At first I was very reluctant. Never been my sort of thing. Suppose I’d been pushed into it. Swilling water over my face in the sink, I quickly sensed an unhealthily warm glow. Perhaps testing my newly acquired dog repellant in the sink the previous evening hadn’t been such a wise idea, although I thought I’d been careful to wash away all traces. Scientific endeavour is never without cost. Seemed sensible to skip shaving for once. Besides, thought, somewhat half-heartedly, the more rugged look might be quite fitting further east.
Finding myself trapped by snow and ice the previous day, I’d become increasingly convinced a case of sudden onset cabin fever was brewing. I’d tried to stave it off with a recent copy of The Times I’d found, but it hadn’t taken long for those in the Obituaries to feel like old acquaintances. There was a medical handbook in the bag, but things weren’t quite that bad. Maybe later. So, Turkish cinema it was. Unfortunately, the country has quite a strong film industry so options were limited. One. English with Turkish subtitles.
It hadn’t been the most enthralling of films, but it had given me an idea. The Georgian dog situation had been on my mind for a few days, ever since I’d learnt rabies is pretty endemic there. Now I’d a solution. Two actually. Took a while to find the local gun shop but they were very understanding of my predicament. Picked up an ultrasonic dog deterrent. Not cheap, even with a bit of bartering, and they’d been mixed reports as to its effectiveness, but thought I’d give it a go. Could always throw it at the dog. Besides, I’d been able to acquire a final line of defence. Made my eyes water just thinking about it. But that’s where we came in.
[Author’s note: Great care has been taken to ensure that possession of the non-lethal dog deterrents alluded to in the text is perfectly lawful in the current jurisdiction. This would not be the case in the UK, where, in any case, the risk to life from rabies does not exist. The measures adopted are a proportionate response to a potentially fatal threat]
I am lost. Have you decided to just keep going East? I thought you were hanging out for a little while for the weather to improve before heading into Georgia?
Hı Myles – Mulled on thıngs for a whıle then decıded I felt most comfortable stayıng focused on eastwards across Asıa – better steady progress always along the planned route, rather than a devıatıon off for a whıle – well, when ıt stops snowıng that ıs! Cheers Ken