If you believe everything the guide books, media and embassy websites say, then you’d give Belochistan a wide birth. However, it’s the only (direct) land route from India to Europe and has the single border crossing into Iran, that’s open to foreigners. The area is infamous for tribal conflicts, kidnappings, terrorist attacks and drug smuggling. [...]

Time to leave lahore. We need to get to Quetta on the other side of the country. The shortest route through the mountains is off-limits to foreigners due to frequent tribal conflicts and the risk of kidnapping by Al-Qaeda militants, that have migrated down from Afghanistan. Locals also avoid this road, preferring to take the [...]

The sound of gun shots in the street. Hmmmm… something is up! No, just your typical muslim wedding in Lahore. In these parts, shooting in the air is a sign of happiness. A tradition that in a residential area can have deadly consequences. Here nobody seems to care. Our host family also bring out their [...]

Lahore felt very familiar. The old town we visited 3 years earlier, the curry and naan, the welcoming locals and of coarse the friendly family that hosted us last time. Thanks to Bilal and his relatives, it was a kind of homecoming for us. Due to the current political situation and the relatively slow pace [...]

We knew the chances of entering Pakistan trouble free with Iza’s Lifan, were slim. However, we didn’t count on the problems starting while still on the Indian side of the border. The customs officials, used to processing vehicles with the Carnet document at the ready, were surprised to discover that Iza had ridden her Nepali [...]

We spent over a week in Islamabad. In that time we got our visas issued for the U.A.E and arranged transport of the motorcycle to Dubai. We’ve finally decided to skip the relatively featureless landscape of Balochistan and ship our bike by ferry from Karachi. A big factor in our decision was the security situation [...]

Before leaving Skardu, we received news about the kidnapping of a Polish engineer by Taliban forces just outside the town of Peshawar. This did nothing for our confidence and we had second thoughts about continuing our journey through Pakistan overland. So far we have not seen any evidence of hostilities, but the constant bad press, [...]

Kashgar is predominantly an Uigur town/city, with people of ‘true’ Chinese heritage making up only a small portion of the population. It’s sometimes hard to believe that you’re actually in China. This is especially true when walking through Kashgar’s old quarter. It’s the place we liked most when we visited 3 years ago and it’s [...]