A free day today, we have no tours or bus rides, the whole day is ours. After a good breakfast of fried eggs, toast and tea (such a change from flat bread, honey and cheese that seemed to be the norm in Iran). Five of us; The Juice, The Couple (including the whole), Freaky and myself decide to head into town to look for a cashpoint and internet cafe. Most places are closed as today is the muslim festival of Eid (the equivilent of our Christmas), after thirty days of fasting during daylight hours they are finally able to let their hair down.
We are totally mobbed, seriously, you couldn't move, we were surrounded. I dont think the locals here in Quetta get to see many western tourists, in fact our tour guide told us that we were the largest single group of western travellers to visit Pakistan since 1988. Things are all very friendly at first with handshakes and smiles but when they started touching and pinching the girls we decide to return to the sanctuary of our hotel and our armed police guards. Myself and Freaky get into a local three whelled taxi, The Couple (including the whole), and The Juice continue to walk.
In the taxi we meet three locals who seem very friendly, this I suspect is down to Freaky, I quite sure she gets plenty of attention most places she goes. They offer to show us their homes and businesses, I am very aprehensive but Freaky is full of trust and I cant let her go on her own. Next they offer to take us on a picnic at a local park, again I am suspicious, we make an excuse that we have to go back to our hotel first where we make sure people know where we are going and then with Freakys trust we go on our picnic.
We had a great time and my fears were false and Freakys trust was true. A saying from 'The Young Ones' comes to mind where Niel in his druggy hippy voice says "fools rush in where angels fear to tread", well in this case the angel rushed and the fool feared.
Does this say more about me or Freaky? I ponder this thought for a very brief moment as deep thought gives me headaches. Making a mental note to give more thought to this at a later date.
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I think your tour guide was lying just a little, like OZ bus has done alot. Myself and 30 other people drove from London to Sydney in a bus in 2006 and stopped in Quetta and Pakistan....... so unfortunately that tale about biggest group since 1988 - bollocks!
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