Border Crossing

‘Every religion isn’t a religion at its genesis. It’s human who make it a faith because we need it.’

I had a pretty nice chat with a nice Kurd-Iranian while waiting for a free VIP bus which was about to ply the road to Orumiyeh at the Haji Omaran border. We chatted a lot about religion and unfortunately this is the only thing I can remember and tell you here, or should I say this is the most enlightened part of our conversation until it planted on my mind, vividly.

Sayad had been searching for a job for the past two years and he was trying his luck this time, in Iraq. However, he couldn’t get through the border. There was something wrong with his passport.

Oh ya! Did I tell you I was the center of havoc at the Iranian side of the border? It all began when the Iranian taxi touts approached me after I crossed the border on foot. They insisted on taking me either to the town of Piranshahr or Orumiyeh, lying that there wasn’t any other way other than taxi (This has been the outdated trick, dude, I won’t take the bait). I hate taxi and told myself taxi drivers all over the world are the same - untrustworthy. Then I saw some locals apparently waiting there for something. So I asked one of the guy in secret and got the confirmation that a bus (Farsi:  Otoboos) was about to cross the border after finishing the border clearance. So I was glad not because I can get to my destination free of charge but simply because to have realized that I’m always very smart in budget traveling.

The security clearance took 3 hours and we chatted for that long. Led by Sayad, we hopped on the bus and I was too excited to have sat on a spacious and comfortable couch in a very luxury VIP bus until I wasn’t aware that something has happened on the ground. There was a fight between the bus driver and those taxi drivers, because by taking me, they lost their business. One of the taxi drivers even threatened to report to the traffic police as I wasn’t in the passenger’s list(neither do the other! Shit!). This was unfair and apparently double-standard as why only me who must take the taxi but not the local? Damn it. Sayad and I were then forced to hop down and we walked further on. His plan worked. After walking for about 200m, we hopped on the same bus again, throwing behind those embarrassing taxi drivers.

Ha!~~ We won at the end. Don’t play play ar…