Travel Weekly was delivered to the office yesterday; talk about perfect timing! [From the Window Seat: "Cuba? Old news. Let's talk Iran," Aug 10.] I had received an email in the morning from a woman who was going to Iran and wanted to talk to me about visas and tickets to travel there. We set up an appointment for the afternoon.
Meanwhile, here in the office, we are all discussing this woman with some trepidation for her, because of the fact that she wants to go somewhere as serious as Iran -- for a woman, especially, in a place where woman are basically third-class citizens. It just blew my mind. But we are a professional travel agency, all of our agents are well traveled, including myself, so I was ready for the challenge awaiting me that afternoon.
At some point later, I was flipping through Travel Weekly and saw your article on Iran. Talk about blowing my mind, and settling it all in one fell swoop. It turned out she was a Middle Eastern dance instructor, and she had made contact with someone in Iran who put together custom cultural tour groups. She had already gotten her invite confirmation number, so the rest was fairly straightforward.
Your insight reminded me to keep my mind open.
Becky Litzinger
Santa's Vagabond Travel
Fairbanks, Alaska
I'm a big pre-McDonald's country fan [From the Window Seat, "Cuba? Old news. Let's talk Iran," Aug. 10]. I'm proud to say I visited Burma six years ago, when everything was cheap, it was easy to find hotel rooms and we saw zero Westerners in our travels. You must, must go; it's otherworldly, and I expect it will always be my top place ever visited.
Iran and North Korea have floated to the top of my bucket list since 2009. My hope is to go there in September 2016, if the nuclear agreement passes (my friends on Capitol Hill say it will probably squeak by.) Not so interested if it doesn't happen, at least not right away.
Jim Nathan, vice president, marketing
Vacation.com & Travel Leaders Leisure Group
Alexandria, Va.
Arnie Weissmann's column titled "Let's talk Iran" was long overdue. I thank you for the article and can only add from my own experience visiting Iran this past April: How correct you are.
The time to visit is now!
One of the reasons is that there is already a shortage in hotel rooms for seasonal visits because of a tremendous increase in European visitors. We saw some companies arriving from Europe by bus. The tourist infrastructure in terms of comfortable hotels is in its infancy, and it will be difficult to secure enough space in the short term.
Iran's greatest assets are its people. "Thank you for visiting my country" was the welcome opening almost everywhere we went. And since the Iranians are highly educated, most younger people speak at least some English.
As for souvenirs, we bought expensive carpets, and they were shipped via Dubai to us.
I went with MIR Corp., and I think they have the most experience for the region. Visas are a complicated process, but MIR eased the process.
I highly recommend it for pre-McDonald's travelers only. Having spent two weeks in 2007 in Yemen, this was the second most remarkable trip in my career of traveling privately to the "pre-McDonald's countries."
Birgitt Pajarola, travel adviser
Protravel International
Roseland, N.J.
I just read Arnie Weissmann's Travel Weekly column about visiting Iran now, and I have to say I could not agree more.
We have been specializing in small group tours and private journeys to Iran for over 15 years, sending hundreds of travelers to Iran annually.
We started offering trips to the U.S.S.R. nearly 30 years ago, and there was a very similar parallel in place about the Soviet Union then as there is now with regard to Iran. We find that it is one of the top destinations in terms of people's impressions not only changing, but also how many times [travelers] report after their trip that the people were so friendly, so hospitable, so welcoming.
Douglas Grimes
MIR Corp.
Seattle, Wash.
I loved Arnie Weissmann's "pre-McDonald's" (PM) column. Having PM'ed Cuba and Myanmar, and having heard wonderful reports about Iran visits, I have Iran on my list. Can't wait to read his reports.
By the way, I'm not one to think poverty is colorful, but the time warp in both Cuba and Myanmar is fascinating, and one hopes societies will be able to retain what's valuable as they modernize. It's a challenge.
Loraine F. Gardner
Beyond the Horizon Travel Corp.
New York
Please send letters for publication to Travel Weekly, attn: Letters Editor, 100 Lighting Way, Secaucus, N.J., 07094, or email them to [email protected]. Travel Weekly reserves the right to edit all letters for length and to conform to our style and standards.