Blogs from Quetta, Pakistan, Asia
April 21st 2010
Sunday 16 April Yazd was a delightful place to stop and the hotel we eventually found was so peaceful and welcoming. The morning we were due to leave we walked around the small bazaar and the allies that offered up all sorts of small industries, from bread making to a butchers and even a bicycle store full of old rusted bikes that reminded me of an underwater scene, so eerie was the sight of these bikes. After fond farewells to the reception staff who had looked after us so well at the Hotel Fahazen, opposite the Prison Alexandre, we set off for Karmen. Now, we both knew that the next few days would be difficult as we were entering the far eastern areas of Iran, a land that few travellers know about or who have travelled ... read more
October 12th 2008
We left a terrible guide in Pakistan (he rejected our tip in the hope of getting a bigger one and then took it back when he didn't) to meet two wonderful ones in Pakistan. Pakistan is amazing; we literally crossed the border, stripped off our mantors (I do NOT recomend wearing a t shirt under a mantor in the middle of the desert btw but at least we got out of them sooner), got onto two small and wonderfully air conditioned buses, met our two lovely guides Bilal and Amjad, stopped for samosas and soft drinks before we had gone five minutes and basically completely failed to get bored for the eleven hour drive. There was a slight downpoint when I woke up without realising I'd been asleep to find all the curtains closed (so that ... read more
July 7th 2008
AsiaChinaGuangyuan Pass AsiaChinaWudu AsiaChinaLinxia AsiaChinaXiahe AsiaChinaTakkar AsiaChinaJiayuguan AsiaChinaKashgar AsiaPakistanKashmirPasu AsiaPakistanKashmirKarakoram AsiaPakistanDera Ghazi Khan AsiaPakistanQuetta AsiaPakistanLoralai AsiaIranBam AsiaIranBandar-e-Busher AsiaIranKandovan AsiaIranPersepolis AsiaIranShiraz AsiaTurkeyVan AsiaTurkeyNemrut Dag These are all the Areas of this amazing trip. For more pics and Info and pictures search ... read more
October 30th 2007
I guess the excitement began in Yazd, Iran, where all and sundry warned me about the road to Pakistan. You know about the Japanese tourist abducted while walking to the Arg from his hotel in Bam? In Bam, in Iran! Now just imagine the next 24 hours or so before you get to Quetta, through the lawless desert, the Baluchi and Afghan drug smuggling tribes and across the truly awful Taftan desert. And to reach where? Quetta, singled out on the Warning Pages as exceptionally dangerous and a "definitely don't go" zone. A little real traveling doesn't do anyone any harm, though. Especially after the past week of tourism, staying at nice hotels, eating at touristy joints, drinking tea for 1000 toman a pop, and taking taxis across town. Not that I minded it too much: ... read more
Giorno 43: attraversando il deserto del Beluchistan fino a Quetta
Published: December 3rd 2006Asia » Pakistan » Quetta
November 23rd 2006
ZAHEDAN La mattina presto siamo tutti e sei dal meccanico in attesa che il danno venga riparato, ansiosi di riprendere il viaggio. I ragazzi dell'officina si danno un gran da fare, Sebastian ed Ermanno seguono le operazioni intrattenendo tra una battuta e una risata...santi uomini!!! Nell'attesa prepariamo un buon cay e del pane fresco con marmellata e biscotti e facciamo colazione nel van. Dopo un paio d'ore il nostro bolide e' rimesso a nuovo, pronto per affrontare lunghi tragitti e mangiare Km. EVVIVA!! Tutti a bordo ragazzi, oggi passeremo il confine!!! E via si riparte. Di strada da fare ve n'e' un bel po' e a renderla ancora piu' lunga ci pensano le interminabili attese per via del cambio scorta obbligatorio della polizia iraniana. Ancora! Impieghiamo, per via delle varie soste e attese, 3 ore e ... read more
November 10th 2006
DI SCORTE E DI PREDONI Dove le strade non son strade, le donne non esiston e i semiasse si rompono Un buon viaggiatore non ha programmi fissi e il suo scopo non è arrivare. Lao-Tzu Lascio così Esfahan, con destinazione sempre più ad est, fino all'arrivo, dopo quattro ore di bus in mezzo al deserto, a YADZ Oasi incastonata tra i due deserti iraniani, è un importante centro per il culto zoroastriano. Appena sceso dal bus, vado diretto alla ricerca del Silk Road Hotel, il quale mi era stato consigliato da vari viaggiatori incontrati lungo il cammino. E la scelta si rivelerà veramente azzeccata: sicuramente il posto più accogliente di tutto l'Iran, ha un bel dormitorio e soprattutto una coorte interna dove poter stare un po' in santa pace. Qui la compagnia non manca: reincontro infatti ... read more
Smugglers,Taliban,Opium,Charas and lots and lots of sand - Balochistan (Bam to Quetta)
Published: August 25th 2006Asia » Pakistan » Quetta
August 24th 2006
It is now 11am and already unbearably hot. We have just left the border village of Mirjave after stopping for a cold juice and failing to find a money changer. We have no police escort as we decided to ignore the commands of the Iranian army at the checkpoint as we left Zahedan earlier this morning. We have cycled nearly 100km through the desert, thankfully without encountering any of the “terrorists” the soldiers seemed so paranoid about. As we reach the main road again for the last short haul to the Pakistan border we perceive an almighty commotion on the road ahead. As we get nearer we realise that the mass of revving, battered Toyota pick-ups full of Baluch and Pathan tribesmen actually has an army checkpoint in the middle of it. We try to negotiate ... read more
July 26th 2006
So after leaving the peace and quiet of Rumbur it was time for the horrible mission South and over the border to Iran. We cut up the journey by stopping for a night in Dir and then again in Peshawar on the way down. Then it was 23 hours of bus to get to Quetta. Thankfully it was a good bus, and the bus drivers and conductors were completely lovely. At every stop they would take us off the bus to a private room with fan, and put on a huge spread of Pakistani food, drinks and chai. It was the Pakistani hospitality at its warmest and most appreciated on such a journey. It was just mindblowing and humbling. Quetta was a hot, dusty, hellhole with no eletricity and some bung internet. We did meet some ... read more
January 23rd 2006
I got into Quetta at 12:30pm even though the train was supposed to get there at 9:30am. Once I got out of the station I took an auto and I asked them to take me to a bus that went to Tafton. Earlier, I was going to explore Quetta the whole day but as the train got late I had no choice but to skip it and keep moving. I was taken to this small shop and was told the bus to Tafton was leaving at 4pm and it costs PKR350/=. Well I felt it was reasonable so bought the ticket. I told them that I will pay PKR200/= now and the balance later just to make sure they were genuine. I left my backpack at the small shop and had 3 hours to explore Quetta. ... read more
