I crossed the boarder from India into Pakistan on the morning of the 2nd of December after a two hour ordeal with the Indian customs, and a nights sleep in the car, parked outside the Indian customs office as the boarder closed at 5.00pm and I arrived just half an hour too late the evening before. In the morning none of the customs officers could find any of the rubber stamps which were required for the two Carnets I have, and it took them ages to find them. By the time all the paper work was completed I was more than relived to be on my way out of India and into Pakistan. I had to get out of the car quite a few times to produce my passport as I left India and again in Pakistan though this was just a formality. Once all the paper work was done in the various customs offices on the Pakistan side I went out to the car and right in front of me was a London taxi, I couldnt believe my eyes when I saw it and I walked over to talk to the driver who had just spent the last seventeen days driving from England, I might add that he was English and we spoke for at least an hour talking about the road conditions and where it is safe to stop for the night. There was also another English guy who was riding his motor bike around the world and was also heading into India. I had hoped at the time that I would meet up with someone heading my way but I think I must be the last to head west this year and probably the last for this century. We exchanged e-mail addresses and then said our goodbyes and went separate ways each heading into the great unknown.
   
    The night before I had to make a big decision as far as the tyres on the car are concerned, they are all very bald and I still have at least 6,000 miles to drive before I get back to England and my dilemma is if I get another puncture I will be stuck, probably in the middle of nowhere and unable to move the car. Leaving the car would be out of the question so I spent the evening before looking at the tyres and asking myself what I should do. I picked up a £2.00 coin which I had with me and threw it into the air and called heads to return home for new wheels or tails to continue and do my best to get back with what I have. Guess what ! heads came up and I was sorted.


   
    Now that I was in Pakistan I headed straight for Lahore which is only 40 kilometres away and took the first hotel I could find so I could park the car and take a serious look at the car and the situation. I found a great little hotel well it isnt all that little but I was well surprised to see armed guards outside the entrance. I parked the car and before I even checked in I explained to the hotel staff the situation about what I was doing plus the problems I was having and found them to be very understanding so with that I checked in and began to seriously evaluate the situation. If I was to fly home I would have to break into my depleting budget for the return ticket which was not cheap, about £500 in all and almost the entire funds I have left for petrol and food for the return drive home. I had to make a decision and fast as time was getting short to get the car home before Christmas.
   
    Actually it didnt take too long to make up my mind, I did have a serious problem with the tyres and had worn out eight driving through India and had no idea what Pakistan would have in store plus I had the flu and was just a little worn out having just driven through what I can only describe as a frozen ploughed field for almost 2,000 miles. The car is very different from when I began this leg and could do with some fresh spare parts. So that was it, I had made up my mind and I was flying home for spares and tyres plus some new wheels, and to gather some more money ! All I have to do now is win the lottery.
   


    Luckily for me there was a tour operator within the hotel complex and I went in to see them as soon as I was registered into the hotel. I was told I would be able to take a flight out of Lahore to Heathrow on the Saturday which was two days away with Pakistan International Airways. They only have two flights a week which is a Saturday or Wednesday and I confirmed the Saturday flight would do just fine. I then had to go out to get all of my travellers cheques cashed in order to pay for the ticket as it had to be done in Rupees, and once that was sorted I settled down to work on the car in the time I had left here in Lahore. I first had to sort out all the things I wanted to take home with me including some of the rubbish I had accumulated during this stage, I also managed to do quite a lot of work on the suspension which took a heavy bashing and the ride height of the car was actually four inches lower than normal.
   
    Saturday came and I parked the car outside the front of the hotel right where the armed guard sits and left for the airport which was only twenty minutes away.
   
    As soon as I returned to the UK I got in touch with Pirelli Tyres and much to my great surprise they had changed there UK representative and I was told they were no longer interested in helping me out with the tyres I needed so on that note I immediately got in touch with another tyre company who helped me with tyres on my first drive around the world, who Michellin Tyres and to be honest make a much better tyre as far as wear is concerned for my particular journey. They agreed at Michellin almost straight away to help me out with the new tyres especially after I told them about the fast wearing tyres I had on the car, and were sending them out to me straight away.


   
    In just five days I had managed to get the new tyres put onto the new wheels and gathered all the spare parts needed to take out with me and, book the return flight out to Lahore.
   
    Just twenty four hours prior to leaving the UK I decided not to take the chance by trying to return home in the eleven days I had left before Christmas so I decided against flying out and would cancel until the new year. That would at least give me a chance to get over my flu bug and get stronger for the hard drive ahead which will take me through the rest of Pakistan then Iran, Turkey, Greece and finally through Europe, and its not going to be as easy as it may seem because of the winter through the mountains in all of these countrys, I expect to be camping in some pretty cold climates and at some quite high altitudes. I just hope the heater which is not all that good will be enough to at least keep the chill off my feet though I do have a lot of warm cloths already in the car which I know I will need.
   
Duncan.