safety in Pakistan
 

Hello again,
here are some remarks about travelling in pakistan. i left pakistan on the 11.11.01 havin crossed it in 5 days. border crossing was no problem. you schould get at least 70 rupies for 10000 rials. dalbandin is a very unfriendly city and the army wont allow you to stay in the motel there. you will ride most of the time with armed escorts by the police or army (speed 50-70 kmph average). everyone i met was friendly, except 3 afghans at the border to india....
you MUST register in Quetta for your own safety (as they say..)- the office is next to the Lourdes Hotel (see lp) and you MUST register when leaving in Lahore. when you have found the lahore branch canal, go where the railways cross it. near there is a mosque with a green roof. turn west, go over the canal bridge, next to the mosque stay on this road till you reach the office on the right side (maybe 3-8km, not sure).
you must register, i met a lot of people who had to go back from the border, because they didn't let them through. i met one guy who managed to register for entry and exit in lahore in one session.
everyone tells you it is safe to travel, but why the escorts then. you will see posters of good old bin in the windows of shops.
on 17.11.01 ramadan starts and i wouldn't go after this date as tensions are usually higher in ramadan, especially if the usa continue to bomb. when you want to go it's your own decision alone and i don't say its perfectly safe nor you will be killed there, its up to you, don't get me wrong. i saw two demonstrations and i wouldn't travel on fridays (prayer, demo and strike time).
p.s.: i changed money on the pakistani side, the best offer was 70 pakistani rupie for 10000 iranian rial

[This message has been edited by Frank Amberger (edited 16 November 2001).]

Frank - you're crazy.. but I'm sure the journey will be well remembered for ever! Good one mate

Brilliant Frank.

I was hoping to hear of somebody who had decided to go through regardless of the grief. Thanks for the info. A few questions though.

Were you continuously escorted through the entire country? How much independence were you given (if any)? Ýt kinda sounds like cattle being herded.

Ý am still keen to cross overland. As much as to avoid the hassle of shipping as well as having that continuity of overland travel.
Ýn a way the convoy scenario at least sounds safe in that it negates bandits & roadblocks as I had read had occured on the Karakoram Highway by Taliban sympathsisers.

Any additional feedback would be most welcome. I enter Ýran tomorrow from here in Doðubayzýt.

Graeme

hello graeme,

i was ecorted from around sibi to multan.
while escorted you can stopp whenever you want, as they will do so too. exploring a town and stopping lots are obviously not such a good idea i thought as i didn't want to piss them off....
i spoke to a german on a r100gs (gregor) who said that the area aroung lorelai (spelling?) isn't such a good place to be, so i choose the south route. riding in a convoy is really tedious work, as they drive with around 60kmph or they're speeding like headless i..... (100kmph). when i compare my expierience with gregors who went in 2 weeks earlier the security measures have stepped up quite a bit, as he was able to ride without escort except a very small part.
another problem might be ramadan wich has started on the 17.11. tensions are usually higher then. you must know what you do. i did it not so much rationally, but because i had to....
you have my best wisches whereever you go,
ride safely and lets meet for a beer in india,
frank

[This message has been edited by Frank Amberger (edited 19 November 2001).]