No more police!

Day 17 - Multan to Lahore

A lot of driving today, with just one major stop at Harappa, the site of an ancient civilization from around 2600 BC, existing around the same time as the one at Mohenjo-Daro. 

We started the visit at the museum which is quite modern compared to others we've visited in Pakistan, with exhibits more like the style we'd see in museums at home.  

Then we walked through the site along some well defined pathways. It covered a large area and it was apparent that it hadn't all been excavated. The buildings were all made from the same sort of brick we'd seen all throughout our trip on old and new buildings, showing how the construction materials used back then are still in use thousands of years later. 

We had a little time to ourselves to explore after our guide had explained the main features of the site, but at all times we still had police escorts with us, one of them introducing himself to M as the man in charge and telling him he would give him a call some time! 

That was the last of our escorts as the police didn't follow us for the the rest of our drive to Lahore. We arrive in the bustling city after dark, battling very heavy traffic on our way to the Luxus Grand Hotel. 

Would you like to say a few words?

Day 16 - Multan

We started the day with a visit to the Tomb of Hazrat Shah Rukn-e-Alam, the mausoleum of a 14th century Sufi saint. The building resembled those we had seen at Uch Sharif, with its octagonal shape though with not as much of the distinctive blue tilework. The tomb inside was surrounded by garlands of artificial flowers of many colours.

We then walked through the Fort Kohna Qasim Gardens to reach a building to get some good views of the city. The gardens we walked through were covered in rubbish from the previous day and evening, our guide was quite critical and thought it had probably been done by school groups like those we'd seen yesterday. We reached a building that had a few old paintings on the wall depicting historical Multan events, as well as lot of disconnected solar panels. We climbed up the stairs to the rooftop finding it very busy with a large group of local tourists. We were all asked to pose for photos, M found that most of the people were from a "Discover Multan" tourism group celebrating the group's birthday, for some reason they were quite interested in hearing what M had to say, even asking him to say a few words to the group, which he declined!

Next was another mausoleum, the Tomb of Hazrat Bahauddin Zakariya, a 13th-century shrine dedicated to the Sufi mystic Bahauddin Zakariya. This one had a lot of pigeons, along with a man selling corn to feed to the pigeons, though he wasn't doing much business when we were there.

We visited a very busy bazaar in one of the oldest parts of the city, with old hindu temples and other historic buildings. We stopped at one of Multan's famous confectionery shops to try some halwa, a milk based sweet similar to fudge.

Shahi Eid Ghah Masjid is very large and beautifully restored mosque, with elaborate painting. There were no worshippers when we visited, but there were some students from the nearby madrasa (islamic religious school) who walked with us as we explored and took photos.

After lunch we visited a pottery factory, famous for it's blue and white pots. We were able to witness most parts of the process, including the free hand painting and colouring. K was a little disappointed in the quality of the workmanship, but did buy a few souvenirs to bring home.

One Shoot, One Kill ...

Day 15 - Bahawalpur to Multan

Today's first stop was the Bahawalpur Museum which had a small but varied collection, including old cars, railway engines, intricately carved temple doors, examples of traditional weaving, and a model of Derawar Fort. 

The notable library building next door was in the last stages of being renovated. All the old bookshelves were up around the outside of the building, but as the front door was open we snuck in to have a quick look.

We then travelled to the centre of town to the Fareed Gate. We walked through to the bazaar though as it was still early many shops hadn't yet opened. Back near the gate we stopped at the government handicraft shop where a few souvenir purchases were made.

We then went on to Noor Mahal, a grand old building owned by the Ministry of Defense, which included a small museum and was still used for formal occasions. The grounds were extensive, and as it was a Saturday it was very busy with lots of groups of school children and families, there was even a jumping castle. We all attracted a bit of attention, regularly being approached by the locals. K and the other fair English woman in our group had become weary of the asking for selfies and felt that they had just a taste of what being famous might be like. At one stage they found a bench behind some bushes and tried to lay low out of sight.

We followed our police escort to quite a modern hotel in the city of Multan, our stop for the next two nights. We could see the logos on the shirts of our police, the back of one with "No Fear" while the other had "One shoot, one kill" and a picture of a person shooting a machine gun - I don't think that kind of work wear would go down well back home!

Of course, we were told we were not allowed to leave the hotel, even though there was a normal looking KFC opposite and some nice looking shops just down the road.

Uniformed hitchhikers

Day 14  - Bahawalpur 

No police car escort this morning, today we just picked up a policeman standing on the side of the road, he sat in the front seat of our van for about 20 minutes before swapping with another one.

We stopped along the drive to watch some women picking cotton. They were fine with us taking photos though most of them tried to hide their faces. Our guide told us these were nomadic workers, who would travel between farms to follow the different harvesting seasons.

We continued through the Thar Desert and  reached Derawar Fort, built in the 9th century and once a stop on the pilgrimage route between India and Mecca. We stopped outside the fort to get a view of the whole structure with 40 circular bastions in total, with different patterns built into the bricks on some of them. 

Once we entered we found a number of buildings in various stages of disrepair, though some renovation and reconstruction work was underway on the royal family quarters above one of the corner bastions.

Next to the fort was the Abbasi Mosque, made from white marble and with only a caretaker there apart from us.

   

A short bus ride away was a well preserved royal graveyard with mausoleums for the nawabs who had ruled the area from the 18th century to the early 20th century, including one for the last nawab's English wife. 

From there it was on to lunch and then back to our hotel in Bahawalpur for a second night.

Making a racquet

Day 13 - Sukkur to Bahawalpur

It was an early start as we briefly gave our police escort the slip to run across the road from our hotel to get a good view of the Sukkur Barrage, used to control the largest irrigation network of its kind in the world. It looks like a bridge but is a long series of gates that can be used to control the flow of water from the Indus River to the many canals built to support the surrounding farmland. Built in the 1920s it is quite an impressive engineering feat, especially considering its size and location.  

A couple of minutes further by bus found us at a viewing point where we hoped to see an Indus river dolphin. K was lucky enough to see one come to the surface of the murky brown water, M had wandered off to see what else was around the area so missed it. 

It was then a long drive (stopping along the way for an icecream while the bus was being refuelled), our police escorts changing every hour or so as we left one police district and entered the next. We left Sindh province to enter the Punjab region and arrived at Uch Sharif, a historic city founded by Alexander the Great. 

We visited the Shrine of Hazrat Syed Jalaluddin Surkh-Posh Bukhari, devoted to a Sufi saint and missionary. 

After leaving the shrine we walked a short distance to a monument complex that included the very Tomb of Javindi Didi. From one side the building was very impressive, octagonal in shape and decorated with distinctive blue tiles from the city of Multan. Walking around to the other side of the monument showed that it was really only half a building, as some of it had been washed away in floods in the 1800s.

The complex contained a number of smaller tombs and mausoleums, all impressively decorated with blue tiles from the city of Multan. We later found that the complex wasn't that easy for foreigners to visit after we met some workers from the UN who hadn't completed all of the correct paperwork beforehand and were denied entry.   

From there it was a late lunch then a drive to Bahawalpur where we checked in to our hotel around 4:30pm, a little earlier than normal. As it was still daylight and we were once again confined to the hotel grounds, M took part in a game of badminton on the lawn with our British travel companions while K looked on from her vantage point in our hotel room.

Ancient Civilizations

Day 12 - Sukkur

Today we were headed to the ruins of Mohenjo-daro, one of the world's earliest major cities which was built around 2500 BC, during the same period as the more well known civilizations like Egypt and Mesopotamia. Our route meant we were backtracking slightly, but as the accommodation options in the closer city of Larkana weren't great we'd stayed in Sukkur instead.    

A lot of sugar cane is grown in the Indus River valley, so along the way we stopped to visit a roadside sugar extraction operation. Two boys fed sugar cane stalks into a petrol driven crusher, and the resulting liquid was boiled in a large pan over a wood fire to extract the raw sugar. The resulting product was sold from nearby table. A little further on we visited a rice harvesting setup, where the cut rice plants were threshed by hand to extract the rice grains.  

After entering Mohenjo-daro we stopped for a look at the museum, then walked through the nicely maintained gardens to see the ruins, which covered quite a large area. Not all of the brick buildings and structures had been excavated, with progress on excavation being hampered by a lack of funds as well as a need to protect what had already been exposed.

After a short guided tour we had some time to explore the ruins on our own, and as the morning progressed a lot of locals had entered the gardens, it seemed to be a place that families and groups visited for an outing or a special occasion. Once again K and other women in our group were quite popular, especially with school age girls and young teenagers.

Lunch was next served to us in a room next to the museum, we them headed off with our ever-present police escort to Kot-Diji Fort, which is close to some more ancient ruins from around the same period as Mohenjo-daro but was actually built in the 1780s. 

After walking through the elephant proof doors fitted with huge iron spikes we walked up the ramp to the upper level with soldier's barracks and the small regal residence where some of the original wall decorations were still visible. There were some great views from the fort walls of the surrounding area. 

After that it was back to Sukkur for another night safely locked behind the walls of our hotel. 

Under police protection

Day 11 - Hyderabad to Sukkur

Leaving the hotel today we were joined by our police escort, a few policemen in a beaten up old police truck. Having a police escort was a definite advantage in the heavy traffic, as cars would let them through while we followed closely behind.

Our first stop was Dargha Hazrat Shah Latif Bhittai, the birthplace of a famous Sufi mystic and poet. It was still early so most of the shops in the small market street leading to the shrine weren't yet open. 

 

 

We had arrived just as a group of musicians was warming up, so after exploring the shrine we stayed and listened to the Sufi music for a while.

  

We drove on to the town of Selwan, making our first crossing of the Indus River along the way, stopping for lunch then visiting the Shrine of Lal Shahbaz Qalandar, one of the most important Sufi shrines in Pakistan, with a mausoleum dedicated to the 13th century Muslim and Sufi saint. The police pointed out marks in the marble floor right net to the tomb that were made by a suicide bombing in 2017, where 88 people were killed.

 

Our visits for the day complete, we finished with a four hour drive to the RT Grace Hotel in Sukkur, our home for the next two nights. Now that we were under police "protection", we were not allowed to leave the hotel, so the negative aspects of police being required to escort us were becoming apparent.

Keep on truckin'

Day 10 - Karachi to Hyderabad

8:30 am and time to head further into Sindh province. First stop for the day was in the outskirts of Karachi, we turned off down a dirt road and a few minutes later after driving past parked trucks and ramshackle shopfronts we stopped at the intricately carved sandstone Chaukhandi Tombs, dating from the 15th century.

It was a clear and sunny morning, and starting to warm up. First our guide Sala briefed us on the history of the tombs, pointing out interesting features, then gave us some time to explore. We noticed a lot of large birds perched on the tombs, we thought they may have been vultures, Sala wasn't able to confirm what they were.

Back into the van for another hour, stopping next at Bhambhore Fort and archaeological museum. The Indus river flowed past the site until the river shifted, after which the fort was abandoned some time in the 13th century. The walls and ramp leading down to the original port had been excavated, and we met a fisherman who proudly showed us the big crab he had caught.

After a lunch stop at Cafe Imran we visited the UNESCO world heritage listed Makli Necropolis, a large burial site with monuments housing the tombs of royalty and other eminent people. Estimates of the number of people buried approach a million over a 400 year period.

Last visit for the day was the Shah Jahan mosque in Thatta, built in the 17th century and notable for its intricate brick and tile work.

Travelling along the highway to our overnight stop in Hyderabad we saw highly decorated and heavily loaded trucks transporting hay. We stopped where a few trucks were parked and the drivers were happy to pose for photos in front of their trucks. Even the insides were decorated, some of the trucks even having carved wooden doors!

Into the wild frontier

Our initial meeting with the tour leader for our Pakistan tour was at 12:30, so over breakfast we scrutinised every non-Pakistani trying to figure out if they were from our tour. As it turns out none of the people we suspected were, once our unexpectedly small group of just five (two UK, one Russian/US, and us) assembled. There was one more UK person expected, but they weren't joining until tomorrow.

After introductions and discussion of logistics  followed by a small lunch we jumped into our 21 seater bus, great for our small group as we could spread out.

First stop was the National Museum of Pakistan, which was very quiet, it was almost as if it had been opened just for us. The exhibits covered periods from pre-history through to present day, giving us a taste of what we'd be seeing later on the tour.

As we drove past the Empress Market our tour guide Sala decided to stop. This time we entered through the meat section that we'd deliberately missed yesterday, the swarms of flies around the hanging meat confirmed that yesterday's decision was the right one!

Next to the Mausoleum of Quaid-e-Azam, the resting place and tribute to Muhammad Ali Jinnah, the founder of Pakistan. There were many locals visiting, and K along with others in our group were in high demand for photos, especially with women and children, with some young men also getting in on the act.

We took a trip through some expensive and more contemporary looking buildings to see Clifton Beach on the Arabian Sea. The sand was very grey and not appealing to us, but there were many people there enjoying their Sunday afternoon. It  reminded us of the beach at Lomé in Togo, the water was a long way from the road and there were people coming by on horses asking if we wanted a ride.

We visited our first Sufi shrine, the Shrine of Hazrat Syed Abdullah Shah Ghazi, Sufism being a more mystical or spiritual component of Islam, focusing on an individual's relationship with God. The shrine was very busy, it was shoes off, headscarfs for women as well as separate entrances.

Dinner was at BBQ Tonight, which meant lots of barbequed marinated chicken and beef kebabs, along with naan and paratha. It was very tasty and quite pleasant sitting in the outdoor area.

I hope Disney don't find out

Day 8 - Karachi

We are staying at the Beach Luxury Hotel, which doesn't have a beach and being a 3 star hotel isn't that luxurious.

Breakfast was in the 007 restaurant, and the sign is complete with a black pistol. There was a table of western women at breakfast who were from the UK and were performing at the World Culture Festival 2025 in Karachi.

We booked a car using the InDrive app and went to the Empress Market in an old English colonial building. We wandered through the busy market, admiring the chillies, spices, sweets and snacks, as well as the shop selling stuffed animals.

A friend of M's had grown up in Karachi and we had the address of her old family home which wasn't far from the market, so we decided to walk there. We quickly realised that crossing the road in Pakistan is the same as in India, just step out and the traffic will miraculously weave around you (hopefully).

The building was easy to find as it had a large, grand facade, and a closer look showed that the roof had been removed and the interior had been gutted, it obviously wasn't in use but we couldn't tell if it was being demolished or renovated.

We booked another InDrive to take us to the Mohatta Palace Museum, originally built in 1927 as the summer home of a wealthy businessman. As we arrived we were greeted by a group of school children who were excited to meet their first Australians. 

In the museum entrance there were signs saying photos were prohibited, and we had to hand in our phones before entering. Staff members also followed us and directed us through the museum. There were two exhibitions, one of photographs of Mohammed Al Jinnah, the founder of Pakistan, the other on the craft of embroidery as practiced in many areas of Pakistan.

After a mid afternoon snack back at our hotel we walked around the hotel grounds. It was Saturday and a lot of people were at the hotel. A group of beautifully dressed women wanted their photo taken with us, and found they were professionals from a nearby hospital celebrating the retirement of one of their colleagues.

Looking at Google Maps we could see a place by the water a few minutes walk from the hotel called Port Grand, with what appeared to be a few restaurants, and as it had.some positive reviews we decided to visit. 

There was an entry fee of 1000 rupees each (about $5.50), and it turned out to be something like an amusement park geared towards families, with a few rides and attractions for children, some restaurants and kiosks, as well as a slightly off brand Minnie Mouse like character to entertain kids.

It appeared to be all locals there, so we were a bit of a novelty, and K had many requests for photos, mainly from women, many of them in groups and very beautifully dressed. We probably should have gone there a little later as it was still quiet and most of the nicer looking restaurants hadn't yet opened. Once we'd finished exploring we called it a night and headed back to the hotel.

Fan service

Day 7  - Bangkok to Karachi (Pakistan)

Our flight to Karachi wasn't until after 6pm so we took the train to Siam Centre for a very tasty Thai lunch, then walked to MBK shopping centre as K wanted to buy a hand fan. We expect it to be quite hot in Pakistan and women need to be covered up in public, so K was a bit concerned about how she would handle the heat.

We returned to the hotel with enough time to pack and get to our flight to Karachi. Boarding the flight it was very noticeable that there were very few women on the flight and only one other western looking lady.

We landed at Karachi close to midnight. Getting through the border checks was straightforward, just a little slow. We were grateful for the complimentary hotel pick up, only to have the van get a flat tyre half way to the hotel. We waited in the bus for almost half an hour before we were collected by another car that was sent to collect us.

We checked in to our room at the Luxury Beach Hotel, nodded awkwardly at the porter when he lingered in the room hoping for a tip, and got to sleep some time around midnight.

3 airports in one day

Day 6 Penang to Bangkok

A travelling day today. We left at lunchtime for the 1h45 minute flight to Bangkok's Don Mueang airport. We flew Air Asia which is fine for short flights, and were actually quite happy with the food they provided, small servings but tasty and quite spicy.

After we landed we needed to find the free shuttle bus to transfer us to Bangkok's main airport, Suvarnabhumi about 45 minutes away. It was a little tricky as it wasn't well signposted. We found the bus but we then needed to go back inside the terminal to register before they'd let us on.

We spent the night at our usual airport hotel and decided to stay there for dinner.

View from above

Day 5 - George Town, Penang, Malaysia

We woke to no rain and a not too cloudy sky so we decided to have another try at the funicular. Our Grab driver, like the others, also acted as a tour guide, suggesting places to visit and eat at as well as filling us in on some history along the way.

We had read of people waiting in the queue for up to three hours so we were pleased to find there was no delay and we were pretty much straight on. We've taken a lot of funiculars in a lot of countries so didn't have high expectations for the trip only to find it was much better than average.

We were in the front right next to the driver so when it stopped at a temple we could watch as a group of men transferred large storage tubs filled with foods like curries, dahl and salad from the front of the train.

The trip up was about 2km, quite steep and fast in places. The area at the top was nicely developed with good views over George Town and across the bay to Butterworth on mainland Malaysia. 

In the afternoon M walked from the hotel to Gurney Mall via Gurney Bay Park, which was quite empty and looked like it could use a could tidy up. There had been no rain at all even though we had been expecting it.

That evening was another trip to Chulia St followed by rendang and chicken curry at Jawi House Cafe Gallery, the place we'd eaten at two nights earlier. This time the food was even better, M says he would happily eat there every night!

To the beach

Day 4 George Town, Penang, Malaysia

This morning the rain had stopped by the time we finished breakfast so we booked a Grab (Asia's Uber) and visited Batu Cafe which was right on the water. 

We then decided to take the Penang Hill Funicular but checking with our driver we decided that it was a bit too cloudy and the views wouldn't be great, so we thought we'd check out Ferringhi Beach, a popular beach near George Town. There was a nice stretch of restaurants and cafes with seating on the sand but nothing opened until midday so the area was dead.  

We walked along the beach and the jetty then decided to head back to the hotel. Although it seemed very quiet we had no trouble getting a Grab, and on the way back the driver explained the Grab system, and how trips are auto assigned and if a driver knocks one back they are locked out for ever increasing periods, so eventually a driver has no choice but to accept a low fare.

A cafe near our hotel was recommended by our last driver so we headed there for a coffee only to find out they were a Melbourne based operation.

That afternoon M visited some of the other clan jetties, then walked back towards the fort to find that a huge cruise ship (4800 passengers) was in town.

We spent the evening enjoying the George Town area, this time opting for a place on Chulia St where we had some happy hour drinks then a meal (not rendang this time).