QUETTA (Pakistan): One probably gets by with a little help from one’s friends, as the tune goes.
But when travelling in unfamiliar territories, local guides, fixers and tourist liaison officers are the people one can rely on to facilitate one’s journey.
That was the case for retired lecturers Adnan Abdullah and his wife, Hadibah Idris, who have embarked on an overland journey from Malaysia to Makkah to perform their haj.
They are driving their modified Ford Ranger 2.5 WLT Turbo, which they named Unta Kurus, or Lean Camel, in this journey that started three months ago.
On Wednesday, the couple crossed the Pakistan-Iran border in Taftan, after spending more than a month in Pakistan.
After two hours at the Immigration and Customs clearance, which Adnan said was faster than the usual three hours spent at other border checkpoints, the couple were greeted by a man known as Hamid.
“In Pakistan, we had a guide named Raja Rizwan Rehmat Din, 28. In Iran, we were introduced to Abdulhamid Hassanzehi Fakher, who is known as the ‘King of the Border’.
“He is a tourism officer placed at the Taftan Customs, Immigration and Quarantine Complex to help tourists.
“He helped us exchange money, obtain a SIM card and check into a hotel.
“He arranged a dinner with Dr Mojtaba Mir Hussani, a provincial tourism official in Sistan-Baluchestan, Iran.
“It was the best dinner we had throughout this journey.”
Adnan said Mojtaba and he were keen on promoting Sistan-Baluchestan to Malaysians.
He said Malaysian travellers in the past had taken the same route between Pakistan and Iran.
“They included a convoy of bikers, who took the desert road to Iran’s border in Taftan.”
He said officers like Hamid were needed by tourists when navigating foreign territories.
Recalling his experience in Pakistan, he said he was lucky to have Raja Rizwan, who acted as a driver-cum-guide for the New Straits Times team when it accompanied the couple in their journey to Pakistan’s Baluchestan province.
Adnan got to know Raja Rizwan when they performed Friday prayers at the same mosque in Islamabad.
He said Raja Rizwan could speak Bahasa Malaysia as he had worked in Malaysia for six years.
The NST team rode with Raja Rizwan on his Suzuki Wagon R from Islamabad to Quetta, which was a journey of more than 900km that took four days.
Adnan said cities such as Islamabad were easy to navigate for tourists. However, for smaller towns, it was better to explore them with local guides.
He said the trip through Pakistan was an eye-opener for him and Raja Rizwan.
They learnt that foreigners could not enter certain territories or routes as they needed to have a no-objection certificate from the Interior Ministry or its department branches.