Pakistan Bahawalpur

Time for a couple of nights out of Multan in between tests, so a two hour drive to the 11th largest city in Pakistan - obviously with police escort along the way. The escort changed every half hour or so as I guess we move from one District to another. Overall whilst it's a bit strange it generally works fine, delays waiting have only been short, they are friendly and often provide the guide with some local expertise. Our main guide Nour, is from Hunza Valley and whilst he has a good knowledge of everywhere we have been the locals can always help.

To break the journey we stopped off at Tomb of Bibi Jawindi. Impacted by a flood  in 1817 conservation seems challenging but it provided a good feel for how impressive it would have been in its day

Drop off at bags at hotel and then out to the top local attraction - one of many palaces in the area Noor Mahal which is now owned by Pakistan military. We were told that we needed passport and visa for entry, but not that shorts were not permitted. This ended up with 20 mins or so negotiation but no relaxation of rules, perhaps not surprising give there were a number of locals visiting at the same time. So half of us with long trousers (thankfully me included) got in -actually without passport/visa being checked. The outside and inside were impressive and well maintained despite it not being used for some time. Well organised and set up for tourists (you have to wait via gift shop) just a shame they did not provide sarongs or something for people to cover up. This seems just to reflect the journey the country is on getting used to tourists again.

Following this brief walk through Bazaar - I sense we only saw a small element and police were keen to keep us moving.

Following day a couple of hours drive to Dera Nawab Sahib which is a palace originally owned by same family as yesterday. Six palaces on the same site linked by underground tunnels. Some are still in use so we were only allowed to see the guest's palace which to be far needs a bit of work! It must have been impressive in its day but really needs restoration now to avoid it decaying too much. Apparently it was built in 19th century for the Prince who had four wives, 10 sons and 10 daughters. The fairly large family remaining can't agree what to do - haven't they seen Homes under the Hammer - knock through here, new plumbing and electrics and the 120 rooms would make a decent HMO!

Next to Dewar Fort another location in need of some TLC but where work is under way. Really imposing from a distance - which you would want for a fort - the scale inside is significant but mostly in disrepair. Nour said it has improved over last couple of years   - so hopefully moving in right direction. As well as a mosque ( not allowed in) there is a burial site for prince's  family which is well kept.

Next day a brief stop at a farm for lunch and then dropped off at our new (better) hotel in Multan.

Tomorrow second test......

Pakistan - arrival and first test

So I have not been on an official cricket tour since 2008 although I went to the Adelaide test in 2010 when I was on a trip to Asia and Australia. Having been to most of the test playing countries I was waiting until somewhere I had not travelled to came up and Pakistan was on that list. In 2022 the dates did not work for me but this year everything seemed to fit in well. So I decided to go to all three tests.

Pre departure has been a bit unusual. Despite announcing venues for the three tests a while ago, rumours about a change in location started a few weeks before the trip. Finally it was announced that the second test was to be in Multan, which was also hosting the first. The tour company (Gullivers) were very good on providing options - including free cancellation - but I decided to stick with the trip. A further curve ball (sorry about the baseball analogy) was delivered a week of so before departure when the tour company were told that the hotel for Multan was now  being used for players and we needed to be moved. Another hotel sourced and a final itinerary ended up in my inbox.

Flight was via Doha - fairly straightforward and arrival at Multan was less chaotic than I have seen at other south east Asian airports. We had to wait a while for a bus to the hotel which was down to one passenger having a problem with their visa and also waiting for a police escort. The latter is to become a common feature. The next day we found out that the person with the visa problem (name misspelt) had to go back to Doha and then London to sort out visa - frustrating for them - well actually a bit more embarrassing given it was one of the tour guides.

What I did not know before arriving was that the security would be so intense. We have a police escort wherever we go and it's not possible to simply walk outside. We are told that this is more severe than in other states in Pakistan as the head of police has a bigger budget! Slightly frustrating but we are able to go out to restaurants / sight seeing but it's less spur of the moment. Hoping will get easier later in the trip.

So arrived Sunday morning 1am - a brief tour on Sunday afternoon - pottery workshop and shrine - and then cricket for 5 days. The immediate thing that hits you is how fascinating we are to the locals. Everyone wants a selfie to try their English and to interact with tourists that remain rare in the country. All very very friendly.

Test stadium is about 30 mins trip and not surprisingly is fairly empty other than tourists. We sit in VVIP stand, with much needed fans given the temperature. Food laid on and constant supply of water. So far we have stayed in the main stand - next test we will wander around a bit more.

On the field we saw a great test. Pakistan have struggled in recent times but batted  well in first innings scoring more than 550 in two days.  In the past an England team would have been thinking about settling for a draw from mid day two onwards  but this team is different. They batted in their normal way - one over more than Pakistan but scored 250 more runs than Pakistan. Records were broken and suddenly the pressure was on the home team.

Less than three sessions later England had won by an innings! Quite remarkable from the position on day 2 and reflected the different mindset and form of the two teams.

Return to hotel with trip planned this afternoon - only to be cancelled as there are local protests!

We go away from Multan for a couple of days and then get back for second test.

Xmas in Morocco - random thoughts

So i have spent Xmas in Morocco before - it provides decent weather alternative to UK (often cold in morning but shirt sleeves by lunchtime), is relatively cheap and has a diverse and interesting history. The people are generally very friendly - although pushy at times in the most touristy areas. My french is good enough to get around as English is not understood in all areas.

Previous trips have been to Marrakech this time i split my time between Casablanca, Fez and Marrakech - three very differerent cities. Casablanca is commercial centre, Fez is one of the ancient capitals and sees itself as cultural and educational centre, and Marrakech is very international/cosmopolitan. I spent three days in each which was about the right amount of time for a leisurely look around.

I flew into Casablanca got the train to my hotel and then used it as my hub for the rest of the trip.

Travel between the cities was by train - easy to book online and use etickets when here, basic but fairly reliable, cheap and easy to negotiate. There is a faster service i believe between Tangiers and parts of the country, but my trips were between 2 or 3 hours a time. I stayed in three IBIS hotels, all just by station, decent although a bit tired. As per my experience with other Accor hotels over recent years, they struggle with some basics such as having reliable electronic door keys! You either had to replace every 24hours or place the card at some random angle to actually get a green light! They obviously dont have the same variety/uniqueness of some of the riads you can find, but worked for me on this trip.

For the first time i used an e-sim for my phone - probably more expensive than getting the cheapest local sim card, but easy to load and decent value. Having google maps came in very hand as i like to randomly walk around cities,  get a bit lost but with comfort blanket of google.

You see the french influence quite a bit. Wide boulevards, French being universal second language and in the posher restaurants some of the waiters demonstrate an aloofness/arrogance rivalled only by their collegaues in Paris.

Food is generally decent and fairly cheap - in particular outside main tourist areas. 

Whilst its perhaps a bit arrogant/rude for me to judge (or think i really understand) but the country does appear to remain failry male centric. In coffee shops you see groups of men sitting and chatting but very rarely groups of women or mixed. Most sights of women are whilst working - Men less so. However you can sense a bit of change amongst the younger generations.

Some random thoughts about trip

Rail travel is easy

But not all european trains run on time - the UK services compare ok (i am sure the locals complain about pubic transport just as much as we do)

Sketchers are great shoes - i wore the same pair throughout my trip, walked a lot of steps but shoes were always comfortable

Its still embarassing that everywhere speaks English and my foreign language skills are so poor

I really should have travelled around Europe more over the years

My knowledge of history is really poor 

Travel is a great way of improving your knowledge of history

I was either lucky with my tour guides, or all overseas tour guides are superb (I hope the same applies for UK)

How did we ever survive before digital cameras. The thought now of using a roll of film, rationing the photos you take and then waiting to have them developed to see whether you took a good photo or not seems so long ago

I took too much luggage. My main bag was full, as was my rucksack, as eventually was the rucksack given to me at the bridge. I planned one small laundry along the way but should have gone for two pit stops. Felt like i was wearing hard tyres all the way.

Clothes packing cubes are great (that such a sad thing for me to admit thinking)

Why have i not been to Italy more in my life?

Technology continues to change how we live our life. I went with smartphone, tablet and laptop. Most of my tickets/reservations were online.

Cliche i know - but travel does really broaden your mind

Bruges

Wednesday was my longest travel day of the trip - train from Munich to Franfurt, then Frankfurt to Brussels and finally Brussels to Bruges. So it meant a day of podcasts, reading and some general relaxing onboard the train.

Everything was running broadly ok, until the Brussels train despite arriving on time, stayed in the staion for quite a while. I think, from tracking on internet, that there was some vandalism outside Anderlecht but overall the delay was only about 45 mins.

A few days ago i noticed that FC Brugge were played in Champions League that evening. I had quickly searched about tickets without joy, but looked again when i arrived at hotel. I was slightly surprised that i was able to register on club site and book a ticket. It seemed a bit expensive (CPFC supporters dont get many champion league fixtures to attend) but i thought it should be a good evening. When ticket came through on my phone, i then noticed that the only option to purchase tickets had been for all 3 of the clubs home fixtures. So i either need to find a way to come back on the two other evenings, or i have a ticket free if anyone wants it!

The ground is about 15 mins away from station and i arrived 90mins or so in advance. After getting in, i went to get something to eat only to find that you buy everything on a club card. Eventually i found somewhere to get a card and to top up. The game was enjoyable, the home team played well in a close match. The deciding goal was an error by the Leverkeusen keeper and the home crowd were relieved when a goal was ruled out by VAR and a few minutes later by an offside flag. I noticed that a lot of the local chants were very similar to those you hear in a english football ground - sometimes in English sometimes translated - and it was slightly strange to hear You'll Never Walk Alone before kick off and Wonderwall at full time.

So Thursday was my main day here, and this time i signed up for an architectural walking tour. Hosted by a very enthusiastic guide ("my other job is TV producer") it provided a very good feel for another city with a history that i knew little about - having been one of the main trading ports in the world at one stage.

Photos of Bruges - be warned they are not edited so may contain multiple/poor photos: 

Currently reading :  Jo Nesbo : The Jealousy Man

Munich

So Munich was the penultimate stop of the trip and was an easy direct train trip from Zurich. There was no particular reason that i chose Munich, it just seemed to be a logical mid point on journey home.

I arrived mid afternoon, and so had an afternoon and a full day free, ahead of an early train to Bruges (via Frankfurt and Brussels. I spent it walking around what seemed a fairly compact city that whilst having some reasonable architecture seemed more "industrial" than many of the places i have visited - I guess it was bombed heavily during the war. There were however some interesting sites and quite a few areas of green space including the English Garden which had a fast flowing stream/river flowing through it which seemed to be a focal point for local surfers (well the nearest coast line is a fair distance).

Photos of Munich - be warned they are not edited so may contain multiple/poor photos: 

Currently reading :  Jo Nesbo : The Jealousy Man

Zurich

I had stopped in Zurich when i took a similar rail trip in 2018 after finishing work. 

So this time it was a bit of a pit stop, one full day being a Sunday. 

Before arriving i noticed that FC Zurich were playing Saturday night and i managed to book a ticket online. The ground is fairly central, only a 15 mins tram ride from central station. Its on old style european ground, with a athletics track around the pitch.  I think the capacity is around 25,000 for football - no pressure this evening as only 10,000 turned up. The standing area was full and very lively but otherwise the attendance was very patchy. The most vocal aways supporters seemed to be a group of about 15!

The quality was not that great and FC Zurich who have started this season badly after winning the top swiss league last year, conceded early, eventually equalised but then conceded again just before 90 mins. Arsenal play there later this week and should not be worried - other than the pitch looked very poor and cut up. For Arsenal supporters it should be a good trip - nice city, i imagine the ground will be fuller and a decent atmosphere and they should come away with a win.

The following day i decided to spend a relaxing Sunday, walking in the park by the lake and then around the town - with the occassional stop for a coffee. Zurich is a very beautiful city, with a relaxed vibe and the only issue around staying for a longer period is that its expensive.

I now travel to Munich on my homeward start of the trip.

 

Photos of Zurich - be warned they are not edited so may contain multiple/poor photos: 

Currently reading :  The Travels of Marco Polo

Currently watching Ten Percent Series One on Amazon Prime