Paradise on the Red Sea: Hormuz Island

 

 The day I arrived in Bandar Abbas. It was very hot despite being early morning

 The distance from Shiraz to Bandar Abbas is about 600km and it took more than 8 hours

The road down from Shiraz to Bandar Abbas by land. During the 12-hour bus journey, I felt the air growing hotter at each rest stop along the way. 

 As hot as the air was, the encounters with the people here left an even more special impression. 

 Not all memories were pleasant, but isn't life never meant to be filled only with good things? I'm grateful for safely overcoming the unfortunate events, and if I consider the remaining regrets and wounds as challenges to reflect upon and overcome, someday I'll be able to look back and think they were merely memories.

KFC(X) -> HFC(O)

 Distribution map of where the Baluchi people mainly live

While wandering around waiting endlessly for the boat, I met a young man dressed in white. The young man, who introduced himself as Balochi, said he was waiting for a boat to visit his family. 

Since we were communicating through a translator, I wasn't sure exactly where he was going, but there was no doubt this young man was waiting for a boat to a different destination

 I searched for images of Balochi people on Google. I found a man wearing similar clothing

Later, as I headed east, I encountered many Balochi people who had darker skin than other Iranians and wore long, flowing white clothes. For them, these clothes seemed to symbolize their identity, and Iranians living in other cities said they could identify Balochis by their skin color and clothing. 

Just as in Korea, regional sentiments and characteristics exist in Iran, but because the land is so vast, they shared a sense of regional identity beyond what we feel in our country. 

The emotions they felt toward each other included not just differences in history and character but also religious and political disparities and discrimination. Perhaps because of this, the Balochi people seemed to identify less strongly as Iranians. 

Especially as we traveled deeper into their region, there was a feeling that they were governing themselves somewhat independently from the central government.

Later, they laughed and said: 

"There are no police in our area. We take responsibility for security with our own guns. All they can do is watch what we're doing

 A photo taken inside the ship right before departure

 Despite the somewhat high waves, the ship departed

After waiting for three to four hours, fortunately, the announcement for the boat's departure sounded, and by asking around, I was able to find my way to the ticket counter for Hormuz Island. 

Since I had an unregistered foreign passport, I couldn't book tickets online or through machines. 

I was able to purchase a ticket only at the very end with the manual assistance of an employee.

According to someone else heading to Hormuz with me, the waves were still quite high, but after people continuously refused to leave and protested, they decided to set sail. One problem remained: all the accommodations there had closed their doors and no one was answering calls. 

For them, July was such a hot off-season that there were hardly any guests, so it seemed they weren't operating. 

The remaining option was to stay at a large hotel, but wanting to save on my budget, I had searched for private accommodations listed online. Contrary to my expectations, even after arriving, no one responded to my inquiries. 

With no choice left, I decided to go to a large hotel and was just about to leave the pier.

"Hey, need a place to stay? For just $14.0 plus a little more, I'll be your guide."

Before I knew it, I was being led by one of the guest house owners who had come to meet arrivals, entrusting my luggage to his three-wheeled motorcycle.

After some negotiation with the man, though I don't remember exactly, I secured lodging plus a guide for the next day for about $28.0. 

The accommodation was very old but had air conditioning and cooking utensils, making it reasonably satisfactory for the price. 

"You can't walk to where you want to go, so sleep well at the lodging tonight and meet me outside at 6 AM tomorrow."

"But I'm taking a boat at 10 AM tomorrow? Can't I go sightseeing outside now?" 

 "You could, but it's too hot." 

 "That's okay, I can handle it. It's just a one-hour walk, right?" 

 "You can't go without a car, it's dangerous... I'll take you everywhere tomorrow." 

 "No no, I can go. See you tomorrow." 

 Despite his advice, I thought walking for about an hour wouldn't be a problem and set out, but it was truly dangerous. 

 After walking for about 10 minutes in the murderous heat, breathing hot and humid air, I became completely exhausted and felt that if I continued walking, I might actually die, so I had to turn back. 

On my way back to the lodging, I ran into the guest house owner who asked why I was returning, and when I told him it was because I was too hot and exhausted, he replied with a worried face: 

"See, I was right. You can't go there without a car. And it's too hot right now." 

I can declare that it was far more murderously hot than southern Thailand.

 It was so hot that I might not have been able to return to my accommodation without his help.😟😢

He didn't charge extra for transportation and helped me buy cold water at the store. It was the most grueling 10-minute jog of my life.

 Beautiful natural landscape of Hormuz Island

 Beautiful natural landscape of Hormuz Island 2. like mars

Beautiful natural landscape of Hormuz Island 3

 Beautiful natural landscape of Hormuz Island 

 Beautiful natural landscape of Hormuz Island 

Early the next morning, I began traveling around Hormuz Island on the three-wheeled vehicle from the lodging. 

Despite the very early morning hour, the ground everywhere had heated up under the scorching sun. 

How on earth had people managed to put down roots and live in such a place...

 Despite the extremely hot weather, the surroundings were surprisingly beautiful.

 The appearance of a mountain made of salt

An amazing exotic landscape unfolded beneath a white mountain of rock salt. 

The red terrain mixed with patches of white salt jutted skyward like thorns, making it feel so eerily like being on Mars, while simultaneously being filled with a quiet, scorching heat. 

The residents of Hormuz Island, which had been the center of Persian maritime trade since ancient times and was briefly an independent kingdom at one point, have maintained their livelihood by fishing and harvesting salt. 

At the same time, this beautiful island was also reportedly an island of prosperity that bustled with merchants who came to exchange various spices and trade goods.

 The special crab that lives on Hormuz Island

At the wetlands I visited on the way closer to the coast, white crabs that looked as if they were wearing the clothing of the Balochi people I met in Bandar Abbas appeared and then disappeared at the slightest hint of human presence. 

This unique species living in the small wetlands of the small Hormuz Island has continued its lineage as a distinctive species here for many years. 

When I tried to catch them, the guesthouse owner laughed and said they were too fast. 

I could only capture their image with my camera.

 The coast of Hormuz Island

Beautiful cliff

 The red coast of Hormuz Island.

After passing the cliff, we stopped at a silver beach where the shoreline glistened brilliantly in silver, but the reflected light couldn't be captured by the camera, so in the photographs, it appeared as merely a black beach. 

I wondered how people in the past could capture such scenery, difficult even for cameras to record, in their memories and explain the landscape to others. It was a beautiful place, befitting its reputation as an island cherished by Persian kings. 

There are still many unknown places in the world that remain unfamiliar to us. Some places may be dangerous, and some may be disappointing contrary to expectations. While planning my trip, I often heard people say there's a reason why certain places aren't frequently visited. 

Of course, the less known a place is, the more inconvenience and difficulties one must endure, and sometimes failures occur. 

 Since everyone has their own circumstances and interests in how they pursue world travel, it's difficult to determine which way of traveling is better. But I realized that the excitement and fear felt when stepping into an unknown world, and all the overwhelming emotions, are part of the journey. 

These emotions experienced during the process might be even more fitting to the word "travel" than the magnificent and beautiful scenery itself. 

 Therefore, perhaps the destination doesn't really matter after all

For me, Hormuz Island was a very beautiful place. And the journey toward that beautiful place, the people I met there, and the experiences I had there remained as impressive memories, beyond the beautiful scenery itself

Here is some additional information and precautions:

•  When entering Iran by land, try to avoid very late night arrivals. If you enter late at night, you won't find any place to exchange money. It's also impossible to activate your mobile phone. 
• As of March 25, 2025, the current exchange rate in Iran is 98000 tomans to 1 dollar. When I traveled there, it was approximately 57000 tomans 2024. 
• Prices are very affordable. I stayed at economy hotels for about $8-20. Although sometimes the toilet had low water pressure, I was generally satisfied, and people were friendly. 
• When activating your phone, be sure to ask if they can install a VPN for you. It will be a great help to you. Never forget this. If the employee is a very nice person, give them a small tip and then look for a paid VPN. Free VPNs are sufficient, but paid VPNs perform very well. The Snapp app is almost essential for travelers. If you have a close local friend, ask for their help. It has all the necessary functions such as delivery, finding accommodation, calling taxis, etc When calling a taxi with the Snapp app, drivers often cancel for intercity travel because the price is too low. Once a driver accepts your call, try to negotiate paying more with a Persian message. While there are drivers who will take you to your destination at the price suggested by the Snapp app, if you can't get a Snapp taxi for a long time, it wasn't bad to offer about 1.5 times the price via message. Even if you offer a slightly higher price, it is still very reasonable compared to travel in other countries. If all else fails, try finding taxi drivers directly and negotiate the price. 
• I went during the very hot summer off-season in July. During this season, it is too hot to go outside during the day. Please be mindful of your health. The tour started very early around 7 AM and ended around 9-10 AM. 
• Hormuz Island is a very small but beautiful island. Make sure to visit both the silver beach and the red beach. At the port, there were people waiting to rent rooms and provide tours. Traveling was very easy. However, since it was the off-season, most of the affordable accommodations were not operating, so it might be difficult to make reservations. 
• The schedule of boats from Bandar Abbas to Hormuz may change or be canceled depending on the wave conditions that day. Based on my experience, they sell tickets to Hormuz Island around morning. For foreigners, you need to get a ticket separately with the help of staff there (I couldn't use the self-service ticket machines intended for locals).
• As I mentioned in the main text, I spent about $30 in total, which included both accommodation and tour costs. For the tour, you can negotiate the price a bit more. I don't remember exactly how much I paid... but I think it was around $10-15, even though I was alone! 
• Before starting your trip, prepare ice water at your accommodation. It is very hot there. For safety, have salt-glucose solution or sports electrolyte drinks on hand.

http://185.129.215.141/zakeri2/monitoring.php