Happy Holi Dahan

It was the run up to Holi, the colours festival today, which is like bonfire night. An effigy of Holika (I’m seeing her as The Wicked Witch) is burnt on a bonfire and a lot of partying happens.

We had a fun ride, with just about every village preparing their celebrations. We were accosted by a man in a monkey costume, shouted at by children and everyone was a lot more boisterous than usual. We have a suspicion alcohol or bangh (cannabis based drink) may be responsible.

Both breakfast and lunch were a triumph of our technique of sitting in a restaurant and just saying “feed us please.” It means we get to eat what they normally make and we try new things. Coconut rice for breakfast, fried potato things for lunch.

Gremlins struck in the afternoon with two punctures and a broken gear cable for Tiger, plus the gears locking up on Blue Strawberry. All easily fixed though, but we didn’t get quite as far as we hoped.

We found a guesthouse on the beach, and after they’d cleaned all the sand out, it was a nice little room to stay in.

It also had a great view of people parading a coconut palm up and down the beach. Another part of Holi Dahan I guess.

We also got to meet a lot of inebriated men (no women), who all like to chat.

Route update - Iran’s off the menu

We had a family meeting a couple of days ago and have decided the difficulty in getting a visa for British citizens in Iran, and the restrictions on movement once there make it too hard. We’re keen to visit countries that are keen for us to visit. Iran doesn’t seem keen to have us.