Introduction
As a young man, I wished to travel the world but with limited resources at my disposal it was not possible. Twice I made plans to visit London but both the times something happened and I could not go. In 1974 again I decided to go to London. I had a second hand car which I sold for $1500 and with that money in my pocket I and my wife decided to undertake this trip without making any arrangements.
The Plan
If it can be called a plan, was to go to London by train, buy a car and then drive back to Pakistan I had very sketchy information but was told by a few friends that visas were generally issued on the borders and that most of the European countries didn’t need a visa With this sketchy information and 1500$ we left for Kabul by bus on 06 august 1974 where my uncle was an ambassador in Pakistan embassy.
Execution
On arrival in Kabul, I got a taxi and asked to be taken to the Pakistan Embassy where my uncle was since I had not informed him earlier he was shocked and surprised to see us at his doorstep. I informed him that I wanted a visa for UK we were taken home and looked after and the next day we went to the British embassy where we got visa for United Kingdom. On 07th August 1974 took an Ariana airline flight to Istanbul since there was no visa requirement for Turkey from there we were to catch a train to London.
On reaching Istanbul on 8 August 1974, we bought tickets for London and boarded the train. Every time when the train reached a border town, a guard/custom Officer would come up and ask for the Passport from all the passengers, the moment he would look at my passport he would ask me to open the box for checking. When this happened two or three times, a young couple that was sitting across felt sympathetic and wanted to know as to why they always asked me to open the box to which I replied that I had no idea what they were looking for. On reaching Munich, we got into a taxi and gave the address of a relation of my wife whom we had not informed earlier. The taxi driver plotted the address on the map book that he was carrying. After traveling for ten to fifteen minutes the driver turned around and said to please note the meter reading and since he was off the main route he is going to switch off the meter and he will switch it on once he gets back to the main route and he switched off the meter .After about fifteen minutes, he said now he is on the right track and switched on the meter. When we reached the address of our relative we found that the person no longer lived on that address. We came back to the railway station to catch a train for London. We finally reached Dover on 10th August 1974. I saw people were standing in different queues I got in queue which said for the Commonwealth countries, on reaching the end I was informed that Pakistani was no longer in the commonwealth and I should go to the other line. So I got in the other line and was allowed entry for six months. We got into another train and reached London. I hired a taxi and gave him the address of my aunt. On reaching the address to our utter horror we realized that the house was locked and a neighbor informed us since it was a weekend, the lady may have gone for the weekend. It was raining and we were cold and exhausted from the long and tiring journey but we didn’t know what to do. Somebody suggested that we should wait in a pub but to go and sit in a pub didn’t seem feasible so I decided against it. The taxi was still waiting to be disposed off as the meter was running. I paid the taxi £ 50 and waited on the pavement to see if any Pakistani lady entered that address. There was a nice sympathetic Indian family who offered to keep the box in their house till we waited. Frankly neither I nor my wife had ever seen the lady with whom we were supposed to stay. We kept waiting in the rain. Finally we saw a lady wearing a gharara approach that address. We rushed and my wife introduced herself and it happened to be the relative we were waiting for, she was in shock as to how we had come to London without informing her. She said that normally she goes away for the weekend but this weekend she decided to stay back. We were so relieved to finally have made it get some rest after such a long and a chaotic journey well what did we expect to undertake such a long journey without any planning but finally it worked.
Stay in London
The lady with whom we were staying was a Khala of my wife. She was a very fine person who looked after us and took us around the entire London. Since we had to drive back to Pakistan, I had to buy a second hand car. After having searched for a few days, finally I decided to buy a Ford Capri it was a nice sports Car. I spent most of the money about £ 800 and left very little for my return journey. Since I could not import a car, it had to be gifted to me by the Khala. While at the registration office, the lady enquired as to why the car was first being got registered on my Khalas name and then on my name. I explained that since I was leaving in a hurry we had no time. Thus the car was transferred in my name) For the return journey by road I had to have Visas but there was very little time and I was informed that visa are issued on the border except for the Muslim countries. So I arranged for a Visa for Iran, Afghanistan and France, and the remaining Countries I thought I will get the visas on the borders.
A day before when we were about to depart from London, we called on a relative of ours. On reaching their home, I locked the ignition key inside the car. I tried to open the car but to no avail. I thought that one of the window glasses will have to be broken with this in my mind we went inside the house and there I explained my dilemma. The gentleman quite casually said that it was no problem and he rang up the police, who were there in a few minutes, opened the car without asking a single question.
I was advised by the people that the month of August was a tourist season, I should do advance booking on a ferry for crossing the English Channel. Since I was already getting late on my holidays I decided against it and thought I will take my chances
Return Journey
On 20 August which happened to be my birthday, I made arrangements for driving back to Pakistan with only £ 200 in my pocket. Another £ 100 was given to me by the Khala. I could not ask her for more money for embarrassment. We bought essentials for our journey along with a few gas cylinders for cooking and we were all packed up and ready for the return journey. I left London early morning for the port city on the English Channel On reaching Dover I was supposed to buy tickets for the two of us and the car for crossing the English Channel. A gentleman at the gate enquired as to where I was going. On being informed that I was leaving for France he put a sticker on my car which said France. On reaching the ferry site, I was asked for my ticket. I informed them that I had no ticket. They were surprised as to how I had come to the ferry site without a ticket. The man replied we will make you a credit note and you pay the bursar on the ship. I could have easily pocketed that money but I went and paid the bursar the cost of the ticket. The sea was very rough and most of the people on board fell sea sick including me but my wife was alright .When we got off the ferry at Calais, there were young ladies carrying a tray of cigarettes and were offering it to everyone. Since I used to smoke in those days, I took a packet and when I lighted it was a very strong cigarette. I had not smoked such a strong cigarette before.
We drove to Paris and climbed the Eiffel Tower. It was a nice ride in the elevator and a beautiful view of Paris. Spent a few moments and then drove towards Switzerland. Since I didn’t have a visa for Switzerland, I stopped at the border and informed the gentleman that I didn’t have a Swiss Visa. He asked me if I had a passport, I replied in the affirmative. He signaled me to go, we spent a day in Geneva enjoying the beautiful landscape, On the way we would stop in a tourist camp where all the facilities of washing and cooking were available. In one of the Camps I was trying to light the stove so as to cook some food. I tried to fix the cylinder and didn’t know how and lost the gas of one of the cylinders. A couple who were also in the camp saw my dilemma and offered to help. He fixed the cylinder for me and my wife managed to cook food for both of us.
From Switzerland, I drove over the Alps to cross over into Italy. On reaching the border post where it was extremely cold, I gave my passport to the officer. He came back after a little while and enquired about my visa. In that Ice cold weather, I started sweating and pleaded with him to give us a visa. He replied that he could not issue a visa; I had to go to the Italian Consulate in a small town called Chambery which was at the foot hills of the Alps. I had no choice but to drive back to the foot of the Alps to arrange for my visa. I was glad he didn’t tell me to go to Paris that would have been disaster. On reaching Chambery, a small picturesque town I managed to find the Italian Consulate and when I reached the Consulate, I informed the lady about my ordeal she asked me to buy a stamp of 1000 Lira for issuing the Visa. I went to the market in search of the stamp. It took me a while to come back past office time and the lady told me that since I had come during the office hours, the Counselor was waiting in the office for issuing me the Visa. Finally after getting the visa I drove back and crossed over into Italy. Since I didn’t have a Visa for Bulgaria, I went to the Bulgarian Consulate in Trieste and found the Consulate closed. It was a weekend and I had to wait in Trieste for two days, it is a beautiful port town with beautiful beaches .We spent most of the time on the beach since we didn’t have money to go shopping. I went to a store to buy eggs and it was a problem to explain the egg to the shopkeeper, so I made an egg on the paper and then managed to buy eggs for our breakfast.
We spent two and a half days in the Trieste enjoying the beaches and spent a day in Venice and took a ride in the gondola.
On Monday the first thing I did was that I went to the Bulgarian Consulate for getting a Visa. The man at the window replied No Visa for Pakistan. I was shocked and tried to plead with him that I had to go and was getting late. A person from the crowd said to me that Pakistanis don’t need a Visa for Bulgaria. We had wasted two days since I didn’t know about the visa requirement.
I drove very quickly through Bulgaria since it was a communist country and there were all kinds of fear, and apprehensions. I only stopped when I crossed the border into Turkey. I drove down to Istanbul and was really amazed at the reception and love showed by the Turks when they found out I was a Pakistani. I bought some kabab at a wayside restaurant and the shopkeeper refused to take money since I was a Pakistani. It was really amazing to be treated that way.
From Istanbul I drove to Ankara for the money was falling short and I needed extra money to get me to Kabul. I found the Pakistan Embassy in Ankara and met mr Jehangir who was a secretary in the embassy and explained my problem. I can’t forget that gentleman and I owe him my life since he gave me enough money that I could reach Kabul. I tried to contact the gentleman afterward but I could not contact him or his family.
I asked the Embassy staff as to what route they recommended for going to Iran. There was a central route and a northern route via the Black Sea. He recommended the northern Route via the Black Sea. It was a very picturesque route but very mountainous and difficult terrain .I crossed over into Iran on 30th August 1974. I spent a day in Tehran found it to be a beautiful city but since I was short of funds and my leave was finishing I rushed through Iran and reached the Afghan Border via Mashhad.
At the Afghan Border check post, I saw a couple of hippy tourists with long hair were crying because they were not being allowed entry into Afghanistan till they were given a haircut. I remember one tourist who was in tears said that it had taken him 17 years, to grow these hairs and now they were being cut.
On my way to Kandhar we saw a car with a Pakistani family stranded as the car had broken down. I tow chained their car till Kandhar a distance of about a hundred miles, where we put up in a hotel with kind courtesy of the family and the next day I left for Kabul where we stayed at my uncles house where we were very warmly received. We Left for Torkham the next day. There the custom authority stopped the car and wanted an import permit. We had to leave the car at Torkham and sat in a bus for Peshawar.
On getting down at Peshawar bus Stop, I saw a couple of tourists haggling with the Tongawala for going to the Railway Station. The tongawala was trying to swindle them and was demanding a lot of money since the railway station was close by I felt sorry for them and informed them that the railway station was only a few hundred yards away and they could walk for which they were quite surprised and thanked us.
On this the Tangewala showed his annoyance that I had spoilt his mazdoori(). Since I was already late, I rushed to join my unit in Gujranwala. I tried to get the import permit but it was not possible because they wanted bribe money and I didn’t have the money.
While driving though Europe, a thought occurred to me to see a broken window pane closed with wood or a tin as seen in this part of the world. Throughout my drive I didn’t see a single broken window instead all the houses were clean and freshly painted as if ready for inspection. The windows had lace curtains and flower pots laid out in front of each.
Conclusion
I could not arrange for the import permit for the car to be released from the custom authorities since I didn’t have the money to bribe the officials. Although I suffered great financial loss but I enjoyed every moment of that trip which I relish till this day. I remember those people who helped me through this journey otherwise it would not have been possible for me to complete this journey.
