Pedal For Paws

🎊🎉INDIAN WEDDING 💃 🕺 When we were given this once in a lifetime opportunity to go to an Indian wedding, we didn't hesitate for a second. We adjusted our travel plans and did everything we could to get to Delhi in time. And omg, it was so worth it! We swapped our dirty cycling clothes for beautiful Indian wedding dresses and had the time of our lives for two days. Katharina has known Pavan for 6 years from their internship together in Bahrain. She even visited him in Delhi in 2019 and got to meet his generous family. When Pavan wrote to us that he was getting married to his wonderful Filipino girlfriend, Yean, we knew what we had to do. We had to organise everything so that we could experience this beautiful union. We are still totally blown away by how amazing this wedding was. So much has happened in such a short space of time over the last few weeks that we can't even keep up with sharing our experiences here. We're really behind schedule at the moment, but we also want to be in the moment as much as possible and process and reflect on our experiences before we just throw everything out there on social media. So, here is a little insight into this beaaaaautiful wedding. No worries, we'll go into more detail here over the next few days. ;) Thank you, thank you, thank you, Pavan and Yean for allowing us to be a part of your special day. Experiencing an Indian wedding is the dream of many people in this world and you fulfilled this dream for us. We will never forget it.

Pakistan, you have surprised us in many ways and and conquered our hearts with your smile. We know that you are far from being an ideal habitat for humans and animals. We have seen your dark sides and challenges with our own eyes. But we have also felt your heart and the love that surrounds you. It's not an easy country, not (and especially not) for the locals, but not for travellers either. It is hard. It is challenging. It is often incomprehensible. It also makes you angry sometimes. And yet, if you take the time, keep an open mind and look closely, there is so much beauty hidden everywhere. We were lucky enough to get to know wonderful people and meet the strongest and bravest women on our journey. Women who are absolute role models and are already changing Pakistan for the better. We know that we are not done with this country yet. And we are happy to know that we will see many friends here again next time. Thank you for letting us be your guests. And we couldn't have imagined a more beautiful farewell. See you soon, Pakistan.

The famous 🇵🇰Wagah-Attari🇮🇳 border, where a spectacular border closing ceremony takes place every afternoon - a demonstration of national strength with a fraternal handshake. We had only seen these scenes in documentaries before and were as excited as little children when we were allowed to stand in front of these proud, tall men for the first time, who are all much more relaxed in reality than they appear at first glance. Once we had crossed the border, we were almost ready to go. Joscha got quickly some Pakistani make-up so that we actually felt like we were in a football stadium. And this association continued throughout the ceremony. It only lasted about 45 minutes in total, but it was unexpectedly so much fun to applaude, cheer on and marvel at the cool moves of the soldiers. This is definitely the coolest border we've ever crossed. And the border police on both sides were also extremely relaxed and helpful. With the end of British colonial rule in August 1947, two independent nation states emerged: Pakistan and India. Although a cause for celebration, the partition of the subcontinent brought with it unimaginable suffering and trauma on both sides. Countless people lost their homes and lives back then. It was as if siblings had been separated and turned into enemies. And yet we have met so many people here who have nothing personal against India or the people there, but blame the governments for the ongoing hostility. Many of the people we spoke to would even like to travel to India one day, but it is almost impossible to get a visa.

Just like us, they are discovering this world for the first time. Every purr, every smell, every bark, every wag, every curious look is a step on their journey. They mean you no harm. They have nothing against you just because you exist. The least we can do is treat them with kindness, patience and love. They may not speak our language, but their hearts understand everything. We should be the reason they trust humans instead of fearing them. Every time I observe animals for longer, I think that we humans do not deserve to share this planet with them. We wonder how we can be so blind not to see the beauty and feel the love. We wish that every human would long for the affection and connection with these animals instead of wanting to hurt and abuse them. Because there is no love as pure, loyal, connecting and unconditional as this. ❤️🩹

We can't think of a better way to get inspired than meeting so many people who dedicate their lives to saving animals. Seeing with our own eyes how people don't look away and make a difference every day through their actions is so touching and encouraging every time. And we realise every time that we want to dedicate our lives to positive change. We want to use our limited time on earth to give something back and make it a little better. And it is these people who inspire us to do so. They exist, the good people. And we want to be an active part of them and make our contribution. It's hard not to become cynical and bitter in this world. We fight it every day too. But it doesn't help us, the animals or anyone else. World-weariness can sometimes eat you up from the inside. But for us, the best coping strategy is to get up and take action. Complaining and blaming are easy. Taking action and being part of the change requires courage, a sense of responsibility and a belief in your own self-efficacy. The people here don't talk. They act. And they save. And they change. Even if it is hard and pushes them to their limits. It has made a difference for every living being rescued. Many thanks again to the ACF team in Karachi and Anila and Sana from cawo in Islamabad/Rawalpindi for allowing us to be your guests and learn from you.

It's these moments that we love so much about this trip. Just as we arrived in Karachi, the annual cultural festival of the Sindhis, an ethnic group in the south of Pakistan, began. This Sindhi Culture Day celebrates the history and rich heritage of the Sindhis. When we left the house to have a look around the city, we couldn't stop being amazed. The joy of the people was so infectious that our hearts beat faster at the sight of this authentic event. You know that moment when you don't expect anything and then this cultural wave rolls over you and you just let yourself be carried away and go with it. That's how it felt. It was great. The Sindhis are the third largest ethnic group in Pakistan after the Punjabis and Pashtuns. Apart from their traditional homeland of Sindh in Pakistan, there is also a significant Sindhi population in India. After the partition of British India in 1947, many Sindhi Hindus and Sindhi Sikhs migrated to the newly independent India. Pakistani Sindhis are predominantly Muslim.

So what exactly is our problem right now? Sometimes you have to take detours to get ahead. But this diversions is not necessarily to our liking. The problem has only recently developed. Suddenly we heard from more and more cycle travellers in the Whatsapp groups that Pakistan had become a dead end. Where it used to be possible to get a visa for India through an agency in Pakistan, this suddenly no longer seemed possible. People were sometimes stuck in Pakistan for months and in the end were left with uncertainty. The only option we had to get to India was an e-visa. The problem with the Indian e-visa, however, is that you can only get it if you arrive by plane. What a bummer! Because the border with India is only 25 km away from us. We thought about it for a long time and exchanged ideas with many backpackers who were travelling through Pakistan at the same time as us and were struggling with the same problem. In the end, we decided to leave the bikes in Lahore, take the 20-hour overnight train to Karachi and fly from there to India via Oman. There are no direct flights from Pakistan to India either due to the political differences. In Delhi, we will hopefully receive our e-visa at the airport. Then we take the bus to the India-Pakistan border, cross the border, pick up our bikes and cycle back to India. Easy, right? 🫠 We would have liked to have spared ourselves this nonsense, but we received a one-off invitation in India and had so many plans in general that we ultimately decided to take this time-consuming and expensive route. But we don't want to complain, because we enjoy such blatant privileges with our passport. While we can simply travel back and forth between India and Pakistan, the people in these two countries can't say the same. They can't get a visa for the neighbouring country so easily.

I must honestly admit that I was afraid and had some reservations about cycling to Pakistan. Although I had been very curious about this country for years, I also had respect for travelling there by bike. I was worried about police escorts and wondered if my personal wellbeing would suffer from the over-presence of men on the roads. Lo and behold, I was pleasantly surprised. In the first few weeks, the police played no role at all in our everyday lives. We were able to move around freely in the beautiful mountain landscape (probably the most beautiful landscape this year) and chat a lot with the locals, who spoke very good English, especially in Hunza, but also in the big cities. And even when we were escorted by the police for a while, it wasn't a negative experience at all - on the contrary, it was actually a lot of fun. We got to know many lovely people who reminded us what service actually feels like. And because the people were so extremely friendly and accommodating to us in the many personal interactions, I ultimately didn't mind being surrounded by so many men all the time. And we also had the pleasure of getting to know strong women who know exactly what they want and are self-determined in their lives. We have introduced you to some of them. Here in Lahore, I noticed how all my worries and fears disappeared into thin air without me even realising it. I was just happy to be here, in the northern part of Pakistan. It's been so much fun and I get really nostalgic when I think about leaving the country soon. I really have to go back, because I have so many ideas, plans and new friends that I want to see again.

When we decided to go to Pakistan by bike, we had no idea and no plans at all, but one thing was certain: we would go to Lahore and visit Haseeb. Haseeb and I (Katharina) know each other from our time in Bahrain, when we both did AIESEC internships in various start-ups in the summer of 2018 together with 20 other students from over 11 countries. 🇩🇪🇮🇹🇹🇷🇪🇸🇪🇬🇹🇳🇮🇳🇵🇰🇧🇷🇨🇳🇹🇼 We lived in shared flats, cooked for each other, spent everyday life together, celebrated birthdays and went on excursions. It was not only an instructive but also an incredibly fun time. We became so close in such a short time that it was very difficult for everyone to say goodbye. I still like to think back to that time today, because I really took this diverse, multicultural group to my heart. Since then I have promised Haseeb that I would visit him one day, but it never happened. Until now. After 6 years, the time had actually come. He is now married to the wonderful Boutheyna from Algeria and they have a super sweet son. The three of them show us around Lahore and invite us to the best restaurants. All our needs are catered for and we chat into the night every evening. And Boutheyna has now got us hooked on Algeria! We absolutely have to see this country one day! And we are not only allowed to be guests, but also to park our bikes here for a while. Because we have a mission ...

Day 854 - The greatest joy and the greatest despair are often closer together than you might think. Especially when you decide to drive on bumpy dangerous roads through the mountains of Pakistan on an open loading area. In Chilas, we decided to hitchhike for the next stage for some good reasons. We leave our beloved Gilgit-Baltistan, where we felt so free, and drive into the province of KPK, which borders Afghanistan. It is common knowledge that travellers in this province are escorted by the police due to certain incidents in the past. And since we can't imagine that we can still enjoy cycling if we have a new police officer behind us every 10 kilometres, we decided back in China that we didn't necessarily have to cycle these areas. At first, we were really excited about the possibility of hitchhiking. Until we realised what it actually meant. Due to poor road conditions, landslides and roadworks, it took us over 10 cold hours to cover 125 kilometres. But you can't always win. At least the police had no problems with our choice of transport. On the contrary, the checks at the checkpoints were quick, uncomplicated and with a pinch of humour. We were asked again and again if we were OK and then we were on our way. Tip: Have copies of your passport and visa ready, this speeds up the procedure immensely. :)