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The final stretch of road in Pakistan from Multan to Lahore was relatively uneventful cycling wise, although definitely a highlight for us culturally. Always in our minds was that these would be our last few days in Pakistan and we tried to make the most of it (which basically means Nic tried to cram in as many sweets and shami kebabs as he could manage, and Sedef tried to snap as many photos as she could!)
During our last few days in Pakistan we were invited to visit a village middle school by the headmaster, which we were delighted to accept. It was very interesting to see the difficult conditions of the whole education system – no furniture and only two classrooms, which meant most of the classes were held outdoors, with students sitting on the ground. We were also shocked to hear that the literacy rate in Pakistan was as low as 27% – primary school education is not compulsory and poor families send kids to work almost as soon as they can walk.
The next day we visited a 5000 year old archeological site called Harappa – one of the key cities of the ancient Indus civilisation. Together with its sister city Moenjodaro (the ruins of which are also in Pakistan), Harappa has thrived around 3000 to 1700 BC. The ruins were unfortunately significantly damaged during the construction of the Lahore-Multan rail line in 1870. The railway engineers found there apparently inexhaustible supply of ready-baked red bricks, which they used to lay the foundations of the railway over a distance of more than 150km!!! Still what was left of the ruins were interesting, and more so was the museum with the artefacts recovered from the site.
That evening we stayed in the government resthouse in Okara, where the head officer put us in the charge of his deputy, Tariq. Tariq was the best a host could be – he invited us over to his house to shower, have dinner, and meet his family, including his old father who had served in the British Army in Singapore for 25 years, 3 of which he had spent in a Japanese POW camp, and was awarded the Victoria Cross. It was a great experience for us to see family life in Pakistan, and meet Tariq’s family too. We hope to keep in touch and meet again sometime soon.
