Travelling west from India

YvoFitzherbert

hiya, i am in India and am trying to work out a way to travel back to Europe overland. Due to the recent events in Pakistan, is it unlikely that the Pakistan embassy in Delhi would issue visas? Also, after obtaining recommendation letter from British embassy and paying 63 pounds, can your visa still be rejected? I don't want to pay 63 pounds to find out my visa request has been rejected.

If Pakistan is a no-no, is there any possible way to travel across the Arabian Sea to Dubai or Iran or anywhere in the middle-east! what about on a cargo ship? any advice that doesn't involve flying would be brilliant!

Merchant

You could sail on a dhow, departing from Mumbai or anywhere on the Gujarati coast, to any of the ports of the Arabian peninsula (Dubai, Sharjah, Oman, etc.). The UAE has a pretty easy visa regime, but you should get all your paperwork in order since you would not be arriving by air.

Dhows hit all the ports in Gulf, though schedules are haphazard and based only on cargo. So your boat might land in Sharjah and wait two weeks, taking on a cargo continually, until it's full and sails to Kuwait.

Dhow traffic is semi-formal -- crews carry fishermen's ID cards and dock in city centers along the inland creeks in Arabian coastal cities, so you would not be stuck in some industrial port with container vessels and high security. Dhows are boarded and inspected by immigration and customs officials before entering port, and they don't carry passengers, so you would need to make sure you had all the right clearances and papers to enter the country this way. It's unusual but not impossible. Journalists have done it.

Shiver me Timbers

Hi there, this thread may be useful to you - Travelling Overland From Europe to India.

I'm afraid I can't give any details about getting Pak visas in Delhi, but I'd speculate that regulations haven't changed due to the current situation - if this is indeed the case, it should be possible to get a Pak visa in Delhi, as I've met many people who have done this in the past.

YvoFitzherbert

Thanks Merchant. What necessary paperwork will I need to enter the UAE? Do you know where in particular along the Gudjarati coast would have lots of dhow traffic?

machadinha

? I'm sorry Merchant, and I appreciate your interest in it with your own photographic work and so on -- but I'm really really not aware this would be a viable option to any but the most intrepid, not-pressed-for-time, thoroughly experienced, and possibly foolhardy travelers.

Romantic? Yes; Realistic? I really doubt it. (Although I'll gladly take your word on it that some in fact do it. A journalist would probably have some editors and desk staff for feedback on logistics not to mention finances when in a rough spot though. Etc. Or at least an agent to ask to make some calls.)

You'll be aware btw that if it was ever feasible, such traffic will be under a lot more scrutiny in modern times (say after last year's attacks, for instance). I wonder if many ships will be keen to take you on, for similar reasons. They're probably having a hard enough time as it is already -- again, if they're allowed to take you on at all.

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Haylo

There is no reason for them to stop issuing visas, but you could always check their website for any news or phone them to check.

Yes, there is always that possibility.

Visas are entirely at the discretion of the issuing country, and there is never ever a guarantee that a visa will be issued.

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Merchant

Yes, this goes without saying.

The traveler would need to work with the boat's owner and agent, as well as immigration at both ports -- all of this in advance. I'm not saying it would be easy or without risk. But it's probably safer than trekking through Pakistan. Getting through the Pak-Afghan, Pak-Iran, or Afghan-Iran borders would be next to impossible. There are several wars going on, and a westerner risks being kidnapped for ransom or detained as a spy.

Shiver me Timbers

I would politely disagree Merchant, plenty of travellers are still crossing Baluchistan from Iran to Pakistan and on to India - a friend of mine did it two months ago. There's no reason why it can't be done safely in the opposite direction. The wars in Afghanistan and north-west Pakistan have not affected the Baluchistan route.

Regarding the shiping option, here's a webpage which may be useful - personally I have never heard of anyone hitching a ride on a boat from Iran to India or the reverse, but who knows? - http://www.persiatours.com/transportation_ferry.htm

machadinha

I'd also have thought that traversing Pakistan by a southernly or central route shouldn't be a major problem still no (well, I guess there's traditionally banditry here? But I think and for that reason cross-border travel here is often by escort for whatever that may be worth really, is that right Shiver?)

International sea travel on many routes isn't said to be so easy anymore anyway, and certainly not to and from India -- but for what is available, our trusty Man in Seat Sixty-One has some links that could be worth exploring (see bottom of that page): http://www.seat61.com/Linkspage.htm .

Merchant

Here's a British guy who crossed from Iran to Baluchistan on a bicycle, as part of his around-the-world tour. He picked up an armed Pakistani escort to ensure his safety:

http://www.dailyrecord.co.uk/news/ed...6908-21363516/

Shiver me Timbers

Yes, I believe if you have your own vehicle (whether by bike, car, jeep or whatever) then an escort will be assigned when travelling between Quetta and Lahore. This doesn't apply if you take the train.

It's understandable people are wary about travelling Pakistan right now, due to the media coverage, but the reality is that the current Taliban conflict is largely confined to a narrow strip of the norht-west.

machadinha

Aha, thanks. I hear even those trains are often guarded, no?

(That's not to scare people btw, it would certainly make me feel that much safer. I mean most Indian trains are guarded -- except for them giving me sh*t about my smoking, I really can't say I mind.)

Shiver me Timbers

I believe the trains are guarded for certain stretches, I met a guard on the train from Lahore to 'Pindi, had an interesting conversation.

Pakistani security guard - "Why aren't you scared of travelling in Pakistan?"

Me - "Why should I be scared?"

Him - "Because America has a media war against us, they claim Pakistan is a dangerous, violent country. This is false."

Me - "So why do you carry a rifle? In my country, the police don't carry weapons."

Him - "Because it may be dangerous sir, there may be dacoits, or terrorists."

machadinha

Haha.

I think there's certainly an element to be observed there though, namely parts have been renowned for their banditry (dacoitry) forever.

It really has nothing to do with some modern war going on far-away, just like you say.

So anyway all I hear is you can (always relatively...) safely travel through there yes, and you'll likely be escorted while you do. And it hasn't a thing to do with some war going on up north.

Shiver me Timbers

I think that's about right. There's always been that element in south-west Pakistan, war or no war. I really don't think travelling from India to Iran should pose any new problems that weren't already there before the current situation escalated in the NWFP.