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After a very nice but very brief visit of Toudeshk we headed towards Yazd, one of the oldest towns in the world according to Unesco. Records show that there was a settlement here in 3000BC. The big attraction in Yazd is the historical town, a veritable labyrinth of small passageways in which one can easily get lost. It is even easier to get stuck…
We succeeded in finding a modest room in a not so modest hotel…
With impressive views from up top…
It was in Yazd that we took our final decision to cross Pakistan. Up until that point we were not 100 percent sure we would make the crossing but still we decided to inch closer and closer to the border. We took this decision after much internet research, the point of which was to determine exactly which regions of Pakistan were unsafe. Our conclusion: it would not be possible for us to avoid the hotspots but things had quieted down compared to a week before when a general strike lead to over 20 deaths.
In addition to spending lots of time on the internet we also did some minor modifications on the motorcycle by installing metal quick disconnects to allow for the easy removal of the fuel tank…
After 4 days of rest and research we left Yazd and headed to Bam, the site of a massive earthquake in 2003 that killed 40 000 of the 120 000 inhabitants. Half way to Bam we hooked up with Simon on his BMW and we all decided to make a little detour to visit the village of Rayen and the fortress that can be found there. Here are a few pictures…
In Bam we met with Fred who had arrived a day earlier on his moto Guzzi. Our little convoy was almost ready. Only Dave and Chris, 2 Australian brothers on their way home from England in their Subaru were missing from the group. But soon after our arrival they gave us a call to tell us that they were already ahead of us in the city of Zahedan, just 85 kilometers from the border. We arranged to all meet up “on the other side” in the town of Taftan in Pakistan. In addition to relaxing we took advantage of our time in Bam to do some maintenance on the bikes...
The following morning, with our tanks and containers full of fuel and our stomachs full of butterflies we left for the Pakistani border, still 400 kilometers further. From the start, we received a police escort, our first of the trip but far from our last.
Before going any further with our story we need to explain a few things about the security situation in this part of the world. Conflicts are common and the number of players are numerous so this may seem a little complicate. First, Baluchistan. This region is home to a distinct group who have long desired and often fought for independence. What complicates matters is that the region is mainly in Pakistan but also in Iran. Baluchistan is also home to drug smugglers who in the past have not hesitated to kill people who get in their way. In addition, there is a strong Taliban presence that is intent on imposing a harsh version of sharia law as a means to control the local population and increase their power and hence their wealth. Throw into the mix a bit of Al Qaeda and you have a potentially dangerous area.
With those little clarifications over, let’s get back to our story. The escort from Bam to the border was in fact a half dozen well armed escorts that made a half hearted effort at relaying from one team to another. In the city of Zahedan alone we were handed off no less than 3 times. Even a simple task like filling up became unnecessarily complicated…
About 6 hours into this we all started getting frustrated with the slow pace and our first (but not our last) attempt at loosing the escorts occurred. They quickly caught on to the purpose of the rapid accelerations in heavy traffic and soon we were asked to surrender our passports. Needless to say, from that point on we followed the lead vehicle slowly.
To add to the frustration of having to follow a truck full of guys with guns was the heat which reached the high thirties. Little did we know that in the next few days we would experience 45 degree temperatures…in the shade! After 8 hours of this we finally arrived at the border and despite arriving after the Pakistani side officially closed we were processed by the friendly officials who even offered us tea. It was a nice introduction to Pakistan. Then we saw our hotel… But more on that later.
Brian |
