Crapping on a yak.....overland to the other side of the world and the rest: Day 58

spreading the love. BY FORCE

Today I sit in the cab with JC / James, our driver. I am not sure this is particularly wise of me, because this is where the first bullets would go if any incident were to occur.

We are a tired group on the truck, the humidity detracting from the soundness of our sleeping.

Tonight we camp in the Multan police compound, where we attract quite a crowd of policemen and their sons (not a lot of females are seen). One of the guards offers to escort Meg to a shower, but she turns down the opportunity. I enquire whether I can go in her place, but the guard ignores me. Given what some people in Pakistan (& Iran for that matter) think is the typical behaviour of western men and women, I suspect he was hoping for a shower for two. Meg has crowds around her for most of the evening.

We get an armed escort to the toilets for some reason, though they are still in the compound just about 50m from where the truck is parked. The men are allowed to wash their hands in the neighbouring mosque foot baths, though the women have to do without.

We also get an escort out of the back of the compound for those of us who want to do some quick shopping for cigarettes, etc. Again we find ourselves being scrutinized and surrounded by a running pack of kids, some asking for money but others just curious to see us and hear us speak.

There are a couple of men who insist on doing our camp cooking tonight, although I suspect they are curious about some of our ingredients.

There are a group of young men playing football on the field where we are parked. A few of us join in, but fitness levels of our group are not too great, and I am the only one who plays the whole game. I should add that I was the goalkeeper. I chat quite a lot to the central defender, who is a tall strong player, a typical English style centre back. His assurances that Pakistan is a safe country are not entirely convincing though.