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Last week, I went out to lunch with Akram's family.
Amjad Akram, whose company was Kim's Tours, died on February 8th, 1987. He left his wife, and four children. His wife and three of the children are still alive. His youngest son, Amir, a lovely guy, was my host. He took over guiding tours, but has been unemployed for years now because there isn't any tourism industry left here. Amir has five children, and he took me out to his house, where we had lunch with his sisters and the next generation.
I hope to post a photo or two later.
Simon, our other drinking buddy that notorious night was Aslam Dogar, the hotel manager. He has also since died. No, not the next morning - that morning when you probably wanted to be dead more than any day before or since. I can say that because that's how I felt too. It was years later, but I'm not sure how many. The reason Hotel, which had also closed but re-opened to a five star standard last December. Penn used to stay here; Brian Stanley's trips with Vern.
The link below is to another tale of decline here in Lahore. Yes, Vicar, these things are sad now; but yes too, be happy for the good times we had.
http://tribune.com.pk/story/523691/past-glory-going-going-gone/
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I'm not at the "reason" Hotel; I'm at Faletti's Hotel. A bit of a lapse of reason there.
I used to be at the Avari, which is excellent, but so is this one and it's a boutique hotel with only 40 rooms (although it's being extended).
If anyone has any photos with Akram in them, Could you post them here or send them to me? The family doesn't have many, and I'm sure they would like more.
Particularly his daughter Shireen, who went on a Sundowners coach with Akram around June 1979. Akram went, his daughter, and another girl about her age.
Whose coach was that? It must have been the trip just after Carl Capstick's and mine - the one we both met our wives on.
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Administrator
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The price of progress.
Can we blame people to want new highways inclusive of bridges, over passes, under passes and tunnels? Probably not but when one city looks so much like the next there is a great risk of losing the individual charm and character.
When referring to the article via the link posted, it is even more disappointing when not only the individual appeal is lost to progress but the history is let go. One would hope that there would be a group of caring citizens to protect their heritage.
Surrounded by the deterioration of buildings is the deterioration of lifestyle. The quote highlighted in the post expresses the lack of hope for the future. This is possibly the sadder of the two.
I wonder if I would get much argument if I say that we passed through these places at a better time.
Related to the above is a conversation with a young couple yesterday. I found out that they had left Tehran to live in Australia. It was difficult to leave their home land for two reasons, their history and control by the government. They immigrated to escape the government. Now I know we all take a swing at our governments but are any of us so suppressed that we are considering leaving? Are we willing to give up our life style, family, and friends, pack what we can into a couple of travel bags to enter a foreign country in the wish for an improved life?
From what Mike is relaying, if I should choose to reminisce by revisiting the overland route, a strong rose coloured pair of glasses may be the order of the day.
Holiday as we will across the waters, it is always good to come home.
Vicar
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Amen to all that, Vicar.
Following up on your post, I came across this website:
http://www.ibtimes.com/what-happened-hippie-trail-legacy-asia-overland-route-701219Apparently we may have catalyzed the anti-western reaction in Afghanistan, the Russian invasion, the rise of the Mujahadeen, the collapse of the Soviet Union, the rise of the Taliban and Al Qaeda, the defeat of the West, and the imminent nuclear Armageddon.
Oops.
Hey, mannn ... peace, mannnn .....
It's all your fault, Simon Arms.
There is something potentially huge happening here now, though. The Chinese have just bought the management rights of a port on Pakistan's coast called Gwardar. Turning the Karakoram Highway into an all weather road will join the Silk Road with the coast and put China in a very strategic place re oil supplies to the East.
I note that the first place visited by the new Chinese ruler was Russia.
The Hippie Trail may be dead, but the Great Game is still very much game on.
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I am sure it wasn't all my fault, and if it was, I blame alcohol.
Mike, I did learn a valuable lesson after comming under your influence, don't drink two bottles of Johnnie Walker and expect to be coherent next day. Doing it in "Alcohol free" Pakistan added to the challange I guess.
It appears that you are able to move freely about, how safe do you feel?
Take care, I am enjoying reading your progress, What the f..k are you doing there anyway??? Valuations I hear you say, well Mike there is nothing there that I saw worth squat, it could be that I wasn't looking, possibly.
I say it again Mike, STAY SAFE!
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Oho! So that's where the sixth bottle ended up!
No fair, Simon; that meant that the rest of us could have only had a bottle each.
See, the truth will out, even when, as in this case, it took 36 years.
>It appears that you are able to move freely about, how safe do you feel?
Well, I'm mostly stuck in my hotel room working, working, and then for a change, working. The hotel has high walls surrounding it with razor wire atop, armed guards who check everyone coming in or out the gates, and the same checks getting inside the hotel as airports have. But everyone I have met here inside or outside hotels has been very friendly and hospitable, the Akrams being probably the best example of that, not the only one.
This is a very fascinating place; there's a helluva lot happening. There's a new book out called "How to get filthy rich in rising Asia" centred here in Lahore. I ordered it from the little shop here at Faletti's, and they said they will have it in a couple of days.
I would say that I feel perfectly safe, Simon, but that sounds a bit too much like famous last words to me. Maybe not as famous as the guy who jumped up in the American civil war and said "come on men, they couldn't hit an elephant at this dist ...", but still too close for comfort.
My report is due at the end of the week. I don't know if you ever saw the Aussie film "The Castle", but it's about that sort of thing. The Government here is trying to ensure that fair compensation is paid to people whose property is taken from them for public works. Apparently, some people agree that the properties aren't worth squat, but the owners often don't. Hence the need for better property valuations. I understand that it's a particularly volatile issue with all those public works in China, but I don't have any first hand knowledge of that.
After that, as long as my visa comes through I'm off to Samarkand next week (part of my Silk Road thang, which you recall), and then back here for a couple of days, then back to Darwin.
I'll post here again when I get back there; as they say here, inshallah.
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Hi Mike,
I think Penn used to stay at Falettis.
Not 100% sure.
I watched zero dark 30 a few days ago, and the Pakistan scenes looked reasonable. It was shot near chandigarh, so not geographically very different.
Nice that you coulkd contact Akram's family. That must have taken some research. I enjoyed working with him, although I do have memories of him related to that substance you and Simon referred to. The missing bottle perhaps?
take care
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Hi Kit,
There's a pic of Travers Cox out the front of Faletti's in the Penn World section of the Indiaoverland.biz site. Also, I think Brendon Reid and I may have come here to see him (or maybe just me, or maybe not, but I think I remember the enclosed corridor from hotel reception to the rooms) when we had been able to leave Afghanistan around the same time after the Saur Revolution in 1978.
Finding the Akrams again (thanks again Amir; Amir has the link to this site, and we hope that someone will post pix of his father) was a result of one of those uncanny coincidences. I am still in touch with Hubert DeCleer from time to time, and he met a relative of Akram's in Europe well after the overland days, and they have been an item ever since. So Hubert gave me the contacts.
1..., 2..., 3..., SMALL WORLD!
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As promised, I'm now posting from Samarkand.
I arrived here around 1300, and am having a good look around tomorrow.
So far, so very good. Buildings are like Isfahan's.
Best,
Mike
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Well there is one for me. Not only had I not even heard of Samarkand I have not even heard of the country it is in. Looking on 'Google Earth' it is quite a large city and housing spreads out for kilometres in all directions. What a fascinating part of the world.
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Oho again! Someone else sprung! It was the capital of Tamerlane - the pyramid of skulls guy that made Rambo look like Mary Poppins. I visited his tomb today. Quite extraordinary, as he drew all the greatest minds from the countries he conquered to his court. I thought the interior the most sumptuous Islamic art I have ever seen. Of the places we went, Samarkand's a bit like Isfahan. When I get back to Oz I'll post some pix. Tired but happy. Off to Bukhara tomorrow.
Date: Mon, 1 Apr 2013 14:40:57 -0700 From: [hidden email]To: [hidden email]Subject: Re: Back to Lahore
Well there is one for me. Not only had I not even heard of Samarkand I have not even heard of the country it is in. Looking on 'Google Earth' it is quite a large city and housing spreads out for kilometres in all directions. What a fascinating part of the world.
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Such an interesting part of the world you are travelling in. The architecture of the places is sensational. So much skill and detail lasting no doubt for hundreds of years.
Just when we thought we have seen a lot of the world you present new towns and countries never considered. I for one will look forward to seeing any pictures.
Happy trails.
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Hi Vicar,
I've just had a very interesting walking tour all day around Bukhara, with a guide who guided the wife of the Uzbekistan President around when she came here with Hilary Clinton in, I think, 1997. She was a very good guide, and person.
Before that though, I had a problem that I will describe as the Samarkand Samba, to go with the Delhi Belly, the Tehran trots, the Jaipur jig the ... well, I forget the rest, but you get the idea. fortunately Imodium came to the rescue and I was not troubled at all today.
I await the next event with keen anticipation.
Oh. Travel. Yes. Well, tomorrow I'm catching a train back to Tashkent.
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This post was updated on .
A strange cure.
Learning of your health issues reminded me of the time Kit and I did a express trip out to Kathmandu. We had picked up a Pakistan man who had hitched a ride with us from Afghanistan. We only had a couple of other passengers so it was long drives. As a place to stay overnight we stayed with Mansoor at his hotel in Peshawar. Mansoor invited Kit and I to have lunch in his restaurant and on selection was a variety of curries. Kit picked out 5 of the hottest curries, which I think he intended would be baptism by fire for me, as a new recruit. As the various spices went about burning the lining from my mouth and stomach he then ordered us a large lassie drink.
It was a long lunch and dinner was not required. Laden with curries and lassie sitting and stirring within, I went to bed.
Early hours of the morning there was to be an explosion from one or two ends. Fortunately for me the hand basin was located close to the toilet. The dual explosions just about caused and internal implosion. After many a return visit, eventually the morning came around and we had to get cracking on the road again. Feeling miserable the Paki hitch hiker suggested a weird combination of salt and 7 Up. Very reluctantly I followed his instructions not knowing if it would heal me or kill me. Dare I say it did not kill me. Surprisingly enough within a couple of hours I was feeling much better.
By the way the hitch hiker got out along the way and many kilometres later we realized he had stolen one of the passengers cameras. Perhaps that was his medical fee.
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I have been learning of the cruelties of Central Asian Potentates such as Genghis Khan. From this it seems that Kit Kahn should be numbered in their ranks.
At least with Simon Arms and Phil Tulk I only had to have skulling races with schooners of whisky.
Clearly, they let me off easy.
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I have to say that it was learned behaviour.
I was similarly treated by some caring individuals who wished for me to be well equiped for whatever culinary challenges might have been laid before me in the sub-continent.
Having recalled how useful that process was I felt it only wise to share the experience with Vicar.
Naturally he responded well after some time, in much the same way as the Afghanis reponded to Tamerlane's tender ministerings :-)
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Tamerlane was a patron of the arts. is liking for geometry expressed itself in building pyramids of skulls in places he conquered; reputedly 70,000 in Isfahan, for example. He killed about one twentieth of the world's population at the time, but hey, his mausoleum is to die for.
Speaking of dying, I can now add the Tashkent two sluice to the Samarkand samba. Death was preferable. I'm back at Faletti's now, though, after a dreadful exit at Tashkent airport. Massive queues for Customs, then lesser ones for immigration and security. Not the best combination, but inshallah I'll be back in Darwin soon.
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I'm now back in Darwin. All you fellow travellers will recognise the odd feeling when you come back to an unchanged place, as though that happened since you left was just a dream ...
I also got down to Karachi this time, so I've now been the whole length of Pakistan from Karachi to the Chinese border on the Karakoram Highway (all overland but for the turn-off to Quetta to Karachi bit); I've never been to Karachi before; did any of our trips go there back in the days?
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G'Day Mike,
In the last 12 months that Sundowners operated, we used to do Kathmandu to Karachi and then the passengers would fly on to Istanbul or Athens. This operated in reverse ex London.
I was only in Karachi for 3-4 days to get one of our coaches out of customs. There was 3 parked up there when drivers flew back to London, or home for the Xmas break. I drove OWO back to Kathmandu so that it was ready for a driver to take back to Karachi after he finished his holiday
I bet your travels over the past month or so brought many memories.
I would have liked to have seen more of Karachi instead of the Paki Customs offices.
Col
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Hi Mike,
Like Col I only spent a very short time in Karachi. We drove three coaches through Iran during the Iran Iraq way in 1980 (Plough, Alan McGeechan and ?). We only stayed in a hotel near the airport for the minmum time before the trip I was then on left Karachi. It was bloody hot, and we had problems blowing tyres as we headed north. I didn't see anything of Karachi at all.
Not sure if we missed anything, but at the time we didn't think so.
It was my last trip as I was headed home. Terry Taylor was the courier and he had to leave to go to Delhi with a punter(s?) who didn't have an Indian Visa. They were then issued at the airport but not at Attari Road. I became an instant Courier !!
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