http://www.horizonsunlimited.com/tstories/alex/ UK to India 2009-2010 en-us Installment III - crossing the Kavir desert and reaching the cosmopolitan Esfahan. http://www.horizonsunlimited.com/tstories/alex/004282.php Instalment IV of the Iranian saga - the desert town of Yazd, meeting other travellers for the first time, doing the organised tour bit, frolicking around with another biker for a change and, inevitably, getting confused. http://www.horizonsunlimited.com/tstories/alex/004283.php Installment V of the Iran saga - the very super jumbo ultra fabulously fantastically beautifully splendidly exquisite (not) Shiraz. http://www.horizonsunlimited.com/tstories/alex/004287.php Installment VI of the Iran saga - playing in the sand* in the Lut Desert, enjoying the peace and quiet of the desert night (if only...), meeting children & taking the road to Bam. *Yeah, it doesn't sound so cool when you have a stuck 300kg bike to pull out... http://www.horizonsunlimited.com/tstories/alex/004288.php Installment VII - and final - of the Iran saga. My last few days in the country - relaxing and gathering my thoughts in Bam, meeting other bikers, throwing very un-Alex-like tantrums over Sistan-Va-Baluchistan's police conduct and (yes, it came to this!) FINALLY getting out of the country while (silently) using language that would make a sailor blush. http://www.horizonsunlimited.com/tstories/alex/004291.php Leaving Iran behind, I find myself traveling with a group of 3 other bikers into the whizzing, mystic land that is Pakistan. This is what happened from the moment we set foot in the Taftan border till we reached Lahore, one long week later. http://www.horizonsunlimited.com/tstories/alex/004294.php Traveling without police escorts - a welcome change. Being taken in by a lovely family in Islamabad, getting some time to relax, my first tyre puncture, a splendid wedding with good people, checking out Lahore and, just like that, getting out of the country. Next stop, India. http://www.horizonsunlimited.com/tstories/alex/004295.php Out of Pakistan and into India. A sea of people, some of them too willing to jump on the bike, others polite and courteous, crowd control at the border with the local propaganda minister shouting at the hooligans to shout against the evil enemy even louder and then some more chaos in the Sikh pilgrimage city of Amritsar. This is INDIAAAAA! http://www.horizonsunlimited.com/tstories/alex/004363.php Surviving Delhi, receiving the good doctor and traveling south through Rajasthan. http://www.horizonsunlimited.com/tstories/alex/004364.php Gujarat, where the Indian leg of the trip started looking up... finally breaking the "tourist" treatment by meeting Gujaratis and accepting their endless hospitality. Good days in the Nal Sarovar bird sanctuary, recovery of our health, getting back to Ahmedabad, meeting a magnificent group of people in Gandhinagar, being chaperoned all the way to Jamnagar, some publicity, lots of bewildered looks, exploring the coast of Gujarat, seeing free Asiatic Lions and crocodiles, the sole captured male pregnant leopard in the universe, loving nature on a deserted beach, getting our chins up, having a highway accident and recovering with a little help from our friends. http://www.horizonsunlimited.com/tstories/alex/004366.php India - the Gandhinagar days. Gandhinagar is the administrative capital of the state of Gujarat, a city designed and built in the 60's. It's also where the home of Chaitanya, Anjana, Mahavir, Alok and many other people that made this leg of the trip worthwhile is. I take the time to recuperate and spend some quality time with them before taking the road south. http://www.horizonsunlimited.com/tstories/alex/004372.php Leaving the warmth of Gandhinagar behind, I travel for two days to reach India's largest city, fighting with the cultural and survival challenges India throws at me all along. http://www.horizonsunlimited.com/tstories/alex/004373.php A typical day in Mumbai, trying to arrange the shipment of the bike back to Europe. This blog entry was written on the day of the events and is published at a later date just to keep blog entries in chronological order. http://www.horizonsunlimited.com/tstories/alex/004386.php The final stop of my trip. Mumbai, largest city in India, huge port to the West. The city where I thought I'd have the best chances of painlessly arranging for the transport of the bike back to Europe. Oh, but how wrong I was... http://www.horizonsunlimited.com/tstories/alex/004388.php An open invitation to everyone subscribed to the UK2India blog for the next trip! http://www.horizonsunlimited.com/tstories/alex/005111.php