Road travel Lahore-Karachi-Lahore

[fahadyousuf1]

On the 3rd day of Eid (08-July-2016) I started by much awaited road tour from Lahore - Karachi and back. My ride was Nissan AD (2006) which i got health checked from PakWheels before starting my journey. All relatives opposed the idea but still we were enthusiast for that experience.

On that morning I left from Bahria Town Lahore at 8 : 00 am with my family (mother, wife and minor children) and I was the only one who can drive.

At around 10 : 30 am i reached Mian Channu where we stopped for tea and washroom and some rest and continued the journey after 1 hour.

The newly built Multan-Faisalabad motorway section is so beautiful that while driving you think yourself playing Need For Speed.

By 2 : 00 we reached Bahawalpur and had lunch at Lataska Village restaurant between Bahawalpur and Lodhran, the hotel staff was so kind that they give us double-bed room complimentary for rest without any charges.

After 2 hours, at around 4 : 00 pm we continued the journey and reach Sadiqabad after Maghrib. We searched for a hotel and checked into Damam Guest House for over-night stay. It is important that the hotels on highway are very expensive but if you move 1-2 kilometers into the city you will get the same accommodation for half price.

Next morning we continued our journey at 6 : 00 am and within 40 minutes we reached Sindh / Punjab border and there was nobody to stop us (might be due to Eid vacations).

We have an incident in Sindh near Ghotki where a dog came out from nowhere and moving slowly towards car, i tried my level best but it crashed into my car but I don't stopped afterwards. After some time i felt my car is heating up drastically. When i checked, i found that the radiator was damaged and leaking like a tap and the number plate was blown away. I stopped and filled water but it only lasted for 300-400 meters where i have to stop. Fortunately we stopped in front of a roadside tea stall and the boy there was so kind that we gave cold drinking water to us, filled fresh water for our car from hand-pump and even was not willing to take the amount of tea which we purchased from him. I just crossed the road and found a mechanic who himself was a very very nice guy. He was not aware of Japanese cars but upon insisting checked the radiator and filled the hole by "magic depoxy". Once the work done, he checked and checked until his full satisfaction and then let us go.

Then we reached Sukkur and stopped for tea and washroom. After Sukkur, we crossed the "Kachay ka elaqa" without stopping and reached Moro at lunch time. We took the lunch at famous Taj Hotel and we stayed their for around 2 : 30 hours. When we left Moro, we didn't stopped anywhere and came directly to Karachi where we reached the Toll Plaza at Maghrib and within 30 mins we reached home.

More to follow in next posts ...

[fahadyousuf1]

Our return journey was on 26th July, 2016 at around 7 : 00 am. On the way back, we had a very bad start when Police stopped us at Karachi Toll Plaza and telling different stories like you have to pay fine of Rs. 5000/- through EasyPaisa due to fancy number plate and started telling different stories and only let us leave after accepting Rs. 500/- bribe (that they started from Rs. 5000/-). Then we stuck into trucks and diversions on motorway construction between Karachi and Hyderabad (mind you the coming route was clear) and we reached Hyderabad in 5 : 30 hours time.

Then we stuck in another traffing dead-lock where there was a line of trucks for about 2-3 kilometers and were simply standing, not moving. We entered Hyderabad city and crossed the whole area by the guidance of another kind person who asked us to follow him and he guided us to the highway again. From there I drove directly to Moro and had our lunch. After lunch we rushed again so we can pass the Sindh area in day-time but unfortunately again stopped by Sindh Police who have there own share of stories but the bottom-line is same (to earn some bribe). After getting rid of them, I tried to move fast but by the time of Maghrib I olny reached Sukkur.

Now we decided to stay in Sukkur and we entered into the city. The city was much bigger and beautiful from our expectations. There was all the important outlets like Pizza Hut, KFC, Nishat Linen etc. and lots of traffic like Lahore and Karachi. After getting into the city we easily reached another guest house "Decent Lodge" which was also very reasonable in cost and had all the facilities like room service, on-order cooking and very beautiful rooms. I was also amazed to see that there was traffic on road till 2 : 00 am, there was a "Baraat" coming back and all of the lively joys of big cities like Karachi and Lahore.

After night stay, we continued our journey at 5 : 30 am with the prayers of not getting any further problems by Sindh Police (esp. at border). Alhamdulillah, the Sindh Punjab border police let us go without irritating us and once i entered Punjab, i was feeling that I reached my home. I drove fast with full excitement and without any tension of getting stopped by rubbish police. I reached Bahawalpur around 1 : 00 and stopped at Taj Hotel for the lunch. At 2 : 00 I continued my journey and reached non-stop to Lahore but due to rush near Lahore i reached my home at 9 : 00 pm (Alhamdulillah).

More to follow ...

[fahadyousuf1]

Some important points to follow for others:

1. There is no issue of hotels or washrooms as there are plenty on the way.
2. Try to travel in daylight, especially if you are only male (like me) so that in case of any emergency you will feel better and get the support easily
3. The two sides of highway are separated in Punjab with green-belt while in Sindh is actually a 2-3 feet deep "khadda" serves as seperator. Due to this, a lot of trucks are found fallen into this and this usually happens at night.
4. The chances of dog crashing is more in night due to less visibility.
5. There is nothing to worry about the route, you just keep the either the indication of following the double road (as it is the only double road) or if there are cuts, you should move straight. I haven't used any google maps throughout my journey.
6. The chance of robberies in Sindh areas is eliminated in day-light.
7. I have got my car inspected and properly maintained so haven't found any issues but still i kept bottles of water, coolant, tow-chain and Tyre-pump with me during the travel. I also got tyre pressure checked 4-5 times during the whole journey to avoid any punctures.
8. Plz avoid travelling between Karachi and Hyderabad at the moment (until motorway is built) as I traveled roughly 150 km distance in around 5 hours. The under-development motorway is of world-class standard and after completion i think it will reduce travel time between Karachi and Hyderabad to around 1 hour only.
9. The police in Punjab is very good but the Sindh police is simply damn ****. Plz someone advice me that what can be done so that either they shouldn't stop me again or let me go after saying "sorry sir".

P.S: If any of you fellow members have any questions, i will be very pleased to answer.

[k3g1397]

sir i have few questions
1:
lahore to mian chanu ( 2.30 hours )
mian channu to bahawalpur ( 3.30 hours )
bahawalpur to sadiqabad ( 3 hours)
sadiqabad to sindh border ( 40 min )
sindh border to sukker ( ) ?
sukher to moro ( ) ?
moro to karachi ( ) ?

2: which is your car
3: petrol and toll plaza expenses?

[fahadyousuf1]

Dear, sorry to reply sooo late, but still I think replying is better.

The distance from Sindh Punjab border to sukkur is roughly of 2:00 hours.
Sukkur to Moro: 2:00 Hours
Moro to Hyderabad: 2:30 Hours
Hyderabad to Karachi: 2:00 hours

Car is Nissad AD (2006:2011)
Petrol cost was around 6500 at that time when Petrol was around 60 rs/litre
Toll was Rs. 30/- at every toll plaza except Khanewal / Multan motorway and Khi / Hyd motorway. Total it would cost 700-800

[muhammad-noman]

where r the pics :?

[fahadyousuf1]

I haven't taken the pics because I was the only driver and had a young family.

[muhammad-noman]

oh

[fahadyousuf1]

Brother sindh k interiors to mujhe bhe dekhnay ka boht shoq hai. Or barrenness to mujhe bhe dekhni hai. Lekin munafiqat ki baat mujhe ghalat lagti hai because pehlay yahan aisa nahi tha lekin ab kafi hadd tak apki baat theek hai. Mein ne iss cheez ka practical muzahira dekha hai k jaisay awam hotay hain waisay hukumran unn per "naazil" kar diye jatay hain.

Lekin majority ka azaab minority ko bhee bardaasht karna parta hai.

Jis ne 1 year pehlay punjab visit kiya ho wo ab karay to usko nazar aaye ga kaisay cheezayn kharabi ki taraf chall parri hain.

[waqar747]

How times have changed (literally ) in about a decade.
Just comparing above times with my trip last week:
Karachi Sukkur sector of OP took him a total driving time of around 10-12 hours (there were stops in between so I can't tell what the driving time was exactly).
I did the above in 7 hours, driving normally within speed limits and only one 20 min break at Gambat Shell pump for fuel and freshening up.
Sukkur Lahore sector took another 13-15 hours with a lunch break and some traffic delays.
Mine was 7.5 hours with 2x fuel / washroom / namaz stops. I did both sectors same day and was also the only driver with my family.
The main difference is obviously the motorways which have been made in this time, which have shaved off many hours. Interestingly, I don't think Hyderabad - Sukkur times have changed much since nothing changed in the roads network here. If we can have our M6 motorway made in this sector, we may end up saving a good 2-3 hours, which would make the Karachi Lahore trip around 11-12 hours.
I have done this trip about 8-9 times in the past 3 years, and done it without overnight stops most of the times.

One last comparison, and not a positive change Fuel is now 270 vs 60, and my fuel cost for one side is around 25-35K depending on the fuel rates. Of course my car is not very fuel efficient (11-12 kmpl) so that's also a factor.

[Hassan1991]

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