Pakistan’s roads are full of all kinds of traffic – auto rickshaws, cars, buses, motorbikes, horse and carts, donkey and carts, trucks, pedestrians, bicycles and even the odd camel.
The buses and trucks are very colourfully decorated, particularly in Karachi.
I wanted to go on an intercity train ride in Pakistan but a journey did not fit in with my plans.
Here is a video I recorded of a Lahore street near the old city:
The rear of a Karachi bus
A donkey and cart and a bus in Karachi
Karachi chaos
The local buses are designed for passenger overflow to sit on the roof
A Lahore cart transporting fabric
Many of the auto rickshaws feature graffiti. In Lahore I just had to take a photo of the one above.
The above three photos are of the same Lahore bus. Kae, the Japanese backpacker was on his haunches in front of the bus when the driver tooted the horn – you should have seen Kae move 🙂
The Niazi Express bus station, Lahore
A closer shot of the Niazi Express symbol incorporating a kangaroo
A man at a freeway stop feeding miner birds and crows along with himself. Pakistan’s only freeway runs from Lahore to Islamabad. My Niazi Express coach is the one on the left. The bus on the right is an “Ahmed Hussein Butt Ways” bus (emphasis added). Note the eucalyptus trees in the background.
My bus left Lahore for Islamabad an hour or so late and then was delayed further by Eid livestock markets. I was certain I was going to miss my domestic flight back to Karachi. My stress-induced headache was not helped by the full-volume showing of an extremely violent Bollywood film. 200 plus people died in many full-on incidents, yet not one kiss was shown.
The bus stopped outside Islamabad and I was weighing up whether or not to get off or not. I got off, and for a rare occasion, I was glad to be approached by a taxi driver. He quoted 300 rupees (US$5) for the journey to the airport. I was in no mood to bargain. I explained my predicament to him and off we hooned in his seatbelt-free micro machine. The driver displayed super maneuvering creativity and I estimate we went through more red lights than green lights! Much to my relief I eventually arrived at the airport 30 minutes before departure. For his effort, the driver received an extra 100 rupees.
Karachi Airport, my last time on Pakistani ground. From left to right: Pakistan International Airlines, AirBlue and MNG Cargo (a Turkish freight company).
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