Italian exploring the world on Vespa returns to Pakistan

Driving up the Margalla Hills on his vintage Vespa, Ilario ‘Vespanda’ Lavarra is nearly 7,000 kilometres from his hometown, Milan.

But that distance is merely a fraction of the amount he has travelled on the 150cc bike. In the last six years, the Italian has travelled 200,000 kilometres across at least 97 countries, with each name listed on the right-side cover of his motorbike.

Pakistan was already on the list, and this is Vespanda’s second visit since winter late last year. “I drove through Iran, crossing the Taftan border before riding to Islamabad and then heading up to Hunza and Gilgit.”

He will spend at least two nights in the capital to restock and review his plans before embarking northward on another adventure.

He had a memorable last trip, including a major scare when he escaped, what he said was, ‘certain death’.

Ilario Vespada spent a night in a cell in Chilas as it was too cold to sleep outside and he couldn’t find any other indoor accommodation. Photo via Ilario Vespada

Vespanda usually sleeps in his tent, which can handle temperatures up to -5 degrees Celsius. “Although rarely a day goes by when I am not invited by locals to spend the night at their house,” he hastens to add.

While driving in the Kaghan Valley, he was stranded on a part of road. It was snowing heavily and he was on the verge of frostbite. With no villages in sight, he thought it was the end of the road for him.

Instead, some local hunters found him. They took him home, provided food and lit a fire for him. “I am alive today because of them.”

Vespanda says the incident was as scary as waking up to a pride of lions playing with the flaps of his tent pitched in the middle of nowhere in the African Savannah. “I played dead for almost 20 minutes until they left.”

In another fond memory from Pakistan, he spent a night in a holding cell at a police station in Chilas. But it was because he couldn’t find any accommodation and it was too cold to sleep in his tent outside.

 

A minimalist travelling on a budget of around €15 (Rs4,500) a day, Vespanda says that he has benefitted greatly from the kindness of strangers. This has been the case in his travels across the world but particularly in this region.

“Wherever I stop in Pakistan, people come up to talk,” he says. “They also find the Vespa cute and interesting,” he continues, adding that such conversations often end up with the person offering to host him for the night.

He does not stay in hotels or eat outside as he is “a vegetarian eating mostly fruits and vegetables”.

His last four months were spent in India, having gone there from Pakistan. For him, the hospitality and welcome has been gracious across the region, although he didn’t sound too pleased with the drivers in Bangladesh.

He wasn’t critical of Pakistani drivers but did say that he was used to the speedsters of Milan so it wasn’t much of an adjustment.

For Vespanda, single and childless, the latest adventure started in 2017 when he decided to bring together his two loves: Vespa and travel. “I don't want to have any regrets when my last breath comes.”

He wrapped up work at the three-room guesthouse that he ran in Milan, and took to the road again.

In 2010, he had done an 18-month trip that started in New York, took him through Alaska and Argentina, crossing 21 countries and covering 82,000 kms.

The Vespa has been his trusted ride throughout; often travelling 12-14 hours a day across Europe, the Americas, Africa and Asia.

Vespanda is handy with tools and knows his ride inside out. “Plus, it’s easy to find parts in Lahore or Islamabad and elsewhere.”

He will leave for Hunza shortly, hoping to spend a month in Pakistan’s north and experience the beauty of the region during the summer. He hopes to visit China next and then go to Nepal.

He does not know where he will head after that. But one thing is for sure: it will be on his trusted Vespa.

 

Published in The Express Tribune, June 26^th, 2023.