HI Everyone from the Headquarters of the Axis of Evil ... where death really does lurk around every corner.
Before ... I was in Quetta, Pakistan over 600km from the Iranian border and just about to on get a train ...
The twice monthly train left at midday - except of course that it didn't. There was a 3-hour wait which ended when some important looking plain clothes policeman came on board to check my passport - apparently having it checked by ordinary policeman was insufficient. I wasn't aware that the train was waiting because of me (ıt left as soon as I had my passport checked), but no-one seemed very bothered - there were only 3 other passengers (all locals) so we all had loads of room to lay around. Disasterously they had only brought one prayer mat between them which they had to share in rotation so prayer-time 5-times a day lasted about an hour each time. They had to face mecca each time but luckily they didnt have to keep moving it cos the track was dead straight all the way! Most Pakistanis are religious, do pray and wished they lived in a 'proper' Islamic state like Iran.
We crossed flat desert and more flat desert. Surprisingly the track had been washed away by heavy rains and had only just been repaired so progress was very slow especially across the bit where one guy was ankle deep in water next to the track holding a green flag presumably ready to change it to red if the track started to slip. I didnt really expect the train to be on time. It was due to arrive at the border at about midday the next day; it didnt make it there at midday or that afternoon or that evening. I am told it got there at 5am the next morning (3rd day) but I was asleep. I could not be bothered to wait for the whole train and goods wagons to clear the border and carry on so I got off and went across on foot, into Iran...
Now we all know that Iran is a dangerous place full of hard line Islamic Iranians who will happily lynch a foreigner especially if they are from USA or UK. However,this may not be entirely true - in fact nothing could be further from the truth. However, there are a few things you should know about Iran...
The Law!
In public it is illegal for:
- men (or women) to wear shorts (unless at a segregated swimming area or involved in sport - football seems to be the only sport which anyone actually plays)
- men to wear sleeveless tops
- women to wear short sleeves
- for females over 9 years old to take off their hejab or headscarf.
- women not to have a coat covering their bums
- males and females to hold hands unless they are married - occasional touching of shoulders appears to be tolerated though (men happily hold hands with other men and women with women)
- dance with opposite sex
- sing
- play music ...
In private it is still illegal (though that doesn't mean they dont happen) to:
- Drink alcohol
- gamble
- watch films with sex in
- have satellite TV
The penalty for a foreigner having sex with an Iranian women is death!
In reality:
- Iran is very westernised.
- Most Iranians hate the rules and are not actively religious (I didnt see a single prayer mat in Iran!)
- Many Iranians think the Islamic revolution in 1979 was a mistake.
- The mullahs (religious leaders who run the country) are effectively running a military dictatorship and are very corrupt.
- Bush and Blair are often well respected and many hope Bush does invade and kick out the present regime.
- The Iran Lonely Planet guidebook entry under 'Discos and Nightclubs' is very short and simply reads 'Dream on.' - Those things that are illegal in public are pretty much stuck to as there are loads of police around to enforce them.
- Whatever you can get away with in private is OK!
- Men and women are segregated on buses and are not allowed to sit next to each other unless related - although in a shared taxi or on a train no-one seems to care about that.
- Women allways have their heads covered in public (unless in a very deserted spot), 80% of women wear all black (less in Tehran) often black capes which they have to hold closed with their hands, or if they are carrying things, with their teeth!
- Many Iranians really believe that the current dictatorship was put in place by, and is under the control of, Great Britain!
So, it is a great irony that Iran is a very strict Islamic state, cos most Iranians are not even that religious.
I should mention at this point that there are 2 types of Iranians: Those driving cars and those not driving cars.
- Iranians driving cars
These are very dangerous people who will try not to stop at any time. Unfortunately Iran, and Tehran in particular, is full of cars and hence Iran and Tehran are very dangerous places to be. Every time I crossed the street in Tehran I knew I was taking my life in my hands - basically you have to use the 'Saigon method' (dont look just walk and presume/hope/pray that everythýng will miss you). This works in Saigon (Vietnam) with motorcycles which can easily swerve around you at the last moment and almost always do. However in Tehran they have cars which are wide and do not swerve round you at any moment. So the only solution is to walk straight into the road (there is no point in stoppýng at the kerb cos there will never be a gap) and walk straight across, giving the impression that you are not going to stop for anything and havent even looked to see whats coming, whilst being confident in the knowledge that the cars heading for you MIGHT stop, and of course keeping an eye out for the car that comes hammering round the corner and is not going to stop/couldnt stop in time anyway, so you can jump out of the way at the last moment. I have seen more accidents in Iran in a month than in the rest of my life. Everyone drives like this. Iran is a dangerous place!
- Iranians not driving cars
These people are incredibly friendly and will immediately sympathise with you about how bad the driving is. Then they will ask you where you are from and wonder what the hell you want to visit Iran for. Then they will show you tremendous hospitality which would be unheard of in the west including feeding you,paying for you and even let you stay in a spare apartment (with sauna and swimming pool etc ... more later).
So, I am in Iran and haven't been lynched (it isn't anythýng like what we are lead to believe in the media). There was some stuff to see:
- Bam - the first stop in Iran. This was hope to a beautiful mud city but in December 2003 it was flattened by a huge earthquake. A huge amount of aid flowed into the town from inside and outside of Iran but most of it seems to have 'disappeared' and the sad reality is that it looks as if the earhquake happened just one month ago. Most buildings were destoyed and the remaining ones look very wobbly but they have not been pulled down yet. Only a few small houses have been rebuilt and most people are still living in Red Crescent tents. The bazaar is a line of metal heavy goods containers - the doors are opened at one end and you have a shop.
- The Desert - Nearly every day in Iran I woke up to find that I was (once again) in a desert and surrounded by mountains, very hot durýng the day and cold at night. Parts of the desert are tediously featureless but other parts are incredibly interesting with oases, sand dunes carved by the wind, colourful rocks and date palms. And, when the wind stops blowing, peace.
- Persepolis - A city built 2,500 years ago although there is not so much there now. But it has a few buildings, columns, statues, stairways with carvings etc.
- Indoor Bazaars - Everytown has one and most claim to be hundreds of years old. They are nice not because of what they contain (they are just shops really) but because they are about the only place where there are no cars! However motorbikes get ridden through the often narrow passageways at high speed instead.
- Mosques - These were not in short supply and I could go on at some length about how incredible they all are. Many are 500 years or more old and are covered in mosaics tiles of brilliant colours, as bright as they were the day they were made, the arches describing beautiful shapes and reveal crisp stalactite mouldings ... I could go on but suffice to say that if you like blue tiles then you'll love them.
- Teahouses - Nearly always full of men smoking water pipes and occasionally drinking tea. Many of them are very old in superbly atmospheric underground caverns and one was even between the piers of a bridge not much above water level; unfortunately it was windy and so we did get a bit wet from time to time from the spray.
- No Ruz (New Year) - Unfortunately I ended up in Iran at the one time in the year when everyone (the locals) travels. The Persian calander is different to ours in terms of years, months, and days, but luckily they do have 7 days in a week. New Year is on 21 March except that this year it was actually on 20 March just after 4pm in the afternoon (it depends on the position of the sun). I was staying in a tiny village in the desert at the time - we all gathered round looking at the 7 things beginning with S (in Persian) to bring good luck for the next year and then suddenly it was new year! No alcohol, no party poppers, no Big Ben, no music, dancing or celebration. It just was New Year!
So Iran is a fascinating country full of interesting things and culture and really friendly people ...
...There are some annoying things though (apart from the laws and the driving):
- About 50% of cars are Paykans - replicas of Hillman Hunters, and nearly all are white, produce incredible pollution and are very inefficient (but petrol is only about 10 US cents (5p) a litre).
- The Iranian currency in the rial, which all banknotes are denominated in. However, Iranians nearly always quote prices in tuman (a tuman in 10 rials). This get more than a bit confusing cos I had to keep losing and adding a zero every time I spent any money - and off course unless you are careful you end up being charged 10 times more than you thought.
... And I did have some bad experiences:
The Bug - On the way back from a day in the dunes in the desert I was happily sitting in the back of a 4wd when I was suddenly bitten/stung, by something unknown, on my finger. It really hurt so we stopped the car and had a look to see what it was but could find nothing. We drove for another hour and by then it was still really painful, even though my finger had gone numb and my arm wasnt feeling great either. So we stopped at a very rural hospital and, cos they couldnt decide what it was either, ended up having 2 injection in my arms. And the Iranian Health Service? Basic - but I recovered.
The Razor - One of the biggest pains when travellýng is buses that arrive very early in the morning. In this case getting to Shiraz (where the wine grape originates - but of course it is illegal to make wine out of it here) all the bus companies left at 8pm so they could all get to Shiraz at 3.30am!!! Even the locals didnt know why. So having no choice I caught the bus and once in Shiraz decided to sleep at the bus station until it was light, locking my daysac to my backpack via a cable which secured the whole lot to a bench. I woke up to find a man leaning over my bags in a suspicious way so I yelled at him and he dissapeared. It was only when it got light that I found a razor blade which had been dropped on my bag and the handle of my daysac had been sliced through leaving me very close to having lost a lot of stuff. I didnt sleep in any bus stations after that!
The Lift - On the way back from the desert to reality I got a lift to a village where I was told the bus went at 3pm. It actually went at 1.30pm so I was left to try and hitch a lift or wait for a bus passing through. Hours passed and no buses came and no one willing to give me a lift - most of the cars were packed full of families on their way home from Mashad (holiest place in Iran). After 5 hours (8pm) it was dark and I was still looking at a 7 or 8 hour journey to get to my destination, I was slumped by the side of the road and had given up trying to get a lift when a taxi stopped in front of me. He asked me where I was going, I asked how much, but he said no charge. Unfortunately the small car (a Paykan of course) was already packed with his family and all their things (returning from Mashad). Car full, boot full. No problem, they took enough stuff from the boot to fit my backpack in, crammed themselves and their stuff into the back seat and I got in the front. I couldn,t believe how lucky I was after waiting that long. Then less than 100 metres down the road, it ran out of petrol! We eventually got going and after that lift, waiting at a roundabout to catch a bus at about midnight, and a taxi ride I eventually found a bed at 3am.
Eventually I went to Tehran to some great hospıtalıty ... more about that next time ...
Love
Ankur / Pete
Showing posts with label Pakistan. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Pakistan. Show all posts
Wednesday, 20 April 2005
Monday, 14 March 2005
Where 32 - Quetta, Pakistan --OR-- India v Pakistan
HI folks,
At last - and not without a good deal of hassle and money - I have a visa for Iran. For many nationalities it is not a problem, but they dont like giving them to Brits. I have only met one other Brit in Pakistan, and he gave up trying and went back to India.
There are not too many foreigners travelling in Pakistan - I have met about 25 with most of those (for some unknown reason) being S.Korean or Japanese. Most countries do not turn out to what I expect and Pakistan is no exception to that. But first there was a bit more of India ...
Amritsar - Even by Indian standards, this place is a tip. If it didnt have a very small golden temple (and wasn't next to the only land border crossing to Pakistan) then no foreigner would ever go there. But this small 2 up, 2 down house is the centre of the Sikh religion. To make it seem more important they covered it in a huge amount of gold and put it on an island in a lake (a big tank of water really) with a causeway so believers (and non-believers for that matter) dont get their feet wet. It is the opposite to the rest of India - they dont charge you to go in, it is very serene, they give you free food and accommodation, and they let anyone go into the inner sanctum. As pennance everyone has to take their shoes and socks off even it it is freezing cold, and wear a brightly covered headscarf (provided free of course). It is the smallest 'most important' place I have been to and maybe is the more impressive because of that - worth popping in if you happen to be up that way.
Nearby, the border with Pakistan consists of huge amounts of barbed wire with one single crossing point. It is pretty quiet - that is, until the closing of the border ceremony. This is an incredibly coordinated dance by soldiers from two countries who dislike each other intensely. The impressiveness of the height of the goosestep (about head height) is only challenged by the remarkable brevity of the salutes and handshakes they exchange just before the lower their respective flags and slam the gates shut. The whole affair has become a spectacle with grandstands being built on both sides which fill with supporters who come to cheer on their country.
Then into Pakistan. The border crossing is the cleanest, best cared for and (outside the closing ceremony) quietest I have seen, mainly because locals from both sides cannot cross it and there are hardly any foreigners stupid enough to want to. The no-mans land measures about 1 metre inbetween two impressive pairs of gates belonging to the respective countries.
The Difference between Pakistan and India
- I was told the two countries were very different (they parted when the old India gained independence from Britain in 1947), but I have to say that there is more the same than different - The rubbish, air-pollution, dirt, poverty, beggars... I could go on (and probably will).
The cows
- The first thing I noticed about Pakistan was that there are no cows wandering the streets - here cows get eaten before they stray very far (a lot of Muslims here). However to make up for that (and to ensure a reasonable spread of 'manure') the streets are filled with stacks of donkey and carts, horse and carts, cow and carts and even a few camels (and carts).
The Pollution
- Because Pakistan has a large number of donkey and carts, horse and carts, cow and carts and even a few camels (and carts) which do not add (much) to air pollution, the remaining motor transport is desperate to jack up the levels by chucking out clouds of choking exhaust fumes. They are so successful in this that the pollution levels exceed even India (they have to try and beat India at everything, only occasionally do they succeed).
- In the cities and towns the rubbish is everywhere and it stinks (just like India). However in the countryside there are green fields and stuff like 'nature' without any rubbish (unlike India).
The People
- The are the most hospitable imaginable. They are forever inviting you to eat with them and they wont accept any contribution. One guy sat next to me on a minbus and we talked for about 30 seconds and he insisted on paying the fare for me as I was his guest. At street stalls vendors have refused to accept payment or undercharged me! A refreshing change from the normal attitude to foreigners in other countries (India springs to mind).
The Food
- Foodwise, from India to Pakistan is like going from oasis to desert (or should that be dessert given the local sweet tooth). A diet of pure veg has turned into pure chips, naan bread, chicken kebabs and ice-cream - although most of the time it tastes OK, it is not very healthy. Trying to get veg food is a wate of time, so my body had to make the sudden adjustment to a carniverous diet.
- Once I realised that 90% of people eat from the stalls on the street and that it is almost impossible to avoid eating meat then I started to understand the food much better. However, trying to avoid all the stuff that looks dodgy means I have got pretty hungry. And breakfast - forget it. Luckily I managed to find some Weetabix and milk so for a few days I was happy.
- Amazingly, even after eating all this dodgy stuff I have still not got ill, although I do feel I am clinging onto my health by my (remaining) fingernails.
The Travelling
- The driving here is the worst - really really appalling. I have seen several road accidents in the few weeks I have been here - all because nobody has any respect for other road users. One local guy told me 10% of people drive responsibly, the other 90% are dangerous. He was one of the 10% surprisingly enough; I just want to know where the rest of the 10% are... - What is the maximum number of Pakistanis that fit into/onto/clinging to a minibus? Trick question obviously - there is no maximum.
- Why dont Pakistanis have knees? Because there is no maximum number of Pakistanis that fit into/onto/clinging to a minibus.
- Travelling by road here is a bit of a pain in the neck, bum, knees, back, feet, head, ankles, spine etc. But it is cheap!
- Perhaps that is why foreigners get 25% off train travel - but this is such a pain to actually get with a lot of forms to fill in and loads of waiting around that hardly anyone bothers - the trains are pretty cheap anyway. They are also slow and infrequent.
The Religion
- Everyone (bar a very few Christains) is Islamic (as oppose to mainly Hindu in India). If you declare that you are not then they try and convert you straightaway. They haven't had much luck with me though.
- The old guys that dye their hair and beards bright red. I thought for a moment it was Scottish/Irish ancestory but apparently it is all done with henna. Then they let it grow out and they have two tone hair and beards in red and grey - very strange. I was told it was a religious thing but then I saw water buffalo and goats who had the same thiing done to them (yes they looked very strange) and the locals were stumped for an explanation! I dont think the women do it but since I have seen only a few womens heads (most are covered) I cant really say.
- A group of us foreigners went to a 'celebration' where some of the men, in a show of their devoutness, tie small knifes to strings and whip their backs. I'm not opposed to a bit of masocism but the amount of blood on the ground, bloodstained shirts and congealed blood and scars on their backs was a bit much. The intensity near the main place where this was going on got a bit much and even after getting through 4 security checks we were refused entry at the 5th cos we were westeners - even though we were all wearing local clothes and trying deperately to look like locals!!! The atmosphere was unbelieveably charged with religious tension, and I was really afraid that if one local turned on us with an anti western diatribe then everyone else would have followed suit - and we would have been in BIG trouble - I'm not sure the large numbers of police around would have helped us a lot. I was glad to get out unscathed anyway.
The Women
- There is segregation of the sexes in some places. A man is not allowed to sit next to a women on a bus, but compartments on trains are mixed - none of the locals understand that either.
- If I am with a foreign female (and there aren't many travelling here) we have to say that we are married (even if I have only met her 2 mins before) else the locals get very confused and she could get a lot of hassle - cos women simply don't go around on their own.
- Talking to local women, even just to ask directions, is virtually taboo. Not that I have seen too many about outside the big cities. Wandering around looking like they have nothing to do is firmly the man's job!
The Mountains
- This is what people come to Pakistan for - stunning scenery, beautiful peaks etc. Unfortunately not only is this not the absolute best time of the year to go trekking in the mountains (cos it is winter and it is very cold), but this winter has seen the most snow for over a hundred years.
- Also we were told it was too dangerous to venture off the road without an armed guard. In many places the police are non-existant so these are essentially lawless areas, and in tribal areas they have no legal jurastiction anyway.
- I joined a group of locals and made it up to a town that was 3 metres deep in snow but since the road was closed by huge avalanches we had to walk up part of the way. The town had been , and still was, cut off for over a month and food was being flown in by helicopter. As there was no where to stay up there we had to get back down the same day. Unfortunately I trusted the locals to know when it would get dark - and we ended up struggling over frozen avalanches in the dark - not recommended! (but standard practice in Pakistan).
- Whilst walking a long a clear section of road (in the light) we heard a 'ssshhh' sound above us and looked up to see a huge boulder (about the size of a car) heading straight for us. Luckily we had got at least 20m away by the time it bounced on the road and carried on down the valley.
The Kyber Pass
- The traditional route between Pakistan and Afghanistan is still a pretty dangerous place so a small group of us had to have an armed guard just to go there. It is quite easy to get a visa, but when we got to a viewpoint overlooking the border into Afghanistan we could see that it was raining there, so we decided not to go!
- On the road to the border there is aplace called 'Smuggler's Bazaar' where apart from the usual electrical goods there are shops packed with guns and drugs, all seemingly legal and all very cheap - a locally produced AK47 assault rifle costs British Pounds 50. Taking either outside the immediate area however is not a good idea.
The Tombs
Pakistan is not awash with sites to see but I did manage to see some 14th Century tombs. The main one had been half washed away by a flood 200 years ago but as it was circular, from some angles it looked complete. It was covered in blue and white tiles in beatiful mosaics. If the Taj Mahal was a body building in his prime with perfect form but lacking depth, this was a gnarled old man with personality - not in the best repair but he had tons of charcter.
Quetta
The last outpost on the road to Iran - there is nowhere bigger than a village inbetween but Iran is over 600km away. Inbetween there is just desert - and a bus journey of 15 hours on a terrible road. Luckily there is also a train - this takes 24 hours if it is on time and at this time of year it could be delayed by a lot! There are not a lot of people going that way so there is only one train every two weeks; And it leaves tomorrow, so I had better be on it. This could be the journey from hell!
So, if all goes well then I should be in Iran by Wednesday 16th March. It could be an interesting month...
Love
Ankur/Pete
At last - and not without a good deal of hassle and money - I have a visa for Iran. For many nationalities it is not a problem, but they dont like giving them to Brits. I have only met one other Brit in Pakistan, and he gave up trying and went back to India.
There are not too many foreigners travelling in Pakistan - I have met about 25 with most of those (for some unknown reason) being S.Korean or Japanese. Most countries do not turn out to what I expect and Pakistan is no exception to that. But first there was a bit more of India ...
Amritsar - Even by Indian standards, this place is a tip. If it didnt have a very small golden temple (and wasn't next to the only land border crossing to Pakistan) then no foreigner would ever go there. But this small 2 up, 2 down house is the centre of the Sikh religion. To make it seem more important they covered it in a huge amount of gold and put it on an island in a lake (a big tank of water really) with a causeway so believers (and non-believers for that matter) dont get their feet wet. It is the opposite to the rest of India - they dont charge you to go in, it is very serene, they give you free food and accommodation, and they let anyone go into the inner sanctum. As pennance everyone has to take their shoes and socks off even it it is freezing cold, and wear a brightly covered headscarf (provided free of course). It is the smallest 'most important' place I have been to and maybe is the more impressive because of that - worth popping in if you happen to be up that way.
Nearby, the border with Pakistan consists of huge amounts of barbed wire with one single crossing point. It is pretty quiet - that is, until the closing of the border ceremony. This is an incredibly coordinated dance by soldiers from two countries who dislike each other intensely. The impressiveness of the height of the goosestep (about head height) is only challenged by the remarkable brevity of the salutes and handshakes they exchange just before the lower their respective flags and slam the gates shut. The whole affair has become a spectacle with grandstands being built on both sides which fill with supporters who come to cheer on their country.
Then into Pakistan. The border crossing is the cleanest, best cared for and (outside the closing ceremony) quietest I have seen, mainly because locals from both sides cannot cross it and there are hardly any foreigners stupid enough to want to. The no-mans land measures about 1 metre inbetween two impressive pairs of gates belonging to the respective countries.
The Difference between Pakistan and India
- I was told the two countries were very different (they parted when the old India gained independence from Britain in 1947), but I have to say that there is more the same than different - The rubbish, air-pollution, dirt, poverty, beggars... I could go on (and probably will).
The cows
- The first thing I noticed about Pakistan was that there are no cows wandering the streets - here cows get eaten before they stray very far (a lot of Muslims here). However to make up for that (and to ensure a reasonable spread of 'manure') the streets are filled with stacks of donkey and carts, horse and carts, cow and carts and even a few camels (and carts).
The Pollution
- Because Pakistan has a large number of donkey and carts, horse and carts, cow and carts and even a few camels (and carts) which do not add (much) to air pollution, the remaining motor transport is desperate to jack up the levels by chucking out clouds of choking exhaust fumes. They are so successful in this that the pollution levels exceed even India (they have to try and beat India at everything, only occasionally do they succeed).
- In the cities and towns the rubbish is everywhere and it stinks (just like India). However in the countryside there are green fields and stuff like 'nature' without any rubbish (unlike India).
The People
- The are the most hospitable imaginable. They are forever inviting you to eat with them and they wont accept any contribution. One guy sat next to me on a minbus and we talked for about 30 seconds and he insisted on paying the fare for me as I was his guest. At street stalls vendors have refused to accept payment or undercharged me! A refreshing change from the normal attitude to foreigners in other countries (India springs to mind).
The Food
- Foodwise, from India to Pakistan is like going from oasis to desert (or should that be dessert given the local sweet tooth). A diet of pure veg has turned into pure chips, naan bread, chicken kebabs and ice-cream - although most of the time it tastes OK, it is not very healthy. Trying to get veg food is a wate of time, so my body had to make the sudden adjustment to a carniverous diet.
- Once I realised that 90% of people eat from the stalls on the street and that it is almost impossible to avoid eating meat then I started to understand the food much better. However, trying to avoid all the stuff that looks dodgy means I have got pretty hungry. And breakfast - forget it. Luckily I managed to find some Weetabix and milk so for a few days I was happy.
- Amazingly, even after eating all this dodgy stuff I have still not got ill, although I do feel I am clinging onto my health by my (remaining) fingernails.
The Travelling
- The driving here is the worst - really really appalling. I have seen several road accidents in the few weeks I have been here - all because nobody has any respect for other road users. One local guy told me 10% of people drive responsibly, the other 90% are dangerous. He was one of the 10% surprisingly enough; I just want to know where the rest of the 10% are... - What is the maximum number of Pakistanis that fit into/onto/clinging to a minibus? Trick question obviously - there is no maximum.
- Why dont Pakistanis have knees? Because there is no maximum number of Pakistanis that fit into/onto/clinging to a minibus.
- Travelling by road here is a bit of a pain in the neck, bum, knees, back, feet, head, ankles, spine etc. But it is cheap!
- Perhaps that is why foreigners get 25% off train travel - but this is such a pain to actually get with a lot of forms to fill in and loads of waiting around that hardly anyone bothers - the trains are pretty cheap anyway. They are also slow and infrequent.
The Religion
- Everyone (bar a very few Christains) is Islamic (as oppose to mainly Hindu in India). If you declare that you are not then they try and convert you straightaway. They haven't had much luck with me though.
- The old guys that dye their hair and beards bright red. I thought for a moment it was Scottish/Irish ancestory but apparently it is all done with henna. Then they let it grow out and they have two tone hair and beards in red and grey - very strange. I was told it was a religious thing but then I saw water buffalo and goats who had the same thiing done to them (yes they looked very strange) and the locals were stumped for an explanation! I dont think the women do it but since I have seen only a few womens heads (most are covered) I cant really say.
- A group of us foreigners went to a 'celebration' where some of the men, in a show of their devoutness, tie small knifes to strings and whip their backs. I'm not opposed to a bit of masocism but the amount of blood on the ground, bloodstained shirts and congealed blood and scars on their backs was a bit much. The intensity near the main place where this was going on got a bit much and even after getting through 4 security checks we were refused entry at the 5th cos we were westeners - even though we were all wearing local clothes and trying deperately to look like locals!!! The atmosphere was unbelieveably charged with religious tension, and I was really afraid that if one local turned on us with an anti western diatribe then everyone else would have followed suit - and we would have been in BIG trouble - I'm not sure the large numbers of police around would have helped us a lot. I was glad to get out unscathed anyway.
The Women
- There is segregation of the sexes in some places. A man is not allowed to sit next to a women on a bus, but compartments on trains are mixed - none of the locals understand that either.
- If I am with a foreign female (and there aren't many travelling here) we have to say that we are married (even if I have only met her 2 mins before) else the locals get very confused and she could get a lot of hassle - cos women simply don't go around on their own.
- Talking to local women, even just to ask directions, is virtually taboo. Not that I have seen too many about outside the big cities. Wandering around looking like they have nothing to do is firmly the man's job!
The Mountains
- This is what people come to Pakistan for - stunning scenery, beautiful peaks etc. Unfortunately not only is this not the absolute best time of the year to go trekking in the mountains (cos it is winter and it is very cold), but this winter has seen the most snow for over a hundred years.
- Also we were told it was too dangerous to venture off the road without an armed guard. In many places the police are non-existant so these are essentially lawless areas, and in tribal areas they have no legal jurastiction anyway.
- I joined a group of locals and made it up to a town that was 3 metres deep in snow but since the road was closed by huge avalanches we had to walk up part of the way. The town had been , and still was, cut off for over a month and food was being flown in by helicopter. As there was no where to stay up there we had to get back down the same day. Unfortunately I trusted the locals to know when it would get dark - and we ended up struggling over frozen avalanches in the dark - not recommended! (but standard practice in Pakistan).
- Whilst walking a long a clear section of road (in the light) we heard a 'ssshhh' sound above us and looked up to see a huge boulder (about the size of a car) heading straight for us. Luckily we had got at least 20m away by the time it bounced on the road and carried on down the valley.
The Kyber Pass
- The traditional route between Pakistan and Afghanistan is still a pretty dangerous place so a small group of us had to have an armed guard just to go there. It is quite easy to get a visa, but when we got to a viewpoint overlooking the border into Afghanistan we could see that it was raining there, so we decided not to go!
- On the road to the border there is aplace called 'Smuggler's Bazaar' where apart from the usual electrical goods there are shops packed with guns and drugs, all seemingly legal and all very cheap - a locally produced AK47 assault rifle costs British Pounds 50. Taking either outside the immediate area however is not a good idea.
The Tombs
Pakistan is not awash with sites to see but I did manage to see some 14th Century tombs. The main one had been half washed away by a flood 200 years ago but as it was circular, from some angles it looked complete. It was covered in blue and white tiles in beatiful mosaics. If the Taj Mahal was a body building in his prime with perfect form but lacking depth, this was a gnarled old man with personality - not in the best repair but he had tons of charcter.
Quetta
The last outpost on the road to Iran - there is nowhere bigger than a village inbetween but Iran is over 600km away. Inbetween there is just desert - and a bus journey of 15 hours on a terrible road. Luckily there is also a train - this takes 24 hours if it is on time and at this time of year it could be delayed by a lot! There are not a lot of people going that way so there is only one train every two weeks; And it leaves tomorrow, so I had better be on it. This could be the journey from hell!
So, if all goes well then I should be in Iran by Wednesday 16th March. It could be an interesting month...
Love
Ankur/Pete
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