Iran - Andrew Burke [69]
Ferdowsi Coffeenet (Map; Ferdosi Sq, Enqelab Ave; per hr IR10,000; 9am-9.30pm) Upstairs past the fruit seller on the southeastern corner of the square; good connections and plenty of software.
Pars Internet (Map; 3392 4173; 369 Ferdosi St; per hr IR9000; 9am-9.30pm Sat-Thu) Opposite the British embassy, these guys have relatively fast machines; they sell phonecards and offer cheap international calls at IR1500 a minute.
Rahyabnet Cafenet (Map; 8880 1316; 4th fl, 40 Keshavarz Blvd; per hr IR10,000; 8.30am-8pm Sat-Thu) Near the Iranian Traditional Restaurant.
Valiasr Commercial Centre (Map; Valiasr Sq; per hr IR10,000; 9am-9pm) Several small, fast and busy coffeenets on the ground floor.
Vanak Coffeenet (Map; 8878 5192; Vanak Sq; per hr IR15,000; 9am-midnight) On the 1st floor, southeast corner of Vanak Sq.
Internet Resources
There are few English-language websites devoted to Tehran.
Payvand (www.payvand.com) Hard to navigate, but has some good restaurant reviews.
Tehran 24 (www.tehran24.com) Regularly updated photographs of Tehran.
Tehran Avenue (www.tehranavenue.com) Well-written café, restaurant, film, music, theatre and art reviews. Unfortnuately, though, there is often no address for the places reviewed.
Tehran Metro (www.tehranmetro.com) Everything underground; includes connecting bus routes and numbers.
Laundry
The city is not overrun with laundries and dry-cleaning services, although your hotel should be able to arrange something for you.
Left Luggage
Most hotels are happy to hold luggage, usually at no cost. Alternatively, there are reasonably priced left-luggage offices at Mehrabad and Imam Khomeini International Airports (about IR15,000 to IR20,000 a day).
Medical Services
DENTISTS
Dentists regularly advertise in the Tehran Times and are very inexpensive by Western standards.
HOSPITALS
Tehran has by far the largest concentration of doctors and hospitals in all of the country, and the quality of medical care is reasonably high by international standards. Many of the doctors have Western training, and it shouldn’t be too difficult finding one who speaks English (or French or German).
Your embassy will usually recommend a doctor or hospital. Alternatively, the following hospitals are accessible, clean and reputable:
Day Hospital (Map; 8879 7111; cnr Valiasr Ave & Tavanir St)
Mehrad Hospital (Map; 8874 7401; Miremad St, off Motahhari Ave)
Tehran Clinic (Map; 8871 2931; Farahani St)
PHARMACIES
Tehran is well stocked with pharmacies, and medications (often generic brands) are cheap. For a 24-hour pharmacy ask your hotel reception to phone the pharmacy line (191) to find the nearest one, or head for Ramin Drug Store (Map; 6670 5301; southeast cnr Ferdosi Sq).
Money
Tehran has perhaps the greatest concentration of bank branches of any city on earth; along or just off a 1.5km stretch of Enqelab Ave there are more than 20 branches! Unfortunately, few of these can change your money and none deal with credit cards or travellers cheques (see also Banks, Click here).
Instead, the easiest and most common way of changing money is in an official moneychanging shop around Ferdosi Sq or on Ferdosi St south of there. They won’t smile, but neither (usually) will they rip you off and it’s all done in about 30 seconds.
Chances are you’ll be asked to ‘change’ on the street before you ever reach an official shop. If you’re desperate, this is convenient. But if not, the street changers are best avoided unless you know the rates and count your money carefully – both their rates and their mathematical skills are dodgy.
If you must use a bank, the following branches will help, or look for an ‘exchange’ sign in the window of any other branch. Banks open from 7.30am to 1.30pm but don’t change before 9am; the process is tedious (don’t forget your passport).
As usual, hotels and their diabolical rates will be your last resort, though