Hello Jadi,
1) I am a vegetarian by diet. How difficult it is for a vegetarian to get meals in restaurants?
2) Is it safe in Tehran to move in city alone ? Say at 9pm or 10pm at night? Of course, basic precautions are a must in any city.
3) Does the hotels and restaurants accept credit cards for payment ? Or one must pay by cash? Which currency? US dollars ?
4) Is it easy to convert currency in Tehran ?
5) What kind of checks one can expect at Tehran airport?
6) Do they check laptops for its contents etc ? My laptop may have some porn movies etc inside. Will this be a problem?
Hi Dear. These days I'm too busy and writing in English is difficult for me so I will give you short answers.
1) Most resturants serve Kebab and other Meat based foods but you will be able to order the food without meat. Say rice and yogurt. There are also vegetarian resturants in some major cities.
2) Yes it's safe. As you said, tourists should be more careful in all cities but Tehran will not have an extra danger
3) wow.. important point. most of the Hotels, Shops and Resturants will not accept international credit cards. You HAVE to bring cash with you. bring Euros or Dollars and change them here. You will be able to spend dollar in major hotels but the exchange rate is bad. Bring cash and change your money in exchange centers.
4) Yes but do not go to Banks for this :) Banks will need a lot of paper work and official investigations (your Passport and so). Just enter any exchange center and change your money easily. There are several 'shops' for this in the city. In Tehran you will find a lot of them on Ferdowsi square. They have fixed change rates and will give you recipes.
5) Do not bring alcohol / drugs and you will be safe :) It's like any other airport. There will be passport check and X ray for luggage :)
6) No they wont check the contents of your laptop. Even if they find porn, you won't be in trouble. The Human rights related content may put you in more trouble than porn. If a police tried to threaten you by these kind of things, he is looking for money/bribe ;) Don't give your phone, laptop and even passport to a police. Ask them to take you to their boss.
Have a good time in Tehran. These days are HOT but you will survive as an indian :) Oh.. pardon me but I prefer not to meet people based on my blog in Iran. I hope you understand.
Jadi
