Blogs from Pakistan, Asia - page 30

August 20 I wake up at the break of dawn to the rooster giving the wakeup call. I almost think I'm back in Mongolia as baby goates come scampering in my room to make sure I'm awake and aware of their presence. After a breaki of omeletes and another order packed for lunch I head towards the suspension bridges mentioned by the hotel manager. After walking on the highway for ten minutes and then heading down the small path skirting the village I have the strange sensation that I'm being watched, and several moments later a girl perched on a rock above me questions me on my intended route. In nearly perfect english I get redirected down a barely visible path and soon once again run into two smiling villagers bringing back wheat heaped upon their ... read more

So after leaving the peace and quiet of Rumbur it was time for the horrible mission South and over the border to Iran. We cut up the journey by stopping for a night in Dir and then again in Peshawar on the way down. Then it was 23 hours of bus to get to Quetta. Thankfully it was a good bus, and the bus drivers and conductors were completely lovely. At every stop they would take us off the bus to a private room with fan, and put on a huge spread of Pakistani food, drinks and chai. It was the Pakistani hospitality at its warmest and most appreciated on such a journey. It was just mindblowing and humbling. Quetta was a hot, dusty, hellhole with no eletricity and some bung internet. We did meet some ... read more

TOday we hired a minivan and bussed our asses down the Khyber Pass. After the initial hassle of getting our permits we picked up our armed guards (who were actually shorter than me!). And set off. First we drove through the smugglers market where the store windows are filled with A47s, rocket launchers and heineken. Standing under the concrete arch which marks the beginning of the pass was pretty surreal, and soon we entered the tribal lands. Outside we passed the refugee camps full of Afghanis in their mudbrick homes, children playing the dust and the colourful local string beds for sale on the roadside. The landscape was stunning: winding roads through rocky passes, forts dotting the hillsides and goats and donkeys grazing on the little grass that grew. Wherever we stopped we attracted the attention ... read more

So thought we should add an entry in the spirit of backpacker-dom. We have a house, with aircon and cable, and a cleaner. And another crazy kiwi who has brought us out tonight. there has been vodka and beer and chianti and johnny walker and paul simon on itunes.... we had burgers for dinner.... we are HARD... ha ha ha tomorrow: sleep in, chai, shopping for togas! Listening to: The police, every little thing she does is magic eating: nothing cos the kitchen closed at 10 drinking: chianti.. not sure which but it aint bad in 'alcohol free' Pakistan Feeling: great! We might get a guest entry soon......... read more

Crossing over the border was a less ardurous task than imagined and all went rather smoothly until a very commanding voice demanded we turn over our passports. Turning round we broke into smiles, it was Arnaud - and they were offering us another ride all the way to Lahore! The ride down was even crazier than the drive the day before. Once we crossed over 'roads' disappeared and instead Arnaud had to negotiate dirt tracks that went up, down and roundabout... avoiding trucks, buses, bicycles and donkeys laden with all sorts of materials. The poverty was quite startling after the relative prosperity of the Indian Punjab, and all around it seemed dirty, dusty and chaotic. As we neared the city the chaos continued and traffic came from all directions at mindblowing speeds. I am still not ... read more