Recent Northern Pakistan riding
 

Hey all,

I'm currently in Nepal and my plan has been to head into India, then into Pakistan, and then north into China and on towards Kashgar.

I'm a little concerned about Pakistan, and recent issues in Gilgit culminating in curfews etc.

Is anyone in, or has anyone been in northern Pakistan recently?

Would love to get some insight into the security situation, and places to go and places to avoid.

Cheers!
Drew
Adelaide, SA

Hi Drew,

when will you go to Pakistan? I'll be there end of May; entering China on 31st. Maybe, we can ride together a bit.

Cheers,
Kevin

Hey Kevin,

I think I plan to meet my Chinese guide on the 24th or so.

There's been a whole lotta hoopla in Gilgit recently, so am not sure of the situation. Of course this changes all the time.
Am currently in Kathmandu, where you at?

Cheers,
Drew

Drew

I was in Gilgit a few weeks ago. Left Brisbane in January & started the ride from Nepal. Several landslides on the KKH so long delays while these were cleared. No other problems while I was there. Bombings happened soon after I left so no idea if the curfews are still in place. Not sure these would be a problem unless you were planning on being out at night.

I'm now in Bam, Iran and heading to Turkey. You might even catch me up given the slow speed I'm travelling! LOL Enjoy your ride and say Hi to Raja at the Tie Net Cafe, Gilgit - he's a good guy.

Cheers, Ron

Salam
 

Hi Ron, we are in Tabriz now and heading your other direction. Would be nice to meet you. Our route will be Qom, Esfahan, Yazd in the coming days - 5 to 6. Maybe send us a PM with mobilenr so that we can text you if you like...

Cheers,

Roemer and Lisan / Bajatwin.com

Fortunately Gilgit is not on the main KKH and can be bypassed. That appears to be the thing to do for some time and go to Hunza instead which is 100kms away.

I'll keep you updated guys.

Cheers
Omar

Ron,

Great to hear all is well with you. I saw some of your threads and checked out your site, power to you my friend!

Omar - thanks for the update. At this point I intend to enter Pakistan in about 4 weeks and hopefully the situation will be clearer. I've heard so many good things about Pakistan that I really hope I get a good view of the country and avoid all these issues.

I am planning to meet a Chinese guide on the Chinese end of things so I hope this is still going to happen.

Cheers all!
Drew

I'm in Bangkok organizing the transport of my motorbike to Kathmandu. I plan to arrive there on 2nd/3rd of May. So I guess I'll be a bit behind you.
What's your route through China? Exit to Kyrgyzstan? The following is what I have in mind:
KKH
-> Kashgar
-> Hotan
-> Niya
-> Kuqa
-> Korla
-> Turpan
-> Urumqi
-> Korgas
Kazakhstan


Safe trip!
Cheers,
Kevin

Mian,

Thanks for the information and offer of further help.. its really very appreciated!

Kevin,
Tell Kittima I said hi.. haha - that's if your dealing with her at TransAir Cargo?.. and you probably are :) .. My plan is to get to Kashgar and then enter Kyrgyzstan yes. As to further plans I have a few suggested routes somewhere on my pc.. but I' still open with all this. I'd like to exit into Iran and then Turkey, or Azerbaijan and then Georgia if there are problems with the Iranian visa.

Keep me informed of your progress, and enjoy Nepal!

If you need somewhere safe to keep the bike once in Thamel - then check out the Tibet guest house. They were good enough to let me park my bike there, even though I'm not a current guest.

Cheers!
Drew

Hey Drew,

I haven't made any progress but regress lately: when I was in Bangkok to organize the transport - I'm using Excel Transport (Mr. Thira) as their quote was better - I had an accident with my motorbike. Well, if I'm lucky the guys at Barcelona Motors can fix it this week and the motorbike can still get shipped as scheduled.
The next issue is the Pakistani visa, which I thought I could get here in Singapore where I currently reside. It turned out today that they won't issue it because my residence permit for Singapore expires just at the time I want to visit Pakistan. In addition, they ask for a letter of invitation from a Pakistani citizen who explicitly vouches for me. Thus, I need to figure out how I'm gonna get the Pakistani visa from Germany. Sigh...

Cheers,
Kevin

Hey Kevin,

Bad luck bout your bike, hope you get it sorted.

I've met a guy from Melbourne who is looking at ferrying from Mumbai to the UAE and then into Iran. Looks like a good and easy alternative to Pakistan if doable I think.

Cheers!
Drew

KKH Update
 

The KKH is now open to all traffic, however a German group was turned back last week. They were asked to get an noc from the ministry of interior . The plan is to provide escort to all foreigners traveling on KKH between Behsam and Gilgit however this is still in the works and there is no clear policy yet. I'm told that it would be resolved in a week or so...
We are crossing into Pakistan next week and will see what the deal is when we get to Islamabad.

Kevin - is this you??? It's Sanne and Mark - we met in Krabi! So you have started your trip then? Regarding Pak visa - you can fedex your passport to the embassy in Germany - Frank the KTM rider did the same.

Does this mean like a regular car ferry..? because there probably isn't one. There was a thread about that very subject not so long ago.

Shipping the bike as freight should be possible, but out of India, especially by sea, I can almost guarantee that it will be a royal headache.

According to my information police is escorting the vehicles in convoys around Chillas area. We can always contact the NATCO and hotels in Gilgit for the latest information.
One thing is for sure traffic is running in convoys.
BTW the more scenic and shorter route, my favorite, via Babusar should be opening in June when the snows melt.