At first it is a contest of which side can be louder, prouder, and more patriotic. When it is all said and done, citizens of both nations crowd at the locked gates that separate them. They cheerfully and curiously speak to each other while clasping the painted bars, knowing full well it is the closest they will ever come to setting foot on what was once a singular India sixty years ago. After proceeding through broken-down metal detectors (or simply stepping to the side of them to get through), the Pakistanis segregate their public by gender. The men occupy one section [View Full Entry]

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Simon still shows no sign of improvement. His complaints of the pain, fatigue, and discomfort are peppered with explosions of profanity as he rolls out of bed and practically hits the floor. During the night he made several visits to the toilet. His pants barely cling to his waist and he is pale in spite of the sun his skin has absorbed while trekking in the mountains. Ameen rolls up Simon’s red sleeping pad and began packing. Simon is not interested in breakfast but for some green tea and none of us is confident he’ll keep that down. He goes into [View Full Entry]

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This place cannot be for real. It is not just another world, rather another galaxy. My initial fifteen minutes in Balanguru are of paralysis and disbelief. Balanguru is what it must be like to be knocked unconscious by an alien tractor beam and then relocated to their home solar system. Distance, introversion, and geographical inaccessibility have shielded the Kalash people from mainstream Pakistan for centuries. An agrarian and independent civilization, they have rejected Islam and maintain their long-standing practice of ancient paganism. Their customs are on display without the slight [View Full Entry]

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Folks...This is a lost chapter. It is my final entry. For those of you who have followed along with me this summer, thank you. Thanks for the comments and feedback. It meant a lot to me. All the text has been cleaned up. I may post an epilogue before this goes out for professional review. I will be writing again in December. I'll keep all subscribers posted. Please check in periodically. Again, it has been quite a ride. Hope you have enjoyed. Rich. The minivan retraces the route back to Gilgit I was on three days ago. Locked in the middle [View Full Entry]

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A wildness about Pakistan is evident in the name of the regions over which the government has teetering control. Provinces such as Sindh and Balochistan may be one thing. But when added to the likes of the more lawless sounding Northwest Frontier Province, you’d expect scenes out of the Wild West. In many cases, that’s exactly what takes place! My favorite region of Pakistan by title alone is the Northern Areas, leaving the foreigner with the impression that its inhabitants are a part of the nation when it suits them, but do not wholly buy into Pakistani integration. I met t [View Full Entry]

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From the border until mid afternoon in downtown Lahore, I had not grabbed much to eat. By two o’clock I sought anywhere in the downtown area with a functioning generator and preferably with a chilled dining area to offset temperatures over one hundred degrees. Within the first three minutes of scanning for an eatery on Regal Chowk I confirmed (by my own standards) that Lahore was truly the cultural capital of Pakistan. I saw the sign behind a row of trees across the median-divided boulevard. The letters were on the standard yellow background inside a brown oval. I followed each one [View Full Entry]

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The halfway point of my time on the Subcontinent is the first reminder of my journey’s mortality. No longer is it acceptable to extend stays a night or two in a given village or hill town without earnestly pondering how my limited remaining time will be spent. The days now dwindle downward to a finishing point. As I sit on the apex of my travels, I am at once rejuvenated under the realization that time is not limitless and that there is much left to do and to accomplish. From this day forward when each day passes, I will look back [View Full Entry]

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31 July Lahore, Punjab, Pakistan Here are some more random thoughts on traveling through India, again in no particular order: 1. A hotel room advertising air conditioning is only as good as the electrical grid that supports it. 2. Upon being subjected to a handful of Bollywood action films, I long for the thespian acumen of Brian Bosworth. 3. Whoever the CEO is of Lay’s potato chips for India, is a very influential person. 4. In order to make a public phone call in India, it is necessary to find the ubiquitous booths labeled STD. With that kind of title, I [View Full Entry]

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For a woman who has never set foot in the Estes Park of India, Kiran made a huge pitch for me to spend time in Manali. We had sat down to discuss what would be my next move. The great thing about running my ideas past her is that she does not ever try to change my plans. Rather, she picks areas of interest along the way that might work for me. Even as I bade her good night after a late dinner in Naggar’s Lincoln Log castle, she was still pushing for Manali. It is more scenic than here, she [View Full Entry]

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The taxi deposited me in front of the art gallery. My day’s travels ended in a thunderous and rumbling “Sir!” from Prashant when we made eye contact followed by a rib-crushing bear hug. Upon realizing how genuinely excited the gregarious Rajasthani Commando was to see me in Naggar, I knew I had arrived in the right place. The miles of over-the-road pounding had come to an end and I was in good hands. I doubled back through Shimla because there were no connections across the mountain passes to the road leading to Manali. I would either stay a night in Rampur [View Full Entry]

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