Steven Raucher's World Tour
2000-12-05 in Quetta, Pakistan
Out of Quetta via the old Choo choo
So we decided to cheat and take the train
We spent about five days in Quetta. These were pretty uneventful days, punctuated by milky teas and Internet surfing. Perhaps this was our way of quelling any homesickness. We spent the majority of our time with Richard, Rachel, Paul and Jill (RRPJ from now on), our like-minded biker-friends (they probably take that as an insult � the like minded part anyway), in truth I think we still have to learn the meaning of roughing it. But then again we are not out for catharsis, we our out for a PARTY!! We managed to get some chores done, we found a tailor to make us covers for the motorcycles and found a shop selling industrial strength hooters (definitely a must-have for this part of the world). It is quite amazing how covering a motorcycle dispels a crown of inquisitive onlookers, it is almost like covering one�s eyes and thinking one is invisible! Anyway we walked the bazaars of Quetta, which are very interesting and full of Afghan traders and their wares. We tried an Afghan restaurant, which got the better of all of us (RRPJ included), hygiene didn�t seem to be too high on their list of priorities. Quetta belly doesn�t have the same ring to it as Delhi Belly but the smart money is on us getting a sampling of that too!
Something I haven�t mentioned is that with all of our preparations and meticulous planning (NOT!) we weren�t really paying attention to our tyres. Well, that is not exactly fair, we religiously checked their pressure. The tread, however, was a different matter altogether. So this is how we came to find ourselves in Quetta on tyres more suited to a GP racer than a trail bike. Our tyres were virtually slick and we hadn�t even noticed! We actually thought they made the roads more slippery in Pakistan. J Robert (our man in logistics) did a bit of web surfing and found a dealer in Lahore who said he could help us. Without further ado we booked ourselves onto the Quetta Express, a train that takes 28hours to cover 950kms � no surprise it was designed by the Brits then. We managed to get our bikes onto the train and headed for Lahore. (Perhaps I should mention that I lost control of my bike whilst doing about 5km/h in the parking lot of the station, fortunately for me the locals managed to get my bike upright before Robert could get a good photo! � see pic below)
A note about RRPJ: Richard and Rachel Kempster and Paul and Jillian Ackland are two English married couples who are spending a year riding from London to New Zealand. Where they will hopefully spend a year there. They�re riding two-up on beemers (of course) and are amongst the nicest travelers we have ever met! They showed us amazing warmth and included us in all activities whilst we were in Quetta. The stimulating conversations and stories of far-away adventures will be sorely missed. These folks really have traveled! We wish them the best of luck on their journey and really hope we run into them again.
 Getting our horns enlarged... |
 Saying goodbye to the guys - RRP (at the Bloom Star Hotel, Quetta |
 A quick recovery before Bob took a snap |
 A night scene on the way to Lahore - God knows where |
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