This is part of the twelfth section of our around the world trip.
Complete Trip Overview & Map

Coming from Iran or read our previous visit to Pakistan  

5/12/06 Even the official border is open and we had to search around for immigration, police and especially customs to complete paperwork. Stayed in Taftan, right on the border.

6/12/06 The road was 40 km gone when the sun rose. The colourful Pakistani trucks were just leaving their night time parking places and the desert air was freezing. It is 630 km to Quetta and with only eleven hours of daylight there was not much time for sightseeing and the sun was set by the time we arrived. I was surprised how busy the road is now compared to eight years ago. Mostly trucks and buses, their cargo moving between the two countries. There was no need for us to be accompanied by a police escort although we saw a number of well armed police vehicles moving along the way that occasionally rode with us for a few kilometres. There is a new section of excellent road where previously there was dirt but the long single lane between Dalbandin and almost to Quetta doesn't seem to have improved. Miki is an avid photographer, writing articles for Japanese magazines. She is planning an article of our time together and shot many photos. The barren landscape and a mix of Afghanistan and Pakistan character personalities supplied many subjects. Pakistan has one of the world's fastest population growth rates and with many Afghanistan refugees settling in the area there are many small mud villages dotted along the road. We stopped at a disused settlement for breakfast, then tea in Dalbandin and another tea at a truck rest. At each stop we were inundated with local interest. Miki, with her Asian face and small stature, a woman riding a motorcycle, drawing the majority of looks. Some polite questions about my relationship with the two women. Here only family members can travel with women, and women are almost not seen. Three men at the truck stop invited us to join them, Afghani, one was mixing hashish with tobacco before smoking and was introduced as a Taliban, with a laugh, perhaps, perhaps not. The storm that moved through Bam two nights ago had also dumped rain on this desert region. The railway was washed out in places, the road covered in drying silt. Some areas were deeply gouged where water rarely flows. Desert lakes formed across the sand dunes, an unusual backdrop to the black mountain range that the road follows for much of the time. The traffic in Quetta was at its peak as we arrived and one of the three wheeled, motorcycle powered, Tuk Tuk's offered to lead us to our hotel. It was full. Apparently the President, Musharraf, is due in Quetta tomorrow morning, and all hotels are full of tribal leaders and their entourages. There had been one small, police escorted, group of vehicles we had seen along the road and a number of tribal leaders near the border region heading this way. The Pakistan tourist authority managed to find us a reasonable hotel that was not full. 

7/12/06 We had planned a rest day but it was forced upon us more than we wanted as I was off and on to the bathroom most of the day with the regular traveller's complaint but we managed the usual jobs of clothes washing and diary writing as we listened to the jets and helicopters fly overhead for the President's visit. Probably also the safest option as crowded street gatherings are not the safest places in an often volatile nation. It surprises people when we say that Pakistan is one of the most conservative countries we have visited. Often Iran, Saudi Arabia or Afghanistan come to mind first. Our assessment is based primarily on the role of women in the society. Few at all are seen  in the streets of regions like Quetta. Even in Afghanistan many women can be seen, or not seen as they are covered in a burka robe, moving about the streets, individually or accompanied by family. Saudi Arabia has shopping malls where women, with only eyes visible, congregate to shop, but in Pakistan's more remote areas there is virtually no contact between women and anyone else outside the family. Western women are however well received, included in conversations, can shop alone, and are treated well if they are not demanding.

8/12/06 The tyre we have carried all the way from Greece as it was the last available H-D dealer, we fitted. The local tyre wallah was an ageing 60 year old who k knew everything but had never changed a large motorcycle tyre before and seemed like he wasn't willing to learn. Not prepared to take any advice he refused to use liquid to get the bead to seal and only after many attempts would he let me apply soapy water. We wandered around the bazaar more people watching than produce but both were interesting.

9/12/06 Miki on her Suzuki left this morning wanting to catch up with her friends in Lahore. We again rested.

10/12/06 The tourist office advised that we should not take the road via Loralai to Multan, we would need a special permit, so we headed out towards Sibi and through the Bolan Pass. Iranian petrol is still available roadside once we were out of town, the price increasing now to 35 rupees a litre but still a lot cheaper than the Pakistani petrol at 58 rupees. The snow on the surrounding hills has been melting and the sunshine of today kept us warm as we started to ride downhill through the long pass. The two Dutch bicyclists we have been travelling with also left this morning, but we missed seeing them along the road. Once down near Sibi and onto the flat plains of the Indus River the temperature increased and the heavy warm clothing was gladly removed. A police escort followed us for the last 200 km to Sukkur where they led us to a hotel for the night. We were also given an armed guard for our evening outing through the streets. All the contingents of the police who have been instructed to escort foreigners everywhere whilst in the province of Sindh.

11/12/06 Our police escort was waiting our departure at 7am and led us out of town and for the next 360 km to Bahawalpur where we left the highway for the shortcut to Khanewal bypassing Multan. Like most police escorts we have received, they either drive in front of us and expect us to follow closely or they tailgate. As each police car only escorted us for a few km's then handed us over to the next district's vehicle, we were constantly requesting them to please keep well back so we don't have to worry about them. On two occasions they almost ran us off the road trying to clear a path for us in traffic with their sirens blaring. Designed to make us feel more secure their presence hurried us along and not wanting to delay them by stopping to take photos or for tea rest stops. There have been recent attacks on foreign businessmen in the area and some kidnappings but not on tourists. Once out of the Sindh area and into the Punjab the police were still present but not as concerned and often we were able to lose them in traffic. This is the breadbasket of Pakistan and the roads are currently full of overloaded trucks carrying last season's produce of sugarcane, rice and cotton to storage. There are ten times as many trucks as private vehicles and even though it was a 4 lane for most of the time progress was slow with roadwork and trucks overtaking trucks. Only a few private cars make it to the highway reflecting the high cost of petrol and car ownership here.

12/12/06 A foggy morning with the air thick with smoke from burning residual crops and rice husks in brick making kilns. Our third day of traffic. The blaring horns of express buses trying to meet their schedule. The slowness of the trucks. Bicycles and motorcycles darting out in front of us and the ever present donkey and camel carts make progress slow and challenging. Today we saw at least a dozen overturned trucks their load stacked too high and just dropping off the road edge was often enough for the roll over. Three motorcycle accidents and we were involved in one as we were entering Lahore. A car sideswiped us slowly whilst we were almost stationary knocking us down. The police were called with little damage to either vehicle but we were taken to the the station to make sure there were no complaints from either side before being allowed to leave. Polite and as tourists we were given an extremely fair hearing.

13/12/06 We have been planning to be home for Christmas now for the last month despite having told the family back home that we can't possibly make it till early January. An early arrival surprise. With flights booked out of India on the evening of the 23rd of December we arrive the morning of Christmas Day. Our main concern in this plan is will the Indian authorities allow us to leave the motorcycle in India for the five weeks we hope to be in Australia? Something other travellers have had problems with. It is a public holiday in Lahore today and the backpacker's where we are staying is full of the more long term young India or Pakistan alternative culture westerners. Many have been here for weeks or months taking on local dress and getting lost in the cheap drugs that are available in this region. One of the last drop out countries, cheap and long visas, a surprising number of travellers get lost here rather than returning home, often living on a few dollars a day. As we get older we are taking longer to recover from a few hard days riding and found it difficult getting up early this morning or becoming enthusiastic in seeking out the city's sites preferring to sit in the hostel.

14/12/06 Sufism is a relaxed form of Islam but it is often not recognised by the more traditional sects of the religion. It is believed to have been responsible for the spread of Islam to India. Our hostel owner, a Sufi, takes travellers to see Qawalli singing at a nearby shrine where some of the best performers come from all over the country to display their talents. The musicians are devotees and sing and play their instruments in front of an audience sitting crossed legged on mats. About five minutes is all that is allowed to each band. The time disappears quickly as money is collected from the audience or thrown at the stage in appreciation of each performance. The event leaves the best musicians till last when a standing ovation by the crowd leaves the performers with still more notes being thrown in their direction by the enthusiastic and generous believers. In the evening there is another event. This time drummers beat out a loud deep rhythm for an extended time whilst dancers spin and shake their heads violently to the beat. A crushing crowd sits encapsulated by the music and dance however the main pastime was the smoking of hashish mixed with tobacco. Those enjoying the event the most were those smoking the most, otherwise the drumming became a little repetitive.

15/12/06 The prize for the most unusual border crossing must surely go the one between Pakistan and India. Since partition in 1947 the two countries have never really been friends. Over 10 million people were displaced choosing to or having to move from one side of the new border to the other due to religious beliefs. It is believed half a million were killed along the way in fighting. The ongoing territorial dispute in Kashmir has not helped the situation and two wars have been fought over this territory. There is only one border crossing open between the two countries and it closes regularly when tensions rise. Even when open there is little trade between the two giants as all goods have to be hand carried for 300 or more metres passing the hessian wrapped bundles from an Indian porter to a Pakistani one or vice versa to then be reloaded onto the other country's trucks. Today more than 50 trucks were lined up waiting to offload their cargo from the Indian side. Tomatoes and onions were ripening and rotting whilst they waited to be hand carried, over a week in many cases. We were at the border by noon and had no problem passing out of Pakistan and were allowed to take photos of the goods transfer.

Move with us to India

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