Until recently I'd planned to travel onward from Turkey by the southern route through Iran and Pakistan and eventually into India, rather than continuing east through Central Asia and Russia. This started to look less possible a couple of weeks ago when the RAC announced that they were raising the price of a carnet by a factor of four or five by withdrawing the option of payment by 'bankers guarantee'. This was in the interests of 'fairness' they said, and not a grubby attempt to increase their income. As a carnet for Iran and India is already one of the most expensive, it didn't look good.
The situation is, in fact, more complex still: just before I read this news in 'Adventure Bike Rider', the Iranian government announced that anyone travelling through their country on a British passport would in future be required to hire a minder at £1000 a week - subject to availability. That's a fair bit of my travelling money. Iran is a country I particularly want to see, but I can't ignore the practicalities.
So, I started this week by signing up for a Russian course, and met the tutor yesterday at the language centre. She lived up to every known stereotype of Russian womanhood by terrifying the life out of me. "In Russia", she exclaimed, "we expect beautiful, perfect grammar. Whether you are poet or coming from pub, all words must be perfect. We have long winters. Lots of time to make complicated grammar." I was expecting a challenge, just not this one.