20 years ago today - Day 301

Sunday, December 29th – Islamabad to Rawalpindi, 15,470 km

Frank appears at my room at 10 am, where I have been waiting for him since breakfast, having no idea when he would return. I am grateful that it was earlier, not later, as I hate waiting.

He is looking rosy cheeked and is full of exuberance. He says he had a great time in Murree with 60 cm of fresh powder snow to play in. He spent most of the daylight hours snowshoeing. If I had done that I doubt I would be walking as well as he is, as though his legs aren’t tired or sore. He says he has been thinking about India and is excited about traveling with me, which makes me feel honoured. He asks if I am ready to leave tomorrow and I say I am, but there are a few things to do first. The first is to check out of here, say goodbye to Vincent and Coen. They give me affectionate hugs and handshakes for Frank. Frank takes their hugs as a sign that I must be a great guy to travel with. Well, I haven’t always been, but I think Vincent and Coen have given him a glowing report of me to make sure to give us the best foot to start off on.

Frank has to visit the Indian embassy to pick up his visa. He leaves his passport with the clerk at the counter and we sit and chat about his time in Murree and cycling in the North West Provinces, where he was shot at. He really like active sports. I tell him I hope I can keep up with him, but he assures me that he is in no race and that he like to cycle with his partner, not somewhere ahead (like Mike Silk did). Finally his visa has been installed in his passport and we are free to go.

The train to Lahore leaves Rawalpindi at 8 am so we ride back to Rawalpindi to find a place for the night near the railway station. He knows a slightly nicer place not far from the station, a place he stayed with Eric the first couple nights in town. Once we are settled in, we head for the train station to buy our tickets, which requires showing our visitor visas first. Again, it will be second class. The clerk assures with a smile that our car will be air-conditioned. Great!

We pore over the maps of India we have purchased, which are intensely detailed. I have a Bartholomew’s map that covers the whole sub-continent. It is the best and most detailed I could find. Frank and I also look over the Lonely Planet’s Guide to India. He is an easy man to plan with, either because he is easy-going or because we have similar ideas about traveling. We agree to avoid the heavily industrial Punjabi cities of Jalandhar and Ludhiana by swinging to the south after visiting Amritsar. Our route will basically head south-east through Punjab and Haryana to New Delhi, and then south-west from there through Rajasthan. I have not decided if I will fly home from New Delhi or from Mumbai.

We share a dinner out tonight to celebrate our new partnership, which makes sense since we don’t have any kitchen facilities in our present place. My camera has officially died again. I have given up on it but he assures me he will send me copies of the pictures he takes. He says he is a good photographer.

Everything we suggest to each other seems to go down like honey. He is open to trying whatever we want at the time and I know I am going to enjoy his company. I am ready to leave this cold plateau at the base of the foothills of the Himalayas to find somewhere warmer. We both want to visit Goa before we head home. I can’t wait!!