India-London Overland

washingline

I'm in Delhi now, and want to do the overland thing to London. The Iranian Embassy won't give me a visa (British passport), so I have a vague plan to go to Pakistan, head south, and ask about a ship to Turkey. I read it's possible, but can't get details. Does anyone know which port I head for, who do I see, company names???

Thanks.

steven_ber

firstly, i think it would be Karachi, the following site should be of some help and has a list of shipping agents who may be able to help.

Karachi Port Trust

this is a real long shot, but try the following link, click on tramp voyages, it changes every day and ive heard that berths are taken up very quickly so you have to be fast and flexible.

http://www.freighter-cruises.com/

have you tried asking for a 7 day transit visa for iran, ive heard they are a lot easier to get than other visas, though still not easy, ive heard iran is a realy friendly country so it may be worth another try.

for pakistan trains go to:- http://pakrail.com/

the following sites will be usefull if you can get a transit visa for iran.

THE MAN IN SEAT 61

IRAN TRAINS

TURKEY TRAINS


unfortunatly it is too early in the year to go through the himalayas or you would have had countless options.

good luck.

washingline

Brilliant, brilliant. Thanks. I'm just about to go home, I'll check out everything tomorrow.

Actually, at the Iranian embassy, it was a transit visa I was asking for. The man was friendly, but said the rules had just changed for British passorts now. I would have to pay, wait two weeks while it all goes to Tehran, and then they say yes or no. But he told me confidentially:

"British passport is always in the negative, and the visa fee is non-refundable".

Which I took to mean don't bother. It's OK if I can find a boat as I think I'd really like to see Turkey.

So, I'm off to the Pakistan Embassy tomorrow. My luck that India just expelled most of the diplomatic staff.

Thanks again. I'll let you know what happens. Anyone else have any tips? I need all help I can get as I can't even find a Pakistan guidebook here!

paan wallah

in 93 i also tried the overland trip back home..getting from india to pakistan wasn t a problem at all....in islamabad i applied for an iranian visa...they told me it would take 8 days to get..i had to fill in a lot of forms,with lot s of questions like which country did you visit in your life and more stupid questions..I didn t notice that I had been to israel a couple of times..guess why...
so i returned to the embassy 8 days later...I was feeling quite happy to go on the road again...I thought!
they gave me back my application forms and told me it would last
one month maybe 2 or more months to get the visa...big shit..
before I left very angry they asked me :why didn t you tell us you ve been to israel?
I didn t even have stamps,visas or anything in my passport!!!
How did they know this?
so as I was running out of my pakistani visa and not wanting to get back to india I catched a cheap fligth to istanbul...
anybody had the same stupid experiences?
maybe next time I will try the overland trip again maybe including afghanistan...anybody s been to afghanistan already(recently)?

good luck to you

washingline

Hi,

I tried to post yesterday and something went wrong, it wouldn't let me. I think British passport holders had a hard time getting Iranian visas for ages, I mean probably since the revolution, but it had been getting easier just lately. The man at the embassy said the procedure had changed "recently", implying it was easier previously.

OK, fine if I can't. I'm easy as long as I avoid flying as much as possible. I'm sure I'll just enjoy Turkey for a longer period. BUT I went to the embassy of Pakistan today. It was about 11 am. but the visa gate was closed. A gruff guard told me to come back tomorrow, but there's a notice up saying, as far as I can work out, since Delhi threw out half the staff, visas are only given to Indian residents.

But thanks for the sites again Steven. The pakrail one will be especially useful if they do actually let me into Pakistan because there is absolutely no guidebook here. I just bought a second hand Rough Guide to Europe, which is good as it includes Turkey, so once I get past Pakistan, I'll know what the hell I'm doing.

I posted the original post both here and on the TT as I was a TT diehard for years, but no one seems to write as much now. There's a lot of original posts, but not so many answers anymore. I could make Indiamike the new main board... but I'll likely have to find a European one. I think stuck back in Britain, it will be too depressing to read about India, until I make enough money to come back that is.

steven_ber

when you get back to britain keep in contact with this site, you would be amazed at how much advice you can give now that you have been to india.

you could give your opinion on the hotels you stayed in, places you travelled to, restaurants, scams to avoid, visa info, and overland to europe. (i give you advice on it and i have never done it).

whilst giving all this advice it brings back some fond memories, something you need from time to time in england, of course i only answer questions when the samaratins are engaged. (ha, ha,)

be sure to check out http://www.seat61.com/index.html the site lists all the trains you need to get between india and london, plus a whole lot more info.

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Train information.

washingline

Sure, I'll try and stay in touch. Like I say, that's if I don't miss it so much that it's hard. I've done the long haul thing, learned some Hindi, am half Indian anyway, and it's started to feel like home. In England, I'll just be a money obsessed scrooge, so I can save and come back.

But I went to the Pakistan embassy yesterday, now they won't give me a visa either. I got there about ten in the morning, there was absolutely nobody there except a really lost looking Indian woman. We walked around and finally found a man behind perspex reading the paper. She was applying for a Korean man who had a letter of introduction to attend some official function. When it was my turn, he said for a British passport, there's absolutely no chance of any visa, and I'm not allowed to enter without one.

But the destination part of the lonely planet said there are visas on arrival for most nationalities. I don't know what to do now. I could go up to the border, but it wastes a lot of time if they say no and I have to come back. There's no time to go the other way via China, so I've been asking round for an air ticket to Istanbul. It's about three hundred dollars, but I think a longish flight, which I'll hate. It doesn't look like there's going to be any choice.

What's it like going home after a long haul? I mean, I left because I hated it there. I try and imagine being back and I just can't. It's an awful thought. I won't like the food, will live in a tiny room and will have absolutly nothing to do except work. After India, England will be like living in a graveyard. I think maybe I'll go mad and end up walking round the streets muttering about not wanting to buy a carpet and asking for paan in the newsagents. Are mental problems a normal reaction when leaving India?

steven_ber

arriving home isn't too bad

is it not?

no?

you sure?

course i'm sure

what you looking at?

the cat

cat?

its taken over the computer

why?

my computer keeps laughing at me

the walls are closing in

every day, and in every way, i'm getting better and better, ha ha inspector clousseau coming to get me.

hhhhheeeeeellllllllllpppppppp

steven_ber

sorry about the last reply, i couldn't resist it.

OK, getting home, its not that bad, the world is a small place.

i normally go to this exotic place i know for long weekends.

i normally start the morning with a parsi scrambled eggs or maybe a massala dosa, then have a good look around the markets (fascinating, so different from where i live), i then normally take the long and sometimes bumpy bus journey to take lunch in one of my favourite south indian vegetarian restaurants where i discuss with the locals places to visit on my next 'long weekend' whilst eating the hottest panner and chile ive ever had.

the afternoons are normally spent sightseeing whilst drinking lots of fruit juice and sweet lassi's to get some feelings back in my mouth.

in the evening i try and get to 'Omi's restaurant and van hire' for a fantastic meal from a family who had a couple of generations in southern africa and somehow create a food that is unique.

then the short walk through the crazy trafic (though strangely no cows) to my favourite watering hole 'the glassy junction' for a night of punjabe entertainment, normally a punjabe band, seek kebabs, roti's, chana massala (my mouth is watering just thinking about this, but only one day to go) the punjabi's (indian and pakistani's) will talk of why the punjab should have never been broken up in partition, whilst looking at a massive old wooden wall map of the punjab in the 1930's, many more drinks will follow.......before repeating it all again the next day........and then the awfull reality of the journey home.

this exotic place, southall, west london, an indian food lovers paradice (as all of london is).

its the same in bradford, birmingham, manchester anywhere in england.

get home, enjoy england, start planning your next trip.

paan wallah

getting home is a special experience
after travelling half year,a year or even longer you will meet all your friends and relatives back home....
your city your country
but you are a different person to the person who left all this behind
you changed,you think different,you act different,you will be much more open to new things,you will have different views on the world,on people itself,maybe you were "enlighted"
and then your friends stayed the same,
this makes your life more complicated,
you and your friends will be on different levels
well coming home is a different thing....

washingline

I'm not sure I want to see my "friends". The main one got married while I was away, no one else could even be bothered to get themselves a postcard to send me. I know what you mean about hanging about Asian places, that's how I'm planning to stay sane. I've really changed, it's hard to explain but I'm Eurasian, half-Indian half European, but grew up in a completely western envioroment with my European Aunt. So there I was basically a dark skinned British person, last saw my father when I was five. Knew absolutely nothing about India.

But now I've been here, learning some of the language, I think I want to stay. It's too much in me now. I really think that no matter how long I stay in England for, I'll always feel like a foreigner.

This is a mad idea, but I have this vague plan to find my father, get papers that prove I'm of Indian origin, then go for either a PIO card or dual nationality. I've no idea what the criteria for this is... but whatever it is I'll fulfil it even if it takes me years. I have to do this, because I know all the time I'm in England, I'll be dreaming of India. I mean it. I'm going to end up living here, no matter what I have to do or how long it takes.

I'm still trying to find a way out of Delhi now. I looked at a map and was surprised how far away Turkey is. Most of the middle east places won't let me in. The closest parts of Africa, like the Sudan eyc. are not safe. But Egypt might be a possibility, then ferry to Yemen and another boat to Turkey. I'd like that, the pyramids would be a bonus I wasn't expecting. My adventures aren't over yet.

I'll let you know how I get home. I'm from Northampton by the way.

paan wallah

well egypt is also a very nice country to visit,,,the food is also very good,nice climate now,nice people,especially the sudanese down in assuan,
you also could take a ferry from alexandria to either cyprus,or direct to athens in greece,or maybe just cross the border ti israel,then jordania,syria,
the sinai is a very nice area to see and explore,
I also like this very< much,travelling without a plan,just seeing what s happening,you never know where you end up,

maree

Just remember that current world events may muck up any chance of travel in the Middle East at the moment! But I'm sure you realise that.... be careful, whatever you decide.

steven_ber

you could try living in london, tower hamilets is now officialy 50% bangladeshi, other london borough can be as high as 70% non-white, unfortunatly, british asians are not the same as asian asians, maybe they learned too much from the locals, however, i will soon become elegable for ethnic minority status and the benifits that brings.

if you do not want to fly far, you could fly to Kashi in NW China and get the train home from there (i will even supply you with train times and chinese/english booking forms).

alternitavly, fly to Ashgabat (Turkmenistan) and train/boat home from there.

Sadhu

Steven - Next time you're in Southall make sure you hit the Punjabee. My favorite Indian place in London (spent 6 mo there, and used to go once a month for business for about 5 years). There' also a great place for instruments called Jas musicals. His stuff is quality, much better than Bina in my opinion.

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