I have always had a fascination with the "stans" and in May I got the opportunity to visit the remaining "stans", Pakistan and Afghanistan. I arranged the trip with the tour company in the Netherlands, Culture Road (I had previously visited Syria with them). On a Monday morning in May I flew from Manchester to Istanbul where I changed to a flight to Lahore, Pakistan. A bit of stress when the Manchester flight was delayed and I only just made it to the Lahore flight.
I didn't get any sleep on the flight to Lahore (but I did watch the Elvis movie) so I was pretty tired when arriving in Lahore at 4:30 in the morning. Customs was actually quite easy - no lines. I had a printout of my Pakistan visa and I just showed that and my passport and I was in.
Coming out into the early morning heat of Lahore I was expecting to see someone with a card and my name on it. Alas that was not to be. I tried calling all the numbers I had for the tour guide in Pakistan - no answer, similarly for the Culture Road office in the Netherlands - no answer. I hung around for a while and pondered my fate and then someone showed up with a piece of paper with my name scribbled on it. What a relief.
I was met by my guide, a woman, Jojo. A female guide in Pakistan is perhaps a little unusual but she was a delightful person and we got on really well.
We went to our car, a Toyota Corolla, and off we went to the center of Lahore. There was a little confusion about the route out of the airport to the hotel and I gathered they were perhaps not Lahore locals. We eventually made it to the hotel, the Oban Hotel, around 5:30 and I went to my room for a couple of hours sleep.
There was a buffet breakfast on the top of the hotel that was comprised of all sorts of dishes - none particularly my idea of breakfast food - curries, lentils, potatoes, sausage. I settled for the pancakes.
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| Jojo the guide and the armed security at the Oban Hotel |
I was picked up at 9:00 am by Jojo and the driver, Shakoor and off we went to change money. We stopped at a Western Union office and I changed $60 at an exchange rate of 276 rupees to the $.
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| Tomb of Jahangir |
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| Minaret at Jahangir's Tomb |
We then set off to see Jahangir's tomb in Shahara Bagh to the north west of Lahore, on the other side of the Ravi River. Jahangir was a Mughal Emperor in the early 17th century. He died whilst traveling from Kashmir to Lahore and he was buried in Lahore where a major mausoleum complex was then developed.
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| Tomb of Asif Khan |
His brother in law Asif Khan was also buried in a tomb nearby. I actually preferred Asif Khan's mausoleum to Jahangir's own. It was less restored and had a more authentic look. Asif Khan was also the father of Mumtaz Mahal, for whom the Taj Mahal in Accra was built. Jahangir's wife Nur Jahan is also buried at the same site.
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| Akbari Sarai, Caravansarai |
There is a beautiful garden around the mausoleum and an impressive caravansarai, the Akbari Sarai.
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| Lahore Fort |
After we were done with the tomb complex we went back into Lahore to visit the Lahore Fort. This is an impressive structure covering quite a large area of the northern part of the city. It has been there since the 12th century but the main structure was built in the reign of Akbar, the third Mughal Emperor (the father of Jahangir), in the 16th century. Successive Emperors added to the structure and then after the fall of the Mughal empire it was occupied by the Sikh's. The British East India Company took it over in the 19th century.
The impressive Alamgiri Gate through which we entered was built large enough to allow passage of elephants as were the stairs up to the first level of the fort.
There are some notable sights inside the fort, the Moti Masjid or Pearl Mosque, the Sheesh Mahal or Palace of Mirrors, the Picture Wall.
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| Pietra Dura |
There were many fine examples of Pietra Dura - an intricate form of mosaic with interlocking semi precious stones and minerals to form quite beautiful patterned arrangements. Sadly in many places the more valuable stones had been chipped away and removed.
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| Badshahi Mosque |
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| Minaret at the Badshahi Mosque |
The Badshahi Mosque, just outside the main Fort area, is in the middle of a large courtyard and you had to remove your shoes just to go into the courtyard. The tiles on the courtyard were baking in the sun and were way too hot to walk on. Hessian mat walkways were laid down across the courtyard and these were periodically wet down to cool them thereby making it possible to walk across to the mosque itself.
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| The Muezzin in Badshahi Mosque |
Inside the mosque the muezzin was calling out to prayer. He had a wonderful voice and, even though I had no idea what he was saying, the call was quite moving. Afterwards, I got to say hello to him. He was quite approachable and welcoming. Apparently he had been doing it since he was 21 or 22.
It was getting quite hot when we finished our tour of the fort so we went for a late lunch at a nearby restaurant. After lunch we drove to the Wagah Border with India to witness the spectacle of the nightly border closure. As we got to the border there were several security checks - both documentation checks and metal detectors. At one the car was checked only to find a can of petrol in the trunk. That was not allowed to pass so we, the guide Jojo and me, had to get a lift for the remaining few kilometers.
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| The Wagah Border |
We got to the border just before 5:00 pm and took a shady seat in the stadium surrounding the Pakistan side of the border. There was a huge stadium on the Indian side and it was already quite full. The Pakistani side was more modest with far fewer people. Being close to the border my phone decided to switch to Mumbai time - a half hour ahead of Lahore time.
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| Pakistan Military Man in his finest |
After a while the proceedings got under way. Several drummers came out along with a cheerleader guy who tried to get the crowd stirred up. I am not sure what they were chanting and cheering but obviously something to stir up the patriotic feelings of the Pakistanis. A similar thing was going on over on the Indian side though they were much louder.
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| The One-Legged Whirling Dervish |
A one legged guy with a crutch came down the parade and discarding his crutch proceeded to hop around and spin like a dervish. He was quite impressive and he never faltered or stumbled while twirling around at great speed for a long time.
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| The Wagah Border Gates |
Finally the uniformed guards came out and began to strut up and down the parade. There was much shouting and chanting and stomping and silly exaggerated marching; it was quite ridiculous in a way.
All this time the border gates were already closed. They were then opened and the two sides began to face off with their pugnacious posturing. Marching up and down, stomping their feet, and gesturing at the other side. There were these long bellowing calls that rang out on both sides and it appears each was trying to outdo the other side in volume and length of the calls. I think the Pakistanis had the upper hand here.
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| The Flag Lowering Ceremony - Wagah |
There then was a long prolonged process to take down the border flags and then close the gates once more. With that everyone marched back off the parade and we all filed out of the arena. Apparently they keep up this ridiculous procedure 365 days a year. The whole ceremony is just under an hour long.
We hitched another ride from the border gate in the back of a pickup out to our car.
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| Delhi Gate, Lahore Old City |
We then drove back into Lahore and visited the old town, entering through the Delhi Gate. This was most interesting - inside the walls of the old city, with narrow streets, lots of shops, lots of people. Motorcycles sped through the streets skilfully threading in and out of the pedestrians. and somehow avoiding colliding with anyone. While such a situation would never even be considered in the US or UK, here it seemed perfectly normal.
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| Wazir Khan Mosque, Lahore Old City |
We first visited the Mosque of Wazir Khan. This is quite and ornate mosque that is on the list of potential UNESCO sites. It was getting dark but the mosque in the evening light was quite beautiful.
We walked around the bustling streets of old town enjoying the smells and the noises and carefully avoiding the motorcycles. It was my favorite thing about Lahore.
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| Golden Mosque, Lahore Old City |
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| Interior Golden Mosque |
We visited another mosque before returning to my hotel - the Golden Mosque.
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| Hotel Entrance |
Arriving back at the hotel after a long hot day's sightseeing I found that a doormat had been placed outside the entrance to my hotel - the star of David and a picture of Bibi Netanyahu. Wipe your feet as you enter the hotel.
I had a monstrous plate of chicken fried rice for dinner on the roof top of the hotel. There was enough rice to feed 4 people. Then it was off to be for a much needed rest.
The next morning after breakfast at the hotel the guide and driver picked me up and we set off for our long drive to Peshawar. The roads were pretty good - a divided toll road most of the way with three lanes in each direction. The trucks on the road were pretty impressive - they were highly ornamented with beautiful colored paint jobs and lots of lights and chrome - truly works of art.
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| Colorful transportation for a load of cattle |
We stopped at a service area along the way and Jojo and I had a wonderful vanilla shake from a Hardee's fast food place.
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| Truck Driver and his beautiful vehicle |
Further on we stopped for lunch at a KFC. It is not usually my kind of food but I found myself quite hungry and I really enjoyed my chicken tenders. In the parking lot for the KFC there were a few nice trucks with some incredible artwork. It is hard to imagine why they take so much effort on their vehicles. It cannot be cheap to ornament them in this extravagant way and this is not a rich country.
Urdu was the main language in Lahore but as we get nearer to Peshawar the dominant language becomes Pashtu. Both equally incomprehensible to me.
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| The Fort, Peshawar |
It was late afternoon when we arrived in Peshawar. This is a smaller city than Lahore and as it was a little higher in altitude the heat was not so oppressive. As we drove into town we passed the Peshawar Fort - an impressive structure.
I checked into my hotel (the guide and driver were staying elsewhere), the Destination Heritage Hotel. It was a nicer hotel than the one in Lahore. I had a short rest in the room before heading out to explore the old city of Peshawar. We drove over to the old city and then left the driver while we walked around. The old city here was a little less frantic than Lahore but not much. You had to keep your wits about you to avoid colliding with a motorbike.
Everyone was very friendly - I was constantly being approached by people - both adults and children - and usually everyone was fine with having their picture taken.
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| Mahabat Khan Mosque, Peshawar |
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| Mahabat Khan Mosque interior |
We visited a beautiful mosque - the Mahabat Khan mosque. The exterior was quite wonderful with its minarets and domes. The interior was beautifully ornamented.
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| The Jewelry Shop Keeper |
We were approached by a gentleman who wanted to know where I was from. He was very friendly and he guided us up some back stairs to the roof of a building adjacent to the mosque so that we could get a nice view of the mosque. The catch was he was a shop owner and he had gold and silver jewelry that he absolutely had to show me. He was too nice a guy to turn him down so I indulged him and went in the shop. To my surprise I ended up buying what to me looked like an antique piece of jewelry, a necklace. A beautiful piece and it was only $20.
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| Vegetable stall - Peshawar Old City |
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| Street vendor - Peshawar Old City |
We walked all around the old town taking in the various shops and stalls.
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| Women waiting for donations of bread |
The women were out on the streets here and while they all wore a head scarf to cover their hair, there were some that showed their faces. Others were completely covered. In front of the bread bakeries there were groups of fully veiled women sitting down in the road. Apparently they were waiting for donations of bread. Presumably at the end of the day the baker will give away any bread that is not sold.
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| Tea stall |
Before leaving the old city we stopped for a cup of mint tea.
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| Guide JoJo and Driver Shakeer |
We left the old city and went to a restaurant for dinner. Quite good but the portions are so large.
The next morning we went to the Afghanistan Consulate to see if I could get a visa to enter. It actually was quite easy. We could not drive up to the Consulate so we left the car and walked to it. There was an entry for males and an entry for females so JoJo went one way and I the other. They wouldn't let me take in my camera or phone and I had a pat down to get inside but it was all quite friendly. I was surprised to see Jojo coming out of the female entrance with a full face covering. She had been given a burqa to wear inside the consulate.
I led JoJo over to the visa office (she could not see too well out of the burqa) and we sat down on a nice couch while we waited to be seen. It was quite a simple process - I gave them my passport and my Pakistan Visa document and $100 and they gave me my visa. It was all over in 10 minutes. The easiest visa I have ever gotten.
Back at the car we set off to drive back to Islamabad where I would be staying the next night.
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| The weird and wonderful buses of Peshawar |
On the way out of town we stopped at a bus station where there were these amazing buses. Ornamented to the hilt outside and in. These were local buses to the adjacent area around Peshawar and up the Khyber Pass. They were true works of art. There were no windows in them and they didn't look very comfortable inside but they were a wonder to behold.
We arrived in Islamabad early afternoon and I had a short rest in the room before going off to explore the city.
Islamabad is of course a new city, built in the 1960's as the new capital. It has nice wide roads and streets laid out in a grid. However, it didn't have any real charm and I never got an appreciation for where the real center of the city was. All I saw was a series of modern highways and grid laid out modern residences in numbered zones.
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| The Pakistan Monument, Islamabad |
We visited first the Pakistan Monument. A lotus flower monument to Pakistan's achievements. There are four large petals and three smaller petals. The large petals represent the four major cultures - Punjabi, Baloch, Sindhi and Pashtun. The three small petals represent the three minor cultures. Each of the petals bore a carving showing significant historical features of the various cultures - Jinnah was prominent as were various mosques and forts.
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| A hazy, smoggy view of Islamabad |
We then moved on to a park on top of a hillside with a view of the city below. Unfortunately the view was very hazy and it didn't look a very interesting city below us.
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| The Faisal Mosque, Islambad |
Finally we visited the modern mosque, the Faisal Mosque. This was built with funds from the Saudis in the 1970's. It is very big and can hold 10,000 worshippers. The big courtyard in front of the mosque was quite busy with locals and tourists. It was obviously quite the place to congregate in the evenings.
I went back to the hotel and said farewell to my driver and guide. Tomorrow there would be a different guide and driver.
It was an early start the next day and I was picked up by my new guide, Saeed, at 4:45 and taken to the airport for the early morning flight to Gilgit. The international side of the airport was quite busy but on the domestic side it was all very quiet. We sat waiting for what should have been a 7:00 am flight and then we had a delay of an hour, then another, then another. It was bad weather in Gilgit that was the issue and apparently the flight to Gilgit is quite often delayed. So we sat and waited and waited. Finally at around 4:00 pm they canceled the flight entirely. That was the waste of a day and now we had to somehow get to the mountains to stay on schedule.
Remarkably a driver was organised and in less than an hour we were picked up at the airport by a Hidyad in his Toyota Corolla and we were on our way to the mountains.
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| Don't Park Illegally - Islamabad Airport |
While waiting at the airport for the car, we observed how they handle illegal parking at the airport. They lifted several cars up and placed them over a barrier where they could not be driven away. To retrieve your car you had to find the fork lift truck driver and pay some money.
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| Truck Art |
We headed west over towards Peshawar and then turned north towards Abbottabad. Abbottabad was where the US found Osama Bin Ladin. I had imagined it to be a desolate desert spot but no it was quite nice and green in the foothills of the Karakorams.
We were on the Karakoram Highway, the road up towards the Chinese border. For the most part it was a fine road, of course it was built with the aid of the Chinese so they could move goods through to Karachi and the Arabian Sea. There were several tunnels and this first part of the road was a toll road.
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| Rest Stop, Karakoram Highway |
At the end of the toll road the road turned into a 2 lane highway. We stopped at a roadside restaurant as the sun was going down to get a quick meal then we were on the way again. We were now traveling in the dark and I only had a sense of what the countryside was like. I did know it was pretty mountainous however and that we were following a river, the might Indus River.
We passed several construction sites. These were the sites for a couple of dams that the Chinese are helping to build. The road through this section was pretty rough and there were lots of large trucks on the road. A few times traffic came to a halt as the road was quite slender and the big trucks had difficulty in passing. Our driver was quite courageous and was unbowed by being in a small Toyota Corolla alongside these huge trucks.
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| 24hr Restaurant, Karakoram Highway |
In the early hours of the morning we stopped in a small village for food. The restaurant was alongside a roaring river, so loud you almost had to shout. Finally at around 4:00 am we arrived in Chilas, our destination for what was left of the night. We somehow roused the hotel guard who opened the gate and let us in. It was a primitive hotel but adequate for a few hours sleep.
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| The Indus River |
In the morning we had a quick breakfast at the hotel and were on our way. Now in the light of day I could see what an impressive road this was. The mountains on either side and the Indus River below.
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| The Road to Fairy Meadows |
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| A little overheating along the way |
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| Our trusty driver. |
It was around an hour's drive to Raikot Bridge the next stop on our route. Here we changed vehicles and drivers and took a Jeep up the valley on a spectacular road towards Fairy Meadows. The road was quite spectacular - clinging to the side of the hillside and switchbacking up the valley. The Jeep overheated at one point and we had to stop to pour water over it to cool it down. This route has become a bit of a tourist destination for locals as well as foreigners. There are YouTube videos proclaiming that it is the world's most dangerous road - I doubt that.
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| The Trail to Fairy Meadows |
At the end of the road we stop at a small village and we get out to continue on foot up to Fairy Meadows. We are some 10 or 11,000 feet above seal level and I can feel it. Very quickly I was out of breath and I had to pace myself. I was recovering from a cough and cold that I had been nursing along for the entire trip. The uphill efforts here brought on my cough and it was quite debilitating.
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| The trail to Fairy Meadows |
We stop at a tea house on the way up and I have a most welcome cup of tea and a short rest. Then we push on. The first part of the hike is uphill along quite open hillsides above a stream running below us. Then the occasional tree appears until we are walking in a forested area. The final section is then steeply uphill to the Fairy Meadows area. I really suffered on that last section - my cough was getting the better of me.
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| Nanga Parbat in the clouds |
Every now and again the peak of Nanga Parbat appeared from behind the clouds. That is the 7th highest mountain in the world and a difficult one to climb, or so I am told.
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| My Accommodation in Fairy Meadows |
We reached the top of the hill and there were a collection of lodges at the top. We found ours and I was directed to a cabin which was my accomodation for the night. I take a bit of a rest before going for a cup of chai on the green area near our hotel. I was quite exhausted so I took another rest and then before sunset I went for a walk around with Saif. Saif was the new guide that joined us for the Jeep trip and the hike. He was from Gilgit.
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| Nanga Parbat |
Fairy Meadows has become famous for good views of Nanga Parbat and a small lake that at certain times is a great photo opportunity. If Nanga Parbat is not in the clouds, as it normally is, then the reflection of the mountain in the lake is quite beautiful.
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| The reflecting pool at Fairy Meadows |
We walk through the Fairy Meadows area where there are many lodges and cabins being built. It looks like it is getting too popular and perhaps a little spoiled already. Fortunately on this evening, the clouds cleared on Nanga Parbat and we got a nice view of the summit.
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| Fairy Meadows and cloud covered Nanga Parbat |
Back in camp I had a pretty decent meal of vegetables, lentils and chapatis all cooked by these guys in a pretty dark and primitive and likely quite dirty kitchen. Every time I went into the kitchen there were 6 or 8 guys sitting around. No women were around. The guys did all the cooking. The whole time I was in the mountains, which was only 2 days, I didn't see a single adult woman. They were hidden away somewhere.
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| Turning on the heating |
One of the guys from the kitchen came over to the room with some wood and lit the stove in my room. That soon took the chill off and I had a good nights sleep. Most of the night I heard the rain coming down. That didn't bode well for the next day's hike out.
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| The Guys in the kitchen |
In the morning I awoke to low clouds and rain and the occasional snow flurry. I stumbled over to the kitchen where all the guys were sitting around talking. Saif the Gilgit guide was up but there was no sign of Saeed. Saif said something about the weather being too bad to get out. That would be a problem - I had a plane to catch the next day.
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| Preparing chapatis for breakfast |
After breakfast of scrambled eggs and chapatis I went in search of Saeed. I found his hut and he was still in bed. He was not the best of guides. He certainly did a bad job of keeping me informed. What I did get out of him that we would start down the hill at 10:00.
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| The downhill trek |
We got going closer to 10:30 and set off down the hill in light rain. Surprisingly neither of the guides had a rain jacket. I did have one but they didn't but it didn't seem to bother them.
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| Playing Ludo |
It was much easier walking down the hill and we made good progress. The rian eased as we got lower and by the halfway point it was quite dry. At the bottom of the hill we took some tea in one of the tea houses. Outside the tea house a group of guys were playing Ludo, a dice game that I remember playing in the UK when I was a kid. They were quite involved in the game and they had quite a group of spectators around them. That is what they do for entertainment down there.
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| Jeeps for hire |
We then went to find our Jeep driver; the same one that brought us up the valley. We loaded into the jeep and of course it wouldn't start so we had to bump start it. That is not something that inspired confidence in me but no one else seemed to be worried. We drove down the hill stopping here and there to snap a few pictures but never turning off the engine thank goodness. It was an epic ride.
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| Downhill to Raikot Bridge |
At the bottom of the hill we said goodbye to our Jeep driver and to the Gilgit guide, Saif, and joined our old driver who was waiting patiently at the main road in Raikot. We immediately set off for the ride back towards Islamabad.
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| The Indus River near Raikot |
We drove on the same route we took coming up, the Karakoram Highway but this time it was daylight and I got to see the Indus River valley. It is a mighty river and the mountains are definitely impressive. There was not much vegetation and the hillsides were often loose gravel and shale. We stopped at one point to observe the wreckage of a bus that had driven off the road a couple of days earlier, plunging down to the river below, killing 9 or 10 people. A bit gruesome but the driver and guide wanted to see it.
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| Dam Construction |
We passed the construction sites for the dams that are being built. These are major projects financed by the Chinese.
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| Houses waiting to be flooded |
It was interesting to find that there were numerous small houses that had been built near the banks of the river. These houses had no road access and none were inhabited. According to the guide people were just building basic structures that would be submerged when the dam was filled. Presumably the owners would be looking for some compensation for the loss of their uninhabited property. It would seem that the Government could avoid any payments for inhabited properties but there were hundreds and hundreds of these all the way along the dam site.
Every now and again there would be a holdup and traffic would come to a stop. Whenever this happened cars and trucks would fill both sides of the road around the stoppage. This would seem to then lead to more of a problem when the traffic got flowing but somehow it all seemed to resolve itself and traffic merged together.
The traffic stops gave everyone a chance to get out and stretch their legs. It also gave me a chance to take photos of the elaborately decorated trucks. They are true works of art.
We drove on into the night and close to midnight we reached the town of Besham. We checked into a hotel there and I was in bed by midnight.
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| View from hotel in Besham, Indus River |
The next morning I got to explore the hotel’s surroundings. The fast flowing Indus River was right outside my bedroom window. It was a wonderful view. We had a quick breakfast at the hotel and got back on the road.
The goal of the day was to get to Islamabad airport by 2:00 in the afternoon so I could catch my flight to Kabul. It should have been an easy drive but for some reason the Pakistani security forces decided we needed an escort. That meant following a relatively slow pick up truck with soldiers in it. Periodically we would be passed from one security team to another. Then we got to an exchange where the new escort had not arrived. We just waited and waited until we were given permission to continue unescorted.
Further on we had to wait again for another escort and this time the escort was there but a second group of tourists were supposed to join us so we had to wait for them. They didn’t arrive so we finally were given permission to proceed. This was all very frustrating as the time was by now getting tight.
Fortunately the road from Abbattobad was quite good and we were able to make good progress without any escort.
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| Yours truly, Saeed, the guide and Hidyad, the driver |
In the end I did get to the airport in Islamabad in good time for my 4:00 pm flight to Kabul. At the airport I bade farewell to my guide and driver. I was not too impressed by the guide - he wasn’t that helpful and I never developed a good relationship with him. The driver on the other hand did a great job. I always felt safe with him even after he had been driving for 10 hours or more.
The check in for the flight went well and I left Islamabad on the way to the next part of the journey, one that I was perhaps a little apprehensive about. Afghanistan is not a common tourist destination these days.
I came back to Islamabad later in the week for one night at the end of my Afghanistan trip. Just an overnight stay leaving early the next morning on the Turkish Airlines flight to Istanbul.
There are more photos here.
