Visiting Kish Island in Iran - Glass Bottom Ship Tour!

In the last post we had a look at an old shipwreck and the dolphin park on Kish island in Iran. Today, in our final post about Kish Island, let's have a look at a glass bottom ship tour through the Persian Gulf!

Although before we get on board let's have a look around. The tour itself starts on a large pier and it takes a couple of minutes to get there. You will meet many people who gather here to enjoy the view or are out for a stroll. The weather is just perfect here in winter as it never gets cold. But in summer you would want to avoid this place...

You will see many women who wear their mandatory hijabs quite loosely, while other wear it more traditionally to cover all of their hair. Yet others still wear a chador which is essentially a large cloth covering the whole body. However, you will also see some women who won't wear it; although of course only for short periods of time as it is required by law.

The boat seemed quite old and I had doubts if this ride was a good idea, but as soon as the tour started my doubts were vanquished. Although it was packed and the seats were improvised, the mood was elevated and music soon started to play. Now you have to know that Iranians really love music; they listen to it everywhere, e.g., when hiking or walking, riding the bike, on tours, in buses etc. While that certainly has its benefits, sometimes it does feel a bit excessive. But here it was great, and not before long people were dancing 😃 This is why I love Iranians! :))

Our moderator had all the stereotypes you would want 😅 The cologne imbued, mustachy man with his slick sun glasses sure knew how to do a tour and entertained everyone. I can't stress enough how much this improves tours! I have to think of the many dull tours in Europe when people are just sitting in a bus or something and everyone is just with themselves.

And here we have it: people standing up for a dance! Could you imagine this in western countries? Just dancing in front of an unknown crowd? I don't think I have ever seen that 😅

So while we were enjoying ourselves on deck, the waters suddenly swarmed with fish! The water was only a couple of meters deep and one could easily see the ground and all of the life within it. Someone had the idea of throwing some bread in the water (I am not sure how good this is for the fish) but before long, many were doing it and it attracted a lot of fish! So this seemed pretty promising for the lower deck where there was some glass built into the floor, enabling one to see the fish more closely.

When we went downstairs I wasn't sure what to expect as this was my first time on such a boat. There were at least 8 windows and the atmosphere was really interesting with the light shining through them. There was enough space to sit around them and it was so fascinating to watch the marine life. Every now and then there was a fish swimming by and the ocean floor seemed very close. On the ocean floor there were many corals and clams and other things I could not identify. And just sitting there, looking at it was very meditative.

Actually, in hindsight this was almost a better way for looking at the marine life than it was with diving. Well, I mean sure, I was closer and in direct contact with it there, but it was also a bit stressful and actually fairly short. Sitting here, on the other hand, was very comfortable and calm.

Not before long the bot turned on its engines and we were heading back to the pier from which we came. I can definitely recommend this way of getting closer to the ocean as it was a great and fun experience!

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