Even the slightest mention of Pakistan has the ability to raise eyebrows of fear and suspicion around the world. The thought of actually visiting Pakistan scares gora brethren to shreds since for most them it’s a place of only bombs and bullets.
That being said, there are those that still venture into the “wild side”, out of curiosity and give our little old country a chance say that they aren’t disappointed. Instead of bombs and bullets, they are graced with beautiful scenery and much, much more.
Three Americans, along with Pakistani adrenaline junkie Moin Khan decided to take a tour of Pakistan…on their Vespas
Tom “Bagel” Donohue of Santa Cruz, California, Brook Dain of San Jose, California and Michael Strauss of Johannesburg went on a 2000 kilometer journey all across Pakistan on their Vespas.
Their route took them up the Karakoram Highway, from Islamabad to the Chinese border at the top of Khunjerab Pass, then back down, across the Deosai Plain, and along the treacherous Skardu-Gilgit Road, before returning to Islamabad two weeks later.
A mini-documentary called Scootistan covers the journey of all four men riding across Pakistan on their scooters. Witnessing a Pakistan that is very much different from their TV screens, the three amigos were totally awestruck.
In the video, you can see them not only taking in the scenic beauty but also enjoying themselves to the fullest by taking part in local customs and traditions
Of course, they also got to taste the legendary Pakistani cuisine
You can see them dancing to folk numbers with their hospitable hosts. Also tasting our local cuisine particularly barbecue chicken which according to one of them is the best he’s ever had in a long while.
A memorable part of the documentary is when all four of them had to carry their scooters across a broken down bridge.
The initiative was led by Moin Khan who became famous in 2011 when rode his motorcycle from San Fransisco, USA to Pakistan
“Since 2012 I’ve been inviting bikers from all over the world to Pakistan to ride motorcycles with me here,” Moin told MangoBaaz.
“Initially everyone’s scared and it takes me months to convince people to come, but once they are here they fall in love with Pakistan and that makes me happy”, he added.
Tom, Brooks, and Micheal didn’t want to ride on motorcycles but still wanted to experience Pakistan to the fullest so they chose scooters, instead
“They only ride Vespa scooters and when they emailed me saying they want to see Pakistan on scooters and only scooters I told them I’ll arrange scooters for them and so I did,” said Moin.
“This film has no sponsors, no branding, no drama. It’s just to show the world a side of Pakistan that they never get to see. Pakistan is not what you see in the media. Pakistan is beautiful, Pakistan is happy and Pakistanis are most genuinely hospitable people on planet earth in my opinion,” he added.
You can watch the full video of their interesting tour right here:
These guys have fallen in love with Pakistan, but that’s certainly no surprise. What’s your favorite thing about Pakistan?
Cover image via: ADifferentAgenda / YouTube