Kish, Iran

Kish, the resort island located in the Persian Gulf off the southern coast of Iran, is the home of 40,000 residents. As Kish is a Free Zone and does not require tourists to obtain a Visa, Kish annually welcomes 1 million tourists. Kish is not well known, but is still the 3rd most visited vacation destination in Southwest Asia (after Dubai and Sharm El Sheikh). Kish is an island popular for its beaches, shopping malls, and water activities. 

I had not heard much about Kish before deciding to visit Parvin, who has been living there for 5 years. The island is quite small, and as you can probably drive around the entire island in maximum 2 hours, I would strongly suggest to rent a car. My days in Kish were spent with Parvin eating at popular restaurants, parasailing, and just spending time together basically. I also got a short introduction to a few phrases in Farsi, which could be useful during the trip and for the future.

The weather was overall pretty decent. It was raining, which caused the streets to be flooded. The weather did not impact my time in Kish, however I was not able to visit the Women's beach, which according to the local women is a must when visiting Kish. Diving was also not an option, as the currents were too strong. We visited the Greek Ship, we had breakfast at the Toranj Marine Hotel, several shopping malls and restaurants. 

Iran

Oh did I finish this year with something good. Since I was a little girl, I have always dreamed of travelling to Iran. I’ve always been proud to be from Iran, or having a father who is from Iran, but have never been able to grasp what that actually mean. Some of the stories I have been told since I was a child have been in the lines of ”You have 90 cousins in Iran, the mountains there are incredibly beautiful and we always cook and east together with the entire family”. These are only a few of the things, but no matter what story I’ve been told, it’s been all about family. Family is obviously very important in many cultures, but for some reason it has a completely different meaning in Iran.

So why did it take me 27 years to travel to Iran? Back in 2012, I had applied for a visa to Iran and was beyond the moon excited to travel there together with my father. Unfortunately he visa was rejected. The reason given to me at the time was that I had to apply for an Iranian passport, due to my father being from Iran (forcing me to change my first and last name). This of course, was not something I was willing to do, nor did I have the time before the journey. Since then, I had given up the hope and I started focusing on travelling to other countries.

Things change, I suppose, and as I was introduced to Parvin, (our fathers are childhood friends) she was eager to help me sort this out now in 2019. I decided to visit her in Kish, which is an Island in the Persian Gulf. Kish is a free-zone and does not require any visa. Therefore, as I had 1 week of vacation, I booked my flight tickets to visit Parvin and Kish. By chance, together we applied for a visa to the mainland of Iran, and lucky me, but the visa was approved the same day I was flying to Kish. How could it be so easy? Did they not realise or see that my visa had been rejected in the past? These questions and concerns were obviously going through my mind at the airport while arriving to Kish. Everything went well, and I arrived successfully in Kish and my vacation

Hunedoara & Sibiu, Romania

Leaving Timisoara, our road trip could finally begin. We rented a car and started our journey towards Hunedoara and Corvins' Castle. After a few well spent hours, we had a quick lunch before we continued our trip to Sibiu. We only had half a day to explore the city, which was enough.

Bran & Brasov, Romania

Peles Castle & Bucharest, Romania

Timisoara, Romania

After a short stay in Belgrade, our journey towards Bucharest in Romania started early monday morning. A minibus picked us up from our apartment in Belgrade and took us all the way over the border to Timisoara in Romania. This city was a lovely surprise, as to all fairness I did not have high expectations of Romania. For some reason Romania as a country has unfortunately not had the best reputation nor been a country that many of my friend have been to. 

As we arrived to Timisoara, we quickly dropped our bags at the apartment and had a walk around the city. While having lunch, an unexpected storm started, so we had to dine indoors. The rest of the evening was spent at the apartment just catching up and relaxing a little. 

Belgrade, Serbia

This year has so far been filled with so many new experiences, new destinations and unforgettable memories. I have had the privilege to travel to so far 7 countries this year and I hope I will manage to experience a new destination in the Middle East aswell. 

Anyways, as I needed a break and apparently Josie and Sarah (+Tuukka) from back home needed one too, we all decided to meet up in Belgrade, Serbia. 

Generally, a wonderful city which is perfect for a long weekend. We stayed in an apartment close by most attractions and the city centre. We took part in a free walking tour which took us around the city with a local guide, which gave us intel of the city but also saved us time.