Qazvin to Esfahan... the unthinkable happens

After getting down from Alamut by taxi I then cashed in the last of cycling cred by getting a bus to Esfahan. My visa is getting down to it's last week and as I'm not relying on it to be renewed and given that I want to see more of the country I saved time and miles by bussing it down to Esfahan. Getting the bus itself had it's moments. The first ticket I got was for a 15.15 bus that would get me into Esfahan for 22:30. Bit late to arrive really but then I found another bus company with a 13:00 departure which was far better. I braced myself for a "discussion" over a refund but there was no trouble at all. The guy who sold me the first ticket came with me, explained the bus I wanted and handed over the money. Easy!

Getting the bike actually on the bus wasn't that hard either. Front wheel off, saddle lowered and in it went. Then the driver charged me for it... he started at 150,000 Rial (about 9 pounds) which was two and half times the cost of the ticket! I got him down to 100,000. I say got him down, I mean he snatched it out of my hand and went off with a big grin on his face.

Esfahan is a nice city in the south of Iran. Got some very scenic areas and the usual mad Iranian traffic. Crossing the road is like a game of frogger... top tip, make sure there's an Iranian between you and the traffic. This generally means stand in the middle of a crowd as the traffic comes from every direction! Probably the main tourist focus is the Iman Square, pictured below.



I ended up spending longer than I thought I would in Esfahan, partly because there were a lot of other travellers there, and it was good to talk to them.