[abdakbar]

I have a nice little 32ft sloop in Makran, Pakistan. I intend to sail her back to the U.S. on of these days. In planning this trip I realized that besides Indonesia and the Philipines, East Africa is among the most densely pirate populated areas in the world. The Devil’s Teeth, Djibuoti, where the wind and current are always bad for those of us heading west are a feeding frenzy for pirates. Knowing this, I purchased a few wire guideds (don’t ask), some Kalishnikof’s (AKM’s), a few Tokarev TT33 pistols (because they were really cheap)….and a Browning .50 cal. mounted on deck….Why the hell would a bunch of priveledged kids go with out arming their guards….What good is a native guard, or non-native for that matter, with out arms?…perhaps he’s a translator…perhaps you don’t trust the guards with arms as they may be pirates also….I certainly wouldn’t pay an un armed guard to watch me get robbed. Perhaps the guards are collaberating with the pirates….At any rate, as we all know, shit happens, but everyone ultimately has to handle his/ her own business. If you drop me in Pirate rich waters….I want enough fire power to make them rethink their business of choice. I understand that even the most prepared person sometimes falls prey to some one else… But I after driving a little Fiat Spider around Karachi, Pakistan for a year I realized that if I should be car jacked…I can shoot the bastard in the back…its a convertible. Same goes for a boat…if they leave you alive…they still have to get away.

[abdakbar]

Hey Kramer, I know the feeling. The best food in Karachi is at a cafe attached to the Alliance Franciase, called Cafe Flo. It’s the only place in Southern Pakistan where mushrooms don’t come out of a can. If you happen to cruise through Karachi again I highly recomend the place. It’s only a block or so from Shawn Circle off of Clifton road. Also one of my other favorite places is called “Damascus”. It is also on Clifton road about a block from Shawn cirlce, look for the U FONE office just before you get to Aga Khan hospital. Damascus has great chicken and it’s a nice place to smoke shisha and hang out with some friends…

[abdakbar]

For the first few months in Karachi this past trip, before my container with my car arrived, I fomulated a nice policy when dealing with Taxi drivers….Mind you, this only works when residing in a place with regular taxi service, for an extended period of time. Find out the appropriate rate for a ride from point A to point B from some of the locals before hailing a taxi. Upon hailing the cab, just get in and state your destination…DO NOT allow discussion on price. Avoid the topic!!! Upon the arrival allow the taxi driver to state the fee. If his fee is within 15% or so of the apropriate rate pay it and tip him on top of that… He’ll be your friend for ife and speak nicely of you to the other cabbies. If however he quotes some otrageous some, get irate. Point B will probably have some folks hanging around (witnesses) Tell the cabbie what you’re willing to pay. If he doesn’t accept it, tell him he’ll take the regular rate or nothing and begin to walk away. If he approaches you with anything other than “o.k. I’m sorry, Xnumber is fine….” Turn around and smack him…beat the hell out of him. This is where the witnesses come in handy. They will undoubtedly approach to break it up and find out what’s going on. Tell them that this thief of a cab driver tried to charge you “Y” price for a cab ride that should cost “X” as you were only coming from point “A” and when you were negotiating he refused a decent some and then followed you with bad intent. Usually (in my experience) the witnesses will agree with you, help you out, and one time a bunch of Jumaati’s in Pakistan continued to beat the cabbie while I sat down and had a cup of tea with the head guy of the group. When this cheating beaten cab driver returns to the stand where you picked him up, he’ll tell all his friends about you, about the bandages he’s wearing, etc. He’ll end up telling them that he did try to cheat you. At that point the square dealing guys will say, “hey, I took that guy from Q to R and he tipped me very well.” This ofcourse is the Machievelian model. Be both loved and feared. Once there is discussion among the cabbies in your area that if you are treated well they are rewarded and if you are treated poorly they are punished, you’ll be on easy street. I broke one cabbies jaw, and all the other cabbies in my area ran him out on a rail. A week later he came to my house to beg forgiveness, which I happily gave, but he still never operated in that area again. You can accomplish thiis method in aweeks time and it will serve you well for the next several months with little reinforcement.

[abdakbar]

So J., I’ve got to agree with Rob that the best confidence builder is experience. Quit with the Fodor’s guide crap. Just buy a ticket, or a vehicle and go. I met a Swedish kid about Seven years ago in Islamabad. He had driven his POS VW Bus from Sweden, and was trying to get an Indian visa before driving across the Atari Road Border between Lahore and Amritsar. He was fairly cool but damn lucky. He only spoke English, Swedish, and German….and somehow made it across Iran! He was mostly interested in the best Hash from Around the world and was just begging to be some Pakistani prison bitch but last I saw him was at the Indian Embassy in Islamabad, Visa in Hand. He didn’t seem to be rolling in cash. I think he sort of made some money along the way here and there. Not sure how he put gas in that VW or food in his stomach, but he didn’t seem to concerned. Eat when you’re hungry..you’ll find food one way or the other.

[abdakbar]

Hey Kramer,
I renewed my visa once and then stayed another fourmore months after the extention expired. I was in Karachi for ten months, The first six were legit. I had no problem in leaving via Jinnah Airport Karachi. Now that may have been because I had a U.S. passport, or because it was the January after Sept. 11th, or it could be that as I was travelling with both a dog and a hawk the passport control folks were distracted. It could also be that your Chinese folks were actually getting hassled for a bribe and didn’t investigate that possibility.After all nothing is certain or standard procedure in Pakistan. Generally a White Western Face with a smile gets everything in Pakistan. It was Akbar the Great (Mogul ruler of India) that forced all wanting to business with him to remove their shirts. If the man was hairless that was the end of the meeting…..Akbar didn’t trust the Chinese. There are still lots of Racial attitudes that come in toplay with such things.

[abdakbar]

SRR, Thanks for the hook up. I’ll look for Ahmed at the hotel when i get there. Rob, Yeah, I’m pretty intent on West. Here’s why: FIRST; boat is a stolen Indian vessel…so I don’t really want to go back around India, I’ll stay West of Pakistan. SECOND; I don’t really want to go through the most pirate infested waters in the world in Indonesia and the Philipines on a slow as the wind boat. I have on board now 3 wire guideds and a case of L85A1s (which I will trade for a browning 50 cal to be mounted on deck, and some AKs and perhaps some tokarev pistols,etc) So I can handle the piracy around Djibouti…but not keen on SE Asia. THIRD; I want to end up on the East coast of U.S. and don’t really want to deal with either the Pacific Ocean on a little 32 footer nor do I want to go through the Panama Canal and deal with the Chinese who run it. So I figure the only real headache is papers, flag (I’ll probably go with a Liberian)/ name, and of course tacking into Djibouti…wind always blows the wrong damn way. The Med Should be easy, and from Gibraltar to the Canaries and Azores and through the Carribeanshould be lots of fun.

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