Day 30-32 Multan to Lahore to Amritsar


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August 6th 2010
Published: August 6th 2010
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Monsoon WeatherMonsoon WeatherMonsoon Weather

And we finally got rain and minor flooding - it is the Monsoon season after all
Day 30 Multan to Lahore (Mon 2nd Aug)

No point wasting our time in Multan, where we can’t even go for a walk, so we head off early for Lahore. It wasn’t too long a drive and we made it to Lahore in plenty of time.

On the way in to our hotel, we went past a pizza hut and Domino’s - so guess where everyone went for dinner? I still wasn’t feeling great (though definitely better) so I skipped that and stuck with digestive biscuits and Berocca. A good nutrition diet.

They did have a laundry service here though, so everyone made use of that. It’s good to have 2 nights somewhere, just so we all have clean clothes!



Day 31 Lahore

Waking up today, I was happy to notice I no longer feel sick - yay! Poor Jo unfortunately couldn’t say the same. I do however seem to have very rusty joints and decided against going too far. We took a walk around to hotel area, mainly looking for a place to change some money for a couple of people. We asked at a few banks but they didn’t exchange money until
Group PhotoGroup PhotoGroup Photo

Amjad (Pakistan guide), Jo, Ali, Driver, Aisleen, Sean, Lynn, Richard, Stephen, Tomas, Jana, Norma, AJ, and Heather
we came to one who offered to arrange it for us. So we all sat down in air conditioning (our police escort made himself comfortable with the bank guards at the door) and had a cup of tea while the bank sent someone out to change money for us. It was really comfy actually and we did contemplate staying longer...

Heading back to the hotel, we stopped at a bookshop. You should have seen how excited everyone was to be able to peruse so many books in English! We spent nearly an hour in there cooling off and collecting a few books for the long drives ahead. There is now quite a library on the coach actually.

Most of the group went to watch the closing of the border with India but I opted to get a bit of rest. At 2100 we all met up to have cake for Tomas, whose birthday it is today. We had a bit of music, a couple gifts, and lots of photos.



Day 32 Lahore to Amritsar (Wed 4th Aug)

Up for an 0800 start today as we are crossing into India. The border was not far
Indian BorderIndian BorderIndian Border

Yes, my life fits into this bag...
away at all and we made good time. At the border we unloaded all our luggage, said goodbye to our guide and driver, took a few photos, and headed off for the gates out of Pakistan.

So - first we had to scan all our luggage. Then we had to get our exit stamps. Then we walked out of the customs office to the gates of Pakistan, a couple hundred meters away. The guards here checked our passports and let us out of the country. However getting in to India was another story.

At the gates of India they checked our visas and took down the information. Into a ledger. By hand. Very slowly.

And then we were off to the customs building where we had to fill in a boarding card and which they then had to process. By hand. Very slowly.

Eventually we were passed through to have our bags scanned again. One item at a time. Very slowly.

We then had to separate into groups according to nationality and fill in customs forms which were duly checked by the officer there and the information recorded. Into a ledger. By hand. Very slowly.
The Golden WallThe Golden WallThe Golden Wall

What exactly do they use this hotel room for generally?


When we were finally done here, we had to head out to the gate where they checked our customs forms and our passports and eventually we were in India!! Yay!! You have no idea how much of an accomplishment that felt, just to finally get through the gate into India.

And here we boarded our new coach for our shortish drive to Amritsar, only about 30km away. But man is the traffic really something here in India. There are trucks, and buses, cars, tuktuk’s, motorcycles, rickshaws, cows, bicycles, and pedestrians. The roadways are a free-for-all for all these forms of transportation which is all a bit mad really.

The coach is quite a nice one but the suspension in the back leaves much to be desired. If anyone wants my advice? Pack a sports bra if you plan on driving roads like these!!

So after settling in to our hotel, which was quite nice despite having no showers (only waist high taps in the bathroom), we head out to change some money and eat. We managed to find a restaurant that did a wide variety of foods, including Italian - so yay I can eat something
Tuktuk RideTuktuk RideTuktuk Ride

Like a mini roller coaster
besides bread here!

After a delicious meal, we all jumped on some tuktuks for a trip to the Golden Temple. The tuktuk ride was a lot of fun just by itself and driving those roads through that traffic is like being on a roller coaster - except the possibility of hitting something is a bit higher!

The Golden temple itself though is amazing! You have never seen the like. You have to take off your shoes and cover your hair before washing your feet and going in...

Inside is a massive courtyard where everything is marble except the temple itself, which is in the middle of a “Lake” with a narrow walkway from one side. We spent an hour there walking around and taking pictures (no pictures inside the temple though). We saw the lights change as the sun set and it was simply beautiful.

Some of the group had decided to stay the night there, which you can do. I was happy just to see it though, and wanted to sleep in a bed. So Heather, Norma, Tomas and I took a tuktuk back to the hotel around 2100.

Apparently no one actually managed to stay the night, they all came back between 2230 and 0230, with Sean managing the longest.






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15th November 2010

Multan to Lahore to Amritsar
Multan is one of the most historical city of Pakistan.It attracts many tourist toward it due to historical places.This is nice blog.Thanks for sharing.

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