Annette and I have become addicted to a PBS show called “Globetrekkers.” The show has quite a few ‘travellers’ who each host their own episodes. They occasionally hit up pretty normal places, but most of the time, they’re taking you to places you normally wouldn’t think about visiting. What I love is how un-polished the show is… It’s not one of those shows that’s really an advertisement for a multitude of brands. The travellers are normally hitchhiking, taking cabs, and staying in local lodging.

This is a great show to watch if you want to authenticate your world view of cultures. Seeing nations from this perspective is a little bit like the perspective you get from going on a short term mission trip.

This week, Ian Wright took us to Iran. Some things we learned…

• A clean but no-frills hotel is only $10/night.
• A cross-country flight can cost as little as $11.
• 25 liters of gas (about 6.6 gallons) cost $1.00. That is NOT a type-o.
• To be a musician in the palace of Shah Abbas (not sure if it was the 1st or 2nd one), you had to be castrated and blind to be allowed to perform. He also had a very large heram. You do the math.
• Iran’s second biggest export is caviar. [obviously, oil is the first]
• A 300-mile cab ride cost only $4.50.
• The most expensive hotel (which is pretty nice, actually) is $46/night.
• The dude ate sheeps’ brain from a street vendor for breakfast. I’ll stick to my protein bar, thank you.