As you arrive from Amritsar in Lahore, stay at Lahore Backpackers (N 31 33 706 E 074 19 168) in the centre of town. It is a good place, very friendly and helpful, and they provide a parking place for your motorbike. For more information about accomodation, look at "bike friendly acc" on this hubb. I have written a message about acc in Pak. You can also search for "martheijnens".

From Lahore you can drive to Islamabad without difficulties. However, to most other destinations you need a noc (no objection certificate) for which you have to visit local home office. The manager of LB knows were to find that office. To arrange the noc will take a day. The noc describes your itinary. As soon as you leave Lahore on the way to Multan you will encounter numerous checkpoints. The first one will arrange your escort to the next one and so on. Sometimes you are free to drive on your own.

Good luck, enjoy your trip in Pakistan;

Mart

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Spaniard here.

I've heard a recent interview with Colorado, the Spanish biker. He seemed to me humble and prudent.

His vision of the situation differs from the one published by the media, as usual highly biased. He was indeed in the area, but the six levies killed were not his escorts, according to his own words. He witnessed two terrorist attacks, one killed in front of his eyes 25 people in a bus, another one, the next day, six armed levies. However, he was in a pick-up with a driver and an escort, and he could run away. He insists the attacks had nothing to do with him.

I myself have seen some violent scenes in Pakistan while crossing the KKH, three years ago and, as it happened with Colorado, had nothing to do with me, I just happened to be there to witness it.

A few months ago I traveled through the same route Colorado used to cross from Iran to India. All I can say is that I felt 110% safe thanks to the amazing job of the Pakistani armed forces. Sometimes I even thought they were being too cautious. Also I want to add that Pakistani people are among the friendliest people on earth. I've felt in very few countries the warmth of people as I've felt in Pakistan. Period.

As for the responsability, it is entirely of the terrorists. There is no question about this, from my point of view.

A different spin on the story, in case anyone wishes to do some research before slandering the man:

Spanish Cyclist Disputes Islamabad’s Version of Attack ‹ Newsweek Pakistan

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That definitely jives more with the video. Interesting that the train runs once a month?

Hi Mart,
Thank you for your response.
1. We drive a 11 T truck/motorhome would this fit at LB? it is 3.65 high 7 meters long and 2.5 mtr wide.
2. what is the road like from Lahore to Quetta
3. what is the road like from Quetta to the border
Re point 2-3 our average speed on a good road would be aroun 65km per hour
4. where to stay along the way, possible GPS locations?

Cheers Fearless

Fearless, with respect to our questions:
1. Your truck seems to be a bit too big for the bike parking place but maybe it can be parked in the alley. Call LB: +924237351544 or +92 30088660039 (the cellphone of Sajjad Ahmed). Greet Sajjad from me, Mathew,the dutch motorbiker.
2. You will probably get permission to drive from Lahore over Multan and Sukkur to Quetta. That road is okay except between Sukkur and Jacobabad (about 60 km).
3. Between Quetta and Taftan at the Iranian border the road is okay, mostly in moderate condition and some short bad tracks. Read my description on the hubb (martheijnens, "fromTaftan to Quetta: my experiences").
4. Between Quetta and Lahore I stayed in Jacobabad and Rahimyar Khan. I posted locations on the Hubb, look in the section bike friendly accomodation, "Pakistan". The hotel in Jacobabad was really a gem in friendliness and service. In Quetta your escort will bring you to the Bloomstar hotel (There is another hotel, Serena, but that's for the rich. So, unless you are rich: Bloomstar). Between Quetta and Taftan your escort will bring you to the hotel in Dalbandin.

Good luck, Mathew

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Voorbij de horizon / beyond the horizon: www.wonderfultravels.nl

Hi Mathew
Many thanks for your response, It looks like we are crossing from India into Pakistan around March 15. I am going to read your blogs. I may ask you some more questions in the near future. We have just met up with another Dutch couple near Madras we may travel together across Pakistan.
See you are Dutch, so are we (Live in Australia)
Ontzettend bedankt.
Cheers
Fearless

.....Hold on here, I have seen this guys blog and video in the original Spanish....a bus full of 40 passengers was bombed behind him, killing most of them... A TERRIBLE AMAZING INCIDENT, CAUGHT ON HIS VIDEO....!! no cops, and this is just the way things are in Pakistan, random attacks on all innocents that pass through this road, due to the taliban being invited there into the country and then trying to take over and impose their fundamentalism...in the video in Spanish, he states the medics tell him in the first-aid place that Pakistani cops died protecting him, but this is not the case..and yes I do speak perfect Spanish....(the bus goes up at 6.48, and then they come under small arms fire....) and he gets shot at AGAIN the next day, with a shrapnel-glass wound.......

http://www.lavanguardia.com/internac...-pakistan.html

Yes, the pictures on his FB page are very raw.... I like how he takes selfies even when he's copped some shrapnel in the neck, and then when he's being stitched up!

While it is still not clear exactly what happened (to me anyway), it is obvious that the guy was not cycling along with 12 guards following him at 20 km/hr.

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4.5 years around Eurasia in a Toyota Hilux|http://eurasiaoverland.wordpress.com/
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