she speaks a staggering 12 languages). With that information, she writes reports for "people with a lot of money, who wish to secure their wealth", thus working as a high-value, low-profile financial advisor. She definitely was one of the most interesting people we met so far!