India overland - Pakistan, Dalbandin to Quetta

Dalbandin to Quetta
The next day we set out for Quetta the largest town in western Pakistan. The road was still poor but in sections it was sealed, but barely the width of one vehicle. Fred had told us about the Chinese restaurant in Quetta and it sounded like a jewel in the desert. We had been discussing what we would have, I hope it is as good as Fred says or there will be a lot of disappointed people tonight. Our two night stop is to be at Lourdes Hotel on Staff College Road, at over 100 years old it is one of Pakistans oldest Hotels. It turns out to be a real gem, we arrived mid afternoon and were soon sitting in deck chairs on the lawn sipping cold beer. From here it is difficult to imaging that this town was almost destroyed by an earthquake in 1935 some 35,000 people died many of them British. It certainly lived on in the minds of the British community in India. Because Quetta was also home to the Staff College of the Indian Army, so that at any given time there were a lot of burrah sahibs (English Wives) running around the place, many of whom were victims.	The road to Quetta
The restaurant has been booked and everyone is getting ready for a night out. After many days in the desert this is a chance to dress up and sample the civilized life. Fred has ordered scooter taxis to pick everyone up at 7.00pm for the 2 kilometer journey across town. By 6.45 most people have gathered on the terrace and don't they look different, hair neat, faces shaved, best dress and smelling nice, you would think they were off to the opera. We all pile into the 3 wheeled taxis while Fred explains to the drivers that the first taxi to arrive at the restaurant will get double the fare, ready steady GO. Its on for young and old, taxi are running into one another trying to get out, at the first round about we all go round on two wheels. One taxi couldn't start his engine and another has run out of fuel, but everyone is in fits of laughter, hands waving out of the back, shouting, all to the amusement of other road users. Fred's taxi is first, I suspect the race was rigged and Fred got the same guy who won on his last trip through here. It is a Chinese Restaurant, it looks just like one, with red lanterns the works, it seems out of place here, will it serve Chinese curry or real Chinese food?	A Scooter Taxi
Quetta at night	Downtown Quetta
The food was great and we had a magic night you could almost imagine you were back home. We had a young English couple on board and she was very prone to mosquito bites and had been unwell. This morning the husband was amused that one of the hotel servants dressed in full ceremonial dress had asked him "Is the Memsahib still sick". We did have a more pressing health problem one of the passengers was very ill with dysentery. It had only just appeared and on questioning him he had drunk water from the underground tanks at Qila Safed which was probably the cause and was likely to be amoebic dysentery. He needed medical help and was unable to continue with us as we were going into some very remote areas in the next two days. We asked around and the hotel suggested we go and see Dr. Holland and his wife a British resident who had lived in Quetta all his life (the family had a very long history in Quetta). We arrived at a very neat bungalow near the town center and were invited in and seated on the verandah. A maid was asked to fetch a jug of lemon barley water it seemed such a British gesture. They agreed to look after the man until he was better and send him by train to Lahore to meet us.
Today we must leave and head to Afghanistan. The road takes as north in to the hills via the Khojak Pass 7575 ft. above sea level which leads directly to the border of Afghanistan at Chaman which is 153 kms away from Quetta. We wind our way through the gorge and it is easy to see how an army could be very vulnerable passing through here. As you look up to the hill tops you can clearly see sentry post at regular intervals. The feeling of being watch is hard to ignore, the last part of the climb is steep and winding before we arrive at Chaman the Pakistani border post. We get through in less than 1 hour which is fast for this part of the world. Now for the Afghan crossing at Spin Boldak, this is not going to be so easy. The first thing they want is for everything to be unloaded from the roof. We have not had to do this before and I'm dammed if I'll do it this time. If we unload the roof they will go through everything and expect us to pay duty or baksheesh. While the passengers relax in the shade we plan how to get through the border with the lest amount of hassle.
Fred and I climb onto the roof and start throwing down boxes of food plus a couple of bottles of cheap Turkish wines which smash as they land, the guards stop us from unloading anymore as they realise all the alcohol will be lost. They want to talk and soon we are nearing a compromise that gives them 2 bottles of Johnnie Walker scotch in return for no further inspection. This suits us well as we have a lot of drink including about 30 bottles of scotch, getting away with only 2 was a good result. We order tea all round which is delivered by a young boy who looks at his 50 cent tip as though he has just won the lottery. Soon we are the best of pals with the guards who want to talk about the girls and our answers bring lots of back slapping and high pitched laughter, if I was a girl I wouldn't want to meet any of these guys after dark.

The trip continued	Map of trip so far