Iran #1: Axis of Stern Customs Officials

Western nations should explore the art of the customs form. A fellow journalist treasures one he got entering North Korea. It asks: are you carrying any means of death? A customs service with whom it would probably be unwise to joke.

But my Iranians had a finer sensitivity altogether. As Travelling Type sat in the confiscation room at Tehran airport (full of goodies, chock full), another passenger entered and paid off the staff with Siamese fighting fish in little sealed plastic bags. One each. A nicely civilised way of smoothing over a diffculty I mused, but not having arrived from Thailand I lacked any similarly discreet way of solving my own problem.