Having arrived in Delhi, I had been wishfully thinking that I would pick up Pakistan and Iran visas again and make my way by public transport back to Turkey.
However, the world's borders and their associated bureaucracy and political connotations are seemingly there for the only reason of making life difficult (or challenging) for the overland traveller.
I cycled this morning the 16km from my host to the Iran Embassy to be told blankly that I need the Letter of Invitation from a friend in Iran or they need to send my application to Iran, either way would take at least a month.
I should have remembered my last process of getting the Iran visa. Why hadn't I remembered to organise the LOI in advance?
I have to stay positive (like 'the Streets' song of the same name - give it a listen), because, my plan being to head back to the Caucasus I have to travel again back through these bureaucratic and politically turbulent areas.
I have to face the fact that it's going to be a challenge to get back to Tbilisi and to make the most of my time, rather than having an attitude of 'it should be easy now'.
My adventure in India and Nepal has been so huge in itself that it feels like I'm coming to the end of a chapter in my journey. Like I was told by an English girl I met in Varanasi- 'you're a Saturn, yes, you're got a big change coming up'. I feel like I'm in a transition and it's unsettling but also exciting not to know exactly what is going to happen next.
It's difficult to maintain motivation to make the transition to the next step.
I have to grit my teeth and use my brain to solve the challenges in an elegant (or even not so elegant as long as I move forward) way.
It looks anyway like I will be spending at least a few weeks in Delhi and therefore I intend to use my time as productively as possible.
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