We meet many people on the road, both locals and travelers alike who help us in time of need or distress without expecting a return. Last week of every month I bring you stories from travelers who have experienced kindness on the road and like to share and spread it for the love of travel.
Kathleen Poon takes us to Iran for this month’s story. Let us see what she has to say about people of Iran. I am excited. 😀
Over to Kathleen Poon.
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We had already been in Iran for five days, and by this time, my sister and I were convinced that travelling in the land of Persia was indeed a positive experience. Due to the negative media publicity about Iran, understandably there are many misconceptions surrounding this country. Every preconception I had about Iran was challenged on each day of the trip. We were delighted by the rich Persian history, architecture, art, delectable food but the one thing that truly amazed us was the kindness of Iranians, and this reality was quite evident when we were driven from Shiraz to Esfahan.
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The melancholic Persian songs played on the car radio lulled us to sleep. I don’t know what the songs were about but it must have been about love, lost love, heartache, or…perhaps a lost goat.
Although the car had air-conditioning, we could see the weather outside was hot. It was spring in Iran, there were times when temperatures shot up to mid-30 degrees Celsius and got uncomfortably hot. We drove past dry and rugged landscape; some areas were dotted with cypress trees but the land was arid and barren.
Our driver’s name was Mustafa and he was tasked to drive us, not only around the tourist sites in Shiraz but from Shiraz to Esfahan as well, after which we would be dropped off at our hotel in Esfahan. We didn’t interact much with him for he spoke little English but he seemed like a nice man.
Mustafa was a careful driver and took care of us during our five-hour journey from Shiraz to Esfahan. He made sure we were comfortably cool with the air-con, and every now and then he asked us, “OK?”. We gave him the thumbs up and went back to sleep.
Mid-way through our journey we stopped in a small town. Mustafa could not say ‘lunch’ in English but made the sign for eating, and so we understood. He led us to a restaurant and as soon as we sat down at the table, the waiters gave us the menu but Mustafa said ‘wait’. We were puzzled as to why he wanted to us wait. Nevertheless, we waited, looked at the menu which was unfortunately in Farsi and there were no pictures.
We asked the waiter for a menu in English but he could not understand us. Once again Mustafa asked us to “wait”. Wait for what? What seemed like an interminable time, we decided to go ahead to order our food and not press for an English-language menu. As long as we could see what others were eating, and if the dishes looked good, we would order the same!
‘Mustafa, we order now, we eat’.
‘Wait’, said Mustafa looking flustered, and he disappeared.
Within a minute or two, Mustafa returned to our table with a gentleman who happened to be a tour guide with a group of Italian seniors. The tour guide spoke to us in English that firstly, Mustafa would like to apologize for making us wait as he was looking for someone in the restaurant to help translate for him, and secondly, he would like to recommend the fesenjan, a local dish of grilled chicken served with walnut and pomegranate sauce!
We could not believe that he went all out to find someone who could communicate with us! We were so touched by Mustafa’s thoughtfulness that we invited him to join us for lunch. But he politely declined and the tour guide continued to translate that Mustafa’s wife had packed lunch for him and that he would eat in the car.
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The kindness that we experienced at the restaurant was just another unexpected thing that we encountered during our trip in Iran. Unexpected because of the general misconception that Iran is hostile towards foreigners.
Some might say, perhaps they are kind to tourists in hope to receive tips. That could be true, however, offering hospitality is part of the Persian culture and national pride, therefore many Iranians are genuine and warm towards foreigners. In fact, the driver who picked us up from the airport in Tehran offered dinner at his house with his family. However, we declined because we had only just arrived in the country, feeling excited but mostly mixed with trepidation, unsure of the situation in this misunderstood country. A few days later, the same driver mentioned that his dinner invite at his house was genuine, it wasn’t for money. If only we were brave to accept his invitation!
Not only are they kind towards foreign tourists, Iranians are well-mannered and soft-spoken. I love listening to them speak in Farsi for the language sounds wonderfully poetic and just as well that the Persian culture is renowned for their poetry. Because of their genteel nature, Iranians despise poor behavior, as such, they speak gently and respectfully towards one another. Once again, that was apparent upon arriving in Esfahan.
Mustafa is a local guy from Shiraz, and I could sense that he wasn’t sure of the route to our hotel in the city centre because he stopped three times to ask for directions. Each time he stopped to ask for help, be it from a young or elderly person, they gladly gave information. No one was rude to him or looked away to avoid giving help. Even at the traffic lights – as the lights turned green, a truck driver continued to give directions to Mustafa for additional five seconds, and yet no one honked at us!
My sister and I found it very surprising because it is uncommon in my home country Malaysia where people are afraid of strangers stopping to ask for directions. Many Malaysians are generally not familiar with street names, they rely on landmarks instead. Also, there have had been snatch theft incidents on the pretext of asking for directions. As a result, Malaysians are more wary than usual – they either walk away or brush off the stranger.
But not in Iran.
*****
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Kathleen is a travel writer and blogger from Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. She blogs at Kat Pegi Mana: Where Is Kat Going . Her friends often ask her, “Where is Kat Going”, whenever they meet for they see the wanderlust in her! Through her blog and writing, Kathleen aims to inspire people to appreciate and connect with various heritage and cultures around the world.
You may also want to read some of the earlier posts on the same theme.
Kindness on the Road
Surviving America
Good deed not dead!
Lost and found
If you have been helped by someone during your travels and want to share your story with the world, feel free to connect with me in comments section.
If you want to travel places with us, I suggest you to join us on my Facebook travel page.
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