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.