I survived last night at the police post in Dalbandan and all the others since I left Quetta several days ago. Usually between the major towns I sleep in dhabas (truck stops), but the police escort considers them unsafe (despite the presence of armed guards) so I bunk down with the bike in the room and everyone's happy.

Escorts proving challenging at times, especially one where there were 6 changes of escort within 18 kms! Still, I get why they feel they are necessary & I have to say I've been treated really well by everyone. Now travelling with a Japanese rider on a 110 Honda after he was refused entry on the bus as no-one would vouch for his/bike's safety. Can't speak for Hayashi but I didn't set out with any expectations or guarantees from others - still it's good to have another rider along for company. We expect to reach Taftan sometime tomorrow so will let you know how it goes.

Cheers, Ron

Thanks Ron, really interesting hearing from you... I came across another bloke on the forum pakwheels.com who was also following your blog (i believe you met him at an autoshow in lahore his name on the forum is faisal_here)

cant wait to here from your reports at Taftan..

Thanks

Good news to those heading overland to India - the Taftan border is open. Took 3 hours to process the paperwork but finally made it into Iran. Had read the road from Dalbandin to Taftan was good & it might well be okay on a modern bike, but on my old girl with tyres at 45 psi & no suspension I hardly noticed. Did meet a European chap crossing into Pakistan but didn't get the opportunity to chat much.

Would recommend riders carrying plenty to eat & drink across the border into Pakistan. Water for the check points gets delivered once a month by train, so pretty scarce. Given I wasn't allowed to stay at dhabas after Quetta I missed my usual evening meal of dhal & rotis, so was desperate for something to eat by the time we made it to Zahedan. Pretty frustrating not being able to ride from the border as police don't have vehicles to escort. Two-up on a 110 Honda or an FN ain't going to happen. Instead they commandeered passing vehicles much to the annoyance of locals. Bikes were loaded on the back of pickups which took off at breakneck speed, with us trying to keep our bikes steady on the back. Continual stops every 2-4kms then another paperwork shuffle. It looked like they were trying for a little "mordita" but we weren't playing that game. Disconcerting to see soldiers put our passports i their pockets and bugger off. never had that happen in all my years of travelling but then I've never been in this neck of the woods before.

So fantastic to be in a good hotel, have a great meal & real bed for the night. Memet, will see you guys in a few weeks time. Will keep you posted as I get closer. Thanks for your good wishes. Am going to be taking it easy and do some sightseeing til I catch up with my wife in Tehran mid May then will head to Turkey. Andrew, can't tell you much about Taftan except to say it reminded me of Tampico, Mexico! LOL Will update the blog as soon as I recover. Yes, did meet Faisal at Lahore motor show - great turn out & fabulous people.

Cheers & safe riding everyone. Ron

Old Bloke on a Bike | Travels of an old guy on an old bike, from one side of the world to the other

Just noticed the Google Earth Image map of the Taftan - Mirjaveh border is updated since 6 march 2012.

Taftan border - Google Earth Map

They did a bit of work on the border area it seems to me. The Iranian side looks much nicer now.

The Pakistani custom house is where all the trucks are parked - always a nice & messy place with hugely overloaded trucks. But at least Pakistani customs offers you tea and have a chat while stamping the Carnet.

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Arno
Overland by 4x4 truck

Good to know you made it in Iran Ron - just saw your post while i submitted mine. The stretch from the Iranian border to Zahedan hasn't changed much I read. Still security paranoia #1 when it comes to foreigners.

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Arno
Overland by 4x4 truck

It is confirmed that Taftan border is open. Ron and another friend on 110 crossed it last week. He can be contacted on his Blog for details. It is the only working border between Pakistan and Iran and the Jeewani border is only for the locals.

Cheers
Omar

Thanks for clarifying this.

So, the border stations between Pakistan/Iran, for foreigners there has in reality been no change.

Just another confirmation from me, crossed the border from iran to pakistan on 25th of May 2012.

Interesting sidenode, i had only 2 escorts from Bam to Dalbandin,
the first one started about 20km before the border on iranian side and was super helpful, as the guy did all the border procedures for me, i just had to drive him around. The second escort was for the first 10km of the Pakistan side.
After this i've been asked at every checkpoint where my guard is, but after telling them "i don't know" they let me go.

After Dalbandin i had escorts all the way to Quetta, where i am now. And i'm pretty happy about that as there was a shooting and a blast when i came here. Reading recent kidnapping stories does not make it better, looks like Baluchistan really is a dangerous area.

If anybody is coming to Quetta until monday, send me a message.
Have to stay here because i need a NOC to travel further and government places are closed on saturday and sunday.

Cheers,
Moritz

Facebook: kuhmomo

Welcome to Pakistan, Mortiz. Enjoy your stay.

Cheers
Omar

I'm trying to collect recent information about crossing the Pakistan on my way to India (with my girlfriend by Vespa 125cc). I'm planning to be there in the end of October/beginning of November.

It would be nice to have more confirmation from travelers in the next months.

So far I read about many people traveling with either motorbike or car without many problems but still I have some doubts.

hi!

just passed last december through,taftan-quetta!

everything was smooth at that time.

today the pakistan embassy didnt give me a visa to do that again.they said to dangerous.
but he told me a way how i mide get one.

does any one know if the boarder is still open mirjaveh-taftan.
want to pass the boarder at end of november 2012.

what be good to travel together if some goes at the same time!

Yes it is open with enhanced security.

Cheers
Omar

We are now in Erzurum and we met a couple who traveled through Pakistan in September and they said that everything was ok (military escort well organized especially between iranian border and Quetta)

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From Italy heading East by Vespa September 2012

Hi all,

We are currently in Shiraz and planning to cross the pakistan border at Taftan within 1-2 weeks. We are on two Yamaha XT600s. Maybe we could connect and travel to Quetta in a group?
Drop us a mail if that suits your plan!

Some riders have not got NOC to ride in the south recently, depends on whether your application coincides with a big bombing or such like.

Heike and Fillipo 2 Live the Dream | Heike & Filippo Travel the World on Motorcycle had to put their bikes on a train to Lahore.

Others rode through ok. All hit and miss it seems.

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https://fernsforays.wordpress.com/