It is time to return to Dubai! After a rough night’s sleep, my goal for the day was to visit some friends I had made along the way, pack my bags, and sort out my bike’s shipping. I would then take the next flight out of town.

It was a groggy morning:

• The night before had been punctuated by extremely loud drums around midnight, which seemed to shake the walls while I was trying to sleep. I later found out that this was called “Dhol” and was part of a wedding celebration.
• The mosque nearby had a deafening Fajr call to prayer at 5am that sounded more like someone singing a song, than the mystical sounds I get in Dubai
• The power went out, so by the time I awoke at 9:30AM, it was quite warm.

Disruptor of sleep

As I slowly awoke, I made my plan of attack:

1. First things first, I would try get electricity reconnected so that I could make my coffee.
2. I would pack my bags, packing my riding gear with the bike, and taking most other items along with me on the plane.
3. Confirm drop off for the bike shipment in the afternoon/evening
4. Then head off to see some friends I had made along the road at Aga Khan University
5. Drop the bike off (with a bit of luck), hand over documents, and then book the next flight out!

When i went downstairs to begin repacking the luggage on my bike, I was surprised to find the watchman cleaning my bike. I had not asked him to do anything, he was just doing it, and with seemingly no expectation of quid pro quo either.

The watchman

He seemed to be a man of few possessions, and I was a tad overencumbered, so I ended up gifting:

• a back up dehydrated meal that I had in case I was stranded
• some notepads, drink bottles and wallets I had accumulated
• a bunch of snacks
• butane gas cartridges; and
• the plastic tarp I had purchased to cover my bike (this seemed to be particularly useful for him).

Aga Khan University was about 30 mins ride away. I found out that it was named after a religious scholar, and was told that many of its followers (or perhaps the scholar himself) were related to the people of Hunza/Gilgit.

Entrance

And so there were offshoots of the university also in the Khorog area of Tajikistan (I believe ethically quite similar to those of North Pakistan, just isolated geographically by the Russians and the Brits in their designs for empire in the formation of the Wakhan panhandle).

Dean’s office at Aga Khan University

Aga Khan University was quite beautiful, and in my opinion, on par with universities in Australia in terms of facilities and design. Aesthetically, it seemed to reflect the Islamic scholars of old, sporting stunning designs with intricate textures.

Lecture hall panelling

Men’s hostel courtyard

King (queen?) of the courtyard

Arabic/Persian details in the lecture rooms

There I was meeting the bikers who I had ridden with from Skardu to (almost) Jaglot, before continuing on. They were administrative staff, and took me for a tour of the facilities, before a bite at the staff cafeteria. As I went along, I was introduced to many of their colleagues, all of whom seemed to have heard of me and my trip to date.

AKU bikers and colleagues

Then it was back to my accommodation, en route to drop my bike off at the shipping company. When Usman and Bilal had heard of my plans that morning, they insisted on coming down to assist with the shipping, and to see me off afterwards.

When I arrived at the Airbnb, they were waiting. We packed my things into their car/onto my bike, and set off.

En route to the final destination!

It turns out that the shipper had directed me to instead drop the bike off at a carpenters workstop, where they would build a crate to secure my bike, before it would then be packed into the next container to Dubai.

When i had arrived it was in a carpenter’s lane in a chaotic part of old Karachi. Rubbish lined the streets, which were complete with exposed sewage pipes, puddles and mud that were not to be stepped in, and too many curious kids with not enough things to keep them occupied.

This feels like the wrong part of town

The carpenters

Another bike, a 1250 GS (also from someone named Victor), was there waiting to be crated and shipped to Canada. I took comfort in that; their bike was worth a lot more than mine and would likely be prioritised in the event of theft…but then again we were not in the streets of London so there was not so much to be concerned about (this sounds like a joke but it’s actually not).

I wanted to meet the representative from the shipping company to confirm everything (including documents) were in order before heading off, so we arranged to meet at a KFC (i chose the location - i wanted a final feed with Usman and Bilal before heading off).

Clandestine meeting spot

With the goods

When everything was said and done, we were off to the airport. Hamza (the shipper) had assured the safety of my bike, accepted my documentation and keys, and given me the confidence to proceed.

Hamza the shipper

The only issue was that I did not yet have a ticket out, and internet access to purchase one was spotty…so I wanted to try the old fashioned way of purchasing a ticket at the airport.

Jinnah International Airport

Long story short, while there was a ticketing office open at the airport, they did not sell Emirates flights (the next flight out), so I ended up buying the ticket online anyway.

By 11PM I was on my way back to Dubai, another chapter closed.

A special thanks to Usman, Bilal, SLM, my friends in Rawalpindi, Shezi and Balaj for your kindness and assistance during my time in Pakistan.

Some stats:

• 37 KM travelled
• 30g coffee consumed
• 0L fuel added
• 5 unique interactions