bus

Karakul – Out of Murghab

A new day, and a new month, starts in Murghab The new month has just started, and I have only 4 days left on my visa. I met these two guys in the bazaar of Murghab, one with visa expiring today (November 1). The guys were from America and Israel, and they have been waiting for onward travel to Kyrgyzstan. They were there in the bazaar yesterday but failed to depart. Today is the second day (and supposed to be the last day) attempt. Murghab is somehow a depressing place to wait for transport. As now the oil price has skyrocketed, one’s a month salary is only enough to cover the distance from Murghab to Osh or to Khorog in a public transport for one time. People don’t travel anywhere. There are many drivers but not passengers. The drivers hang around the bazaar the whole day to get passengers, and except the two travelers, and me, there is nobody else to share the cost. Some drivers even didn’t have petrol for their vehicles. The cost is always calculated in terms of liters of [read more]

November 1, 2006 // 0 Comments

Rawalpindi – Do Nambar

Women are rare on Pakistan streets. But when they are, mostly they are totally covered February 21, 2006 I have written many stories of examples of male to male sexual harrassments in Pakistan (personal experiences) and it’s unfair if I dont write the sexual harassments that happen to women, which are far more common. I was in a crowded bus today, heading to Islamabad. When I entered the bus, the seats next to the drivers (supposed to be seats for ladies, and it is really pronounced as LADIES instead of ‘aurat’ in Urdu) was occupied by some men also. The ticket men allowed me to sit in front seat also, maybe because I was foreigner. Then there were about five seats left for the ‘ladies’. But as there was only one woman passengers, the seats were again occupied by male passengers. Then everytime coming a female passenger, those male passengers have to move away and give the seats to the women so that no women will sit next to unrelative males. Something [read more]

February 21, 2006 // 0 Comments

Rawalpindi – More About Public Transports

Travelling and eating can be done in one-go in Pakistan February 20, 2006 Sometimes I have to grumble, and it was about the public transport service in Islamabad. In New Delhi I had an example when I took a bus and suddenly the bus stopped in the middle of nowhere as the driver didnt have mood to continue the journey, and all passengers had to find their own way. In Rawalpindi, it’s another story. Conductors are little bit too much enthousiastic in selling tickets, that they will lift you even they know surely 1000% that the bus will not reach your destination. Instead they will take you the nearest point between your destination and their route. Once I took a bus to Phir Wadhai and they dropped me somewhere in Murree Road and asked me to go by Qingqi instead. I chose to walk, and it was even further than the initial distance where I took the bus. In Islamabad, some bus numbers concern too much about the profit. Take an example, bus number 120 which passing from Melodi Market to [read more]

February 20, 2006 // 0 Comments