I went to Kish Island in Iran last Friday because my visa expired already. If the country sounds dangerous, I don't blame you. It is media's fault. But I'll do my share in letting the world know what it is really like.
Kish Island is a free zone. Literally anybody can stay there as a tourist without visa for 14 days. As it is, the island became famous for the "exodus" of visa run individuals from the U.A.E. Its a 40 minute ride by plane and the cost of the plane ride is relatively cheap!
I had my share of Kish orientation courtesy of the "kabayans" (as we call fellow Filipinos) and the boks who had spent time there. Some are quite optimistic and some are dreadful. A few hours before my flight, I decided that I just have to see it for myself.
Armed with a good conscience and a few bucks to spare, I flew to Kish.
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The plane to Kish was like a private jet but economy style. It had one aisle. It was the smallest plane I ever got on. But it looked like it can so I just trusted the whole system and went on with the flow. It was evening and already dark but Dubai is an overlit city. It was now easier to identify Dubai's communities after 3 months worth of looking at the map. Too bad I didn't get an aerial shot.
I arrived at the island after 35 minutes and the women were asked to wear the traditional clothes of the Muslim women. If they didn't bring any, the airport provides some clothes that look like laboratory gowns and veils of all sorts of colors. It was the first time that I was asked again to fall in line boys vs girls, the last time being in grade school.
As I exited the airport which is really small, there were representatives from the different hotels (don't expect too much from the word itself) to pick up potential customers.
I rode one of their busses as I was most informed of this hotel. Hotel "F". But as we arrived there, the waiting line to be accomodated was sooo long. I was feeling a bit tired and anxious so I decided to go to another suggested hotel, Hotel "T.R.". Upon arriving there, I also learned that it was full. Sheesh!!! Are all the hotels full now? It isn't the peak season, is it?
So I got another taxi and just asked the driver to bring me to a cheap but good place. We still visited a couple of hotels but they were just a bit too expensive for my budget. (Mental note: I didn't know how many days I will be under the spell of Iran so I have to keep some backup money just in case.) I could have easily taken the other hotels, but I was a bit ashamed of travelling in luxury. I told myself that I will just get something just right.
Finally, we arrived at Hotel "A". Got a room for myself. It smelled a bit but what the heck. It is a lot better than sharing a room. It was 9 in the evening.
The following day, I set myself to get a good tour of the island. After my internet date with Lilly, I ate a sumptuous Iranian dish. Yummy. But I have to get a hold of my appetite as my tummy is now increasing in size and I still haven't got my bicycle.
I went back to the hotel and asked my new acquaintances (from the night before) to join me for the Kish tour.
We first went to the oldest tree in the island. It was said to be dating back to more than 500 years.
Then we went to the old city with Ibn Battuta visited during his travels.
Then we went to the underground city which dates to more than 3000 years old. Here are some of the views inside. Take note that this is not in its original, naturally degraded form (it's a shame) but they improved it so that tourists could easily pass through inside. It is more than 3000 metres of tunnels. There is a museum and a restaurant/bar inside now.
There are also light and air wells.
this is part of the rest area. It can really be a very romantic place. Imagine... Persia!
It then leads to an open area and I saw two ducks there waddling around.
Some interesting architectural details. A traditional Iranian door with two different knockers for men and women. The other side of the door really provided such a wonderful pattern of light. There was also a bas relief of some sort, quite nice.
After being "unearthed", we went to see the Greek ship which was marooned decades ago. This is also a very nice place to be with a loved one to watch the sunset. Well every place is as long as you are with a loved one (hint hint) :-)
Then we went to see a very beautiful beach. It was very peaceful, few people and there is shisha (arabian smoke pipe). Really cool! There I also found Iranian kids who were making sand castles. They're awfully a cute lot!
I left Kish for Dubai after 3 nights. I took the first flight in the morning. There during sunrise, I was praying that I will be back someday. Not for a visa run but hopefully for a nice vacation. :-) Then I took some pictures of the Iranian flag waving to the morning breeze.
And then I was again inside the airport.
I thought that I rode the smallest plane already. This time I rode even a smaller one. This one didn't have jet engines. It had two propellers instead. I think we were only about 50 passengers max, and the plane was full.
After 3 days, Im back again to the hustle and bustle and traffic and what nots of Dubai. At least I had my share of "exit" experience. Now I can say that my Dubai experience is complete! :-)
Till the next!
