Expedition starts with CX 134: Cathay Pacific from Melbourne to Hong Kong, flying premium economy, which is roughly what economy used to be before Jetstar, although at a premium economy price. Plane is well run, service polite and effective, but not overdone: very Hong Kong.
Hong Kong was, as usual, too hot, too steamy, well run, but sufficiently chaotic to be memorable. We walked the Tsim Sha Tsui promenade, visited the history museum (seriously good), took the Metro to a suburban electronics market, pottered through vast halls or malls full of overpriced stuff you wouldn't buy in a fit (but nicely air conditioned) and generally took in a few of the sights of Kowloon. Not ambitious: the weather won.
Another long hop to Dubai, which looks rather like the Gold Coast with extra sand. We only stayed overnight, so I can't say much. The roads aren't quite as good as they could be, and the driving isn't nearly as good as it should be. The pub was said to be an economy one, and wasn't overloaded with frills, but it was new, clean, and efficient: all you really need in a pub. Opposite the pub is an enormous shopping mall, which used to be the place to go; but two bigger and better malls have been built since then. The airport is neither as grand, nor as dire, as rumour says. It's big, well laid out, well run: perhaps more than you really need in an airport.
The flight to Tehran was with Emirates. Two hours, nothing unusual except for the view. We crossed the Straits of Hormuz and flew north, a bit west of centre, then turned north-west for Tehran. The coast on the Persian Gulf is low, flat and empty, but backed by a spectacular scarp, fronting rugged mountain ranges. The mountains look completely dry and barren, but there are dry river beds and gorges, and little pockets of irrigated farmland, which get more numerous and closer together as you go further north. Roads run through them, many of which look modern and sealed. Tehran airport is a bit scruffy, but it works. Passport staff were slow but civil and customs staff waved us through: not very different from Dubai. It is about 50km into town: the road is good, but I wouldn't drive here.
The National Museum has grand sculptures from Persepolis, pottery early and late, some good finds from other places, such as Hammurabi's Code and Cyrus's cylinder, a bragging inscription of Sargon II, an Egyptian statue of Darius I and a gold cup thought to have been his, and so on. Most of the best finds went to Britain or France: one early permit to excavate said the Shah got any precious metals, but the archaeologist could keep everything else. All of this set out and nicely labelled in an attractive building with an elliptical arched doorway modelled on a later Persian palace.
Pub is the Ferdowsi International, in the middle of town. It is named after the national poet, who wrote the Book of Kings 1000 years ago, and full of busts of him. Lonely Planet says it is the best around. We are on the sixth floor, which has been redesigned, and everything is very stylistic, though most of it works. Room a fair size, cool, no view to speak of, beds comfortable and bathroom good, once you work out how to drive the sculptural tap. The lifts work, as does the wifi, when you can get to it: the coverage of the building is patchy, and I will probably have to send this from the lift lobby.
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