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I can't believe this time tomorrow I'll be on my way to Iran. I can honestly say I don't think I have ever been so excited about visiting a destination as I am about Iran.
Iran has never been on my wish list - in fact until last September I didn't even know if it was actually possible to visit Iran as a western tourist. This changed when I was travelling through the Balkans and I met a fellow traveller from Switzerland who had just been to Iran. She absolutely raved about the scenery, hospitality, food, history, culture and it sounded such an amazing place I just knew I had to visit.
Fired up with enthusiasm I returned to the UK and did lots of research on the destination and decided it was a must do trip. As a solo, female traveller I thought it best to look at doing a group tour and I finally settled on a 15 Day Iranian Adventure booked through Intrepid Travel.
Once the tour and flights were booked I then had to apply for my visa, which was an adventure in itself. It started with the application form, which required me to list every destination I've travelled to in the past 10 years, all of my education, my fathers details, why I want to go to Iran etc etc. Once completed I had to forward it to Tehran and then wait and wait. After 4 nerve wracking weeks I was issued with a visa number and told I could travel to Wellington, New Zealand to pick up my visa!! Whilst I love to travel I do feel a day trip to New Zealand was a little excessive. So after a number of e-mails I was told that I could pick my visa up in Dublin. When I originally started the process of booking my trip to Iran I had been told that I would be able to post my visa to Dublin, but sadly this had now changed and I would have to go in person. With a day off work hastily requested and flights booked I headed off to Dublin armed with yet more visa application forms, photo's and a €180 postal order. Preparing myself for an interrogation and hours of waiting I was pleasantly surprised to be invited for a cup of tea, bit of a chat and within a couple of hours I had an Iranian visa.
Which means tomorrow the next instalment of my Iranian Adventure can begin.......
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