Multan

The journey to Multan was straightforward. We stopped at a petrol station and saw a goat strung up from a tree being skinned. We had just missed it being slaughtered apparently. I was unsure if that was a good thing or not. Our police escort were concerned we would be horrified by it but it was more interesting than anything else.

The rest of the way to Multan was ok. When we arrived we went to the ‘new Relax‘ hotel but the staff would not take us as foreigners. Apparently this was becoming an issue in Multan and what the real reason behind it was remained unclear. Perhaps some local mob was involved and needed to be paid some monies that were not being paid. Whatever we were taken to another hotel which would take us but was much more expensive than the first. I watched intently as Tom (a salesman in his previous life) skilfully and persuasively tried (with some success) to lower the price. It was still too much so we moved onto the Shelton Hotel.

The Shelton was a simple basic hotel but had secure parking with guard and satellite TV. Again Tom did his persuasive negotiation, flattering the hotel manager about his gaff but explaining why it was too expensive. He pointed out that the police wanted to go home and that we were all tired which seemed to do the trick with the final price being 1200 rupees for the room including breakfast. There was some wireless internet which stopped working the next day because the bill on the line had not been paid.

The hotel was near a KFC so we headed out to eat there which was a very strange experience. The entrance was guarded by private security with metal detectors and shotguns. Inside was just like home complete with screaming kids and a birthday party going on upstairs while everyone wore the traditional dress but seemed to be better off than most people we had encountered so far.

The next day Helens tummy took a turn for the worse and Tom had to head on to Lahore alone. We think it was because she inadvertently drank water from a bottle that was in the room before we arrived but had no seal on. Probably filled with tapwater to save a few rupees by the hotel but wound up meaning we stayed for an extra 2 nights. I was glad Tom had negotiated the price down. We stayed in and watched the satellite TV before we were ready for the 300 km push to Lahore.