When I’ve been telling people about my route, they always comment on Bhutan (enthusiastically) and Iran (somewhat less so).

My reasons, it is now clear to me, were twofold: about 20% to get the word out that Iranians are normal reasonable good people too, and about 80% to have the satisfaction of “proving”, to a few relatives, that Iranians are normal reasonable good people too. So I’ve got about 20% of a good reason to go. (also to see amazing buildings history food and all the other stuff; so 1.2 good reasons to go.)

Unfortunately, there are a number of good reasons for me not to go to Iran, and note that “terrorists will kill you” is not one of them.

• It'd cost me about $1200, not counting airfare, for the group tour I picked (you have to go with a group or a guide)
• It's a group tour
• It's a sightseeing tour
• A lot of shenanigans like "you can't bring laptops in the country" and "there are no ATMs" make planning a bit difficult
• Recent embassy stormings are less than awesome for tourists I guess
• And here is the new one: I heard that, apparently, going to Iran puts you directly on the US Terrorist Watch List? And your family too? For the record, our government is nuts. But while there's honor in organized civil disobedience, there's little honor in helping yourself get screwed by the system.