Fokker 100, Iran Air - Airline of the Islamic Republic of Iran

Time to head back to Abu Dhabi :-)

Ah.... Abu Dhabi!

Wow ... really fancy graphics on this Gulf Air plane, landing at AUH International.

Decent looking, and reasonably maintained Fokker 100!

Emirates ... Dubai's finest :-)

Homa Hotel Morvarid Restaurant - Bandar Abbas, Iran

Sunset over Bandar-e-Abbas on our last evening there ...

On to the food in a moment, but here are some rather delightful views of Homa Hotel's gardens, which lead to the seafront :-)

The beach :-) I have to say having travelled from the desert of UAE, and visiting the desert-like interiors of Iran, it was a little surreal being surrounded by such a scene.

Walking back towards the hotel ...

Morvarid Restaurant is located at...

Add: Homa Hotel - Meraj St,Pasdaran Blvd,Bandar Abbas. ,P.O. Box : 79145-1593
Tel: +98 761 555 3080

Reasonably priced hotel food, but expensive by Bandar Abbas standards.

For example, their best-cut of steak was something like 45 ringgit, not bad eh!

The starters were really good! Simple tomato and local cheese, eaten with flat bread ... then this magnificent Iranian salad, so simple and delicious!

Hmm, Barley soup seems really popular in these parts!

My mains, a delicious steak with mushroom gravy, and saffron rice. We ate so much at this late lunch, 3ish pm in the afternoon, that we actually skipped dinner that night. Found out later that lunch was the main meal of the day for many Iranis ... Serious!

Port of Bandar Abbas - Up close and personal with the ships!

Dear Seafarers ... Welcome to Islamic Republic of Iran!

Maroos.net

This very large complex is situated on the foot of Kashar and Gachin mountains.

30 kms west of city of Bandar Abbas, that’s about 56º04 ' E and 27º 07' N. The construction plan of the port comprised a maneuvering main basin and three subsidiary basins having berths, warehouses, wharfs and buildings with related facilities. There are projects approved for developing of this complex, the most important ones, a silo for grain storage, a fishing & coastal traffic harbour, expansion of cargo and container storage areas and many others.

All seamen may use the recreational facilities of the Seamen’s Club. It is built to Iranian traditional architecture, offers a very pleasant atmosphere. Seamen may also do shopping at the stores in this place and buy Iranian handicrafts.

This is a rather interesting method of unloading a skip in a less then safe manner at Bandar-e-Abbas port!

Maroos.net

The port of Shahid Bahonar is located in 27º08' N and 56º12' E from the sea position in north of Qeshm Island at the entrance of the Persian Gulf. Due to its strategic geographical location, government’s developmental plans, construction of Shahid Rajaie Port Complex and execution of many industrial projects the last and the most important one the Bandar Abbas Refinery, which play a major role in the country’s economy, Bandar Abbas acts as the main gate to the region’s economy.
Shahid Bahonar port is located 8 km west of city of Bandar Abbas and is connected to Tehran and other cities by air, paved roads and newly opened railway system.

Really impressive hardware!

This Wan Hai liner was hugggggggggggge!

Uh , check out the incline on this life-boat!

Size?
Port area : 300,000 square meters
Warehouse : 90,000 square meters

We observed many Korean vessels ... and old Korean trains too!

More shots, it was such an interesting trip, and a privilege to be right next to these mega vessels


I like this ship's name!

Views of Bandar-e-Abbas, Iran and the surrounding areas!

Yes, this is a military base. Iran and its backdrop of the military can't be separated, in fact I saw another military airbase, which was very heavily armed, during our drive too.


There were only 2 mosques with such intricate Irani-style mosaic, here is one of them

Hmmm ... a new CHINESE supermarket perhaps!? How cool!

Bandar Abbas has strong historical ties with India, these trees are symbols of that.

The infrastructure is average I guess, and quite a change from Dubai and Abu Dhabi.

Ah... the main fish market!

A few more shots during our drive...

One of the 2 best hotels at Bandar-e-Abbas, Iran

Very reasonably priced mini-bar, I paid about RM$1 for a bottle of mineral water.

Decent view from my room

Local cars ... Nicest things I saw at Bandar-e-Abbas were Landcruisers, and there were only 3 or 4!

More shots outside my balconey...

Here is the "grand" lobby of the best (or perhaps 2nd best) hotel in Bandar-e-Abbas, Hotel Hormoz.