Lahore — Pakistan on the way back
It was impossible for us not to stop at Lahore on our way back.
lahore under the rain!
First to visit the Baig family and their company employees,thanks their unlimited help, we were able to continue this trip after the accident we had with the heavyweight last October.
The other reason to our stop to Lahore is our Iranian visa that we expected to pick up at the consulate after applying online with the government website.
A agitated arrival again!
Marine and Baba’s truck breaks down without being able to start again just ten kilometers after the Indian border. We still have fifty kilometers to go to the Baig family’s factory.
The situation is theatrical! The truck breaks down in the middle of a rush hour junction (even if the rush hour seems to last 24 H in Lahore), the wind rises violently causing a dust storm, the whole overhangs with a yellow rust sky .
Not being able to restart it we take the decision to tow it with an Iveco framing at the back with the heavy weight in warnings.
The situation is not ideal, 50 kilometers in these conditions with the tiredness of the day , it will be long …
And indeed, it has been, especially when we get lost, the convoy being separated in two after a change of direction … in short, I pass you the details, the idea being to show you how our arrivals in Lahore are chaotic!
The met up with our Pakistani friends are full of emotion. It is for me very nice to come back here lighter. There has been a long way since this accident …
While waiting for our Iranian visas, we take advantage of being at the factory to carry out some repairs on our trucks before the big crossing: window broken, lights, change of a solar panel, …
Our waiting time could have been endless, as the Iranian embassy did not deliver our visas.
Explanation!
We decided to go through the official website of the Iranian government, evisa.mfa.ir, to make our request. The issue of the authorization number is free of charge. This number is mandatory to start a process. The deadline indicates to obtain this number is ten days maximum. After ten days, we still have no news and so decide to go in person to the consulate. They announces us without further explanation that our file is not receivable, that they cancel our request online and that we must go through a private agency of which he gives us the phone number. Conclusion: go directly through an agency to obtain your authorization number and all the necessary advice for obtaining your Iranian visa. We highly recommend tappersia.com which have been efficient and responsive for our visa to go.
This small adventure with our Iranian visa extends our stay in Lahore for at least a week.
We will take the opportunity to organize a small party with the employees of the factory with whom we cohabit every day. A form of friendship has been created between them and we, even if we do not speak the same language, the simplicity and the goodness of these people is enough to establish a strong relationship.
Lahore will once again prove to us that it was a unique step in our journey. A kind of tectonic plate, a hinge city that reminds you that in a sense you can only be a few kilometers from India but patience, you’re not there yet, it can still absorb you .
And in the other direction, she does not forget to remind you that your way back is still long …
