These are mu first impressions of Tehran after walking around the south part of the city for a couple of hours.

First of all the language barrier is bigger than I thought. Yes, one can always quickly find somebody who speaks English, but it does make life a lot more complicated than say in nepal or myamar.

Shopping is the most efficient I’ve ever seen as each street is dedicated to a single product: lamps, shoes etc.

Needless to say that I haven’t spoken with a single female iranian yet (whereas I’ve spoken with almost a dozen men). The modern girls seem to compete for the ‘largest sunglasses’ award.

Traffic is the worst I’ve seen: crossing a road means throwing yourself for a car a hope that he’ll stop or evade.

There’s a remarkable absence of bars and restaurants (maybe I’ve been in the wrong place, but I only saw one fruit juice bar until now).

Poverty is mostly absent and I’ve seen very few beggars (which surprises me as i’ve stayed mostly in the poor south).