Re: Countries you visited and those you avoided when you were at sea
I've travelled almost as many as Ivan, enjoyed all except Indian, the Assh.... of the world and Delhi is ninety miles up it, I wasn't wrapped on Iran, but it was because it was more frustrating than anything else.
I spent three years living and working in Iran. I was sent there to open an industrial catering company, feeding mostly US and Brit workers on oil rigs and constructing pipelines.* I landed a huge contract with the Iranian Imperial Navy who had purchased two Italia Lines passenger ships The Rafaello*and the Michelangelo, at the time the fourth largest passenger ships in the world. to house officers and ratings at Bandar Abbas and Bushier.
I had been over in New York for a company meeting.* Flying back to Tehran on Iran Air, a young female Iranian, sitting next to me, started bad mouthing*me, the USA and the Shah. becoming very vocal,*That was a no no.* Always on planes flying to and from Iran, government agents, of SARVAC, the Iranian secret police were on board, you bad mouthed the Shah and it was jail or worse.* I called New York and told my boss I had to meet him in Rome, straight away.* All the phones in Iran were bugged. We met, I told him we had to close and I should sell the company if I could.* He wasn't happy about it, but he agreed. My employment*contract was coming to an end anyway and I was training my replacement.
**
I had to renew my resident*visa, I spoke enough Farsi to get about and do my job, but I miss understood what the Iranian clerk said in directing me to the resident visa clerk on*another floor.* I went to the wrong floor.* All the offices were empty. or so it seemed, I shouted out "Hallo" an Iranian in a senior officer's uniform came out of an office, asked me what I wanted, ushered me into his office, asked again what I wanted and why did I want it?* Really snotty.* I mentioned the name of the company and that I was the managing director and told him I needed my visa to travel down to the two ships. He started to smile, got up shook hands and almost kissed me and introduced himself, he was General (can't remember his name), and commander-in Chief of the SARVAC. and he had spent the weekend on the Michelangelo, and his suite was marvelous*" and the food was very delicious, and my wife and I danced for hours."* He got out a piece*of letterhead paper and wrote a couple of paragraphs in Farsi, gave it to me and told me that it would take care of any visas I needed.
* So in for a penny, in for a pound.* I told him I have great difficulty getting into the docks, to get aboard the vessels. Could he help me with that?* He asked me if I had a passport photo, I said yes,* He filled out a card and stuck my photo to it, stamped it with about three different*stamps, and told me that will get me into anywhere in Iran...and I might say, it got me out as the balloon went up, I got out on the last US bound (went to the head of the line too) flight as Ayatollah Khomani came in to Tehran, airport. I would suspect, if he had a crappy meal and a lousy cabin I would still be there.
He never explained*why all the offices were empty...I wonder if he shot everybody?
To put it in perspective. If that had been 1939 in Germany, I had just wandered into the office of Himmler.
I sold the company, office equipment and inventories, to a Dutch catering company that was starting up in Iran. got ninety percent of our accounts receivable, so became a hero to the company and landed a promotion in the New York, head office.
Cheers, Rodney
Rodney David Richard Mills
R602188 Gravesend