From Lahore to Kashgar by road. Sounds exciting, entertaining and adventurous — and light on the wallet too. Within just days — from November 3 to be exact — an economic yet luxurious foreign travel will no more be a distant dream for us Pakistanis. Enjoying the captivating scenic beauty that abounds all along in the north while seated in lavish transport coaches — offering air travel like facilities — will no doubt be fun of a lifetime. Imagine a midnight departure from Lahore, an early morning breakfast in the mountainous Mansehra valley, a lunch amid the beauty of Besham, a warming-up cuppa at the chilling Chilas and a sumptuous dinner at the tourist hub of Gilgit, before a crossover into the friendly frontiers of China — and all that in just twenty-three thousand bucks for a thirty-hour-long journey. Attractive in every sense of the word. A holidaymaker’s delight, indeed.
One of the rare gifts of CPEC, the bus service to be run by a private Pakistani company offers comfortable plane-like adjustable sofa seats, better onboard services, including snacks and beverages, music of your choice and fast Wi-Fi service. Cameras have also been installed inside the buses to ensure the security of the passengers. The bus service will run four days a week — from Lahore to Kashgar on Saturday, Sunday, Monday and Tuesday; and a return journey on Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday and Friday. Apart from Lahore, passengers can also book their seats from Rawalpindi and Islamabad.
The CEO of the company behind the rare bus service believes — and quite rightly so — that the bus service will help foster the brotherly ties between Pakistan and China. The two countries claim themselves to be Iron Brothers, but hitherto had no real avenues so very direly needed to promote people-to-people contact between them. The bus service will serve, in its own way, to strengthen the friendship that boasts of being higher than the Himalayas, deeper than the ocean, sweeter than honey and stronger than steel.
Published in The Express Tribune, October 31st, 2018.
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