Attabad Lake and the Completion of the KKH, built by the Chinese:
In August 2015 the Highway around Lake Attabad was generally finished but took some more weeks for the official inauguration. Once the Highway is open (I guess for sure in 2016) you don’t have to pass Lake Attabad on a wooden boat anymore. Which is both a bliss and a pity. A bliss because your car won’t have the risk of sinking into the lake and a pity because the boat ride is really beautiful. However on our return trip, strong wind hit us in the middle of the lake, rain came shortly after and in addition one of the boat engines broke down. We were basically helpless, the heavy Landcruiser shook slightly and the boat was pushed by the wind to the rocky, steep side of the lake (opposite the new KKH). We jumped on a rocky nose only too happy that the cliffs were not vertical as before and pulled the boat towards us with various thick ropes. After a short time the storm and rain ceased, the mechanic fixed the engine and with 2 engines running once again we rumbled peacefully back.
Tip: If you have your own car & driver (or if you are hitch-hiking) – let the car and the driver go to the other side of the lake while you hop on a wooden boat, at least for one way. I wouldn’t want to miss this trip.
Internal Flights:
Due to my swollen knee I decided on short notice to return to ISB from Gilgit by flight.
(Especially as the good road between ISB – Naran – Babusar Pass, 4’175m – Chilas (sealed all the way) is off-limit to foreigners, apart you fancy getting an NOC.)
This was no easy task. I went to the PIA office in Gilgit (you can also go directly to the airport) and inquired about a flight within the next 2-3 days. Apart from a computer break down and no working printer to issue a ticket (got a hand written note on a white paper), they had to call the main office in Karachi and explain the story as the flights were booked out for approx. 10 days! Finally I managed to get hold of a first class ticket for Pkrps 12’400 / USD 124. The flight itself left in early morning, on time and was enjoyable but without much view because of high clouds.
Language:
It’s perfectly ok if you don’t speak Urdu before arriving in Pakistan. I was a little lazy myself and due to the lack of need, I learned only a couple of the most used words as English is widely spoken even in villages, where there is mostly someone around who will arrive without doubt to act as your interpreter. However every word in Urdu you drop will invariably bring a smile on local people’s face.
Accommodation:
I stayed in simple hotels and guest houses.
If you travel in the hot months it is essential to check the room before you pay as even in the same place they can vary a lot in the quality of air and coolness (without AC). In case you need AC, make sure the hotel has working generators because of frequent electricity cuts. In general I had to fill in an entry card.
But I also stayed with great Couchsurfing hosts and with trustworthy local middle class families who invited me into their homes after meeting me on the road. However this is risky for the locals, in case something might happen to you during or later on during your trip as the police will eventually appear and a tough questioning is the least to be expected with a possible stay in prison as a close 2nd, if they are poor and lack the necessary contacts.
Hotels/Guest Houses:
ISB: e.g. Jawa International Hotel, I-9 Markaz. Tel. 051 444 33 34 -7. Price: Approx. Pkrps. 3’500 / USD 35, AC included. It’s in a quiet neighbourhood and there is a restaurant inside the same building and a simpler restaurant outside with tasty food.
Besham: Continental Hotel and Hunza Restaurant. Overpriced, often lousy rooms, negotiations necessary: Price for a single: Min. Pkrps. 1’000 /US 10 in a cheap room.
Gilgit: Inside the town: E.g. Park Hotel, Airport Rd. www.parkhotel.pk Price for a single: From Pkrps. 1’500 / USD 15, cool rooms with air cooler. Outside the town, up in Jutial: E.g. Lost Horizon Treks & Tours, Abdul Bari Rana. Nice single/doubles for Pkrps. 1’500 / USD 15. www.losthorizontreks.com
Karimabad: e.g. Haider Inn, Zero Point, Karimabad. Plus 70 years old Haider Baig is a unique and very friendly character. Rooms are bare bottom at around Pkrps. 800 / USD 8 for a single person.
Peshawar: e.g. Chand Hotel, Khyber Bazar. Central Location at the beginning of the old town. Tel. 0345 98 00 784. Very basic English, if you call – ask the help of an Urdu speaker. Single: From Pkrps. 600 / USD 6. Some rooms were incredibly hot and musty, but a corner room was reasonable.
Food / Water: I was careful eating local food from street stalls (especially meat and oily products) and due to the heat didn’t eat much anyway but didn’t experience much stomach issues. Regarding water: I always sticked to bottled drinking water or filtered water albeit the local Hunza water (grey in appearance is apparently very healthy)
Invitations from locals:
They are endless and there is little you can do against it apart from denying them. While some of them you have to deny due to time issues, personal chemistry or possibly your personal security it would be a grave mistake to deny all. A good common sense will allow you to make the right judgements. However if in doubt – deny.
99% of these invitations are being made in an honest way because of the huge interest in western foreigners, curiosity and the legendary Pakistani tradition which brings us to the next problem. You will not have any or definitely not many chances to ever pay in such circumstances. However always be polite and try to invite your new friend(s). This Pakistani habit will not change even if the same person invites you for many times/ days (e.g. a tea, later a soft drink, a ride in the metro bus or in a taxi, followed by a lunch. The best way to do is - to be faster than your friend (get the money in your hand beforehand and stretch your arm like an arrow) and once the money is given, refuse all back payments. Explain how it works back home and that you are more than happy that you got invited (now several times) but that it can’t go on like this forever as you start to feel uncomfortable because this is against your tradition. Explain that the person doesn’t do this every day and with everybody else he newly meets and cut the tradition issue towards foreigners with the unfortunate sad fact that they might think twice to invite a neighbouring country man. However don’t expect to be too successful in this.
Local women:
After some time into my trip I really realised that in a way something is missing in my interactions with locals – or maybe better said; half of the population is not really present in public. There were about as much times that I have fingers on one hand that I chatted with Pakistani women.
Theft / Pickpocketing:
The chance that you have things stolen out of your bag is really small as it is the case with getting your trousers emptied if you haven’t yet decided to part with your belongings. However always be on the safe side and keep all money in the equivalent of above USD 20, bank cards, passport, vaccination card on the inside of your trousers / shirt and on your body. Keep some cash in hidden places in a money belt (normal belt with a zipper on the inside) and inside your bags.
A special item widely available in Pakistan is a so called “Jebu Wali Banyan”. It is a white undershirt with 2-4 zipper- locked pockets used to be worn under a Shalwar Kameez.
And if you still should manage to get pickpocket by a kid, never make this public as you put the health/life of this kid in grave danger (both from locals or police).
Dress Code:
I read many times before visiting Pakistan that it is recommended to wear a Shalwar Kameez. However I always walked around in traveller cloths and didn’t experience any negative issues. Security wise it’s surely a good advice but due to the heat I would have felt uncomfortable. In Islamabad or Lahore you can even get away with short (3/4) trousers but rather not in Peshawar (KPK).
Frustrations:
The high amount of poverty and child labour, the lack of a good general education for all kids, the often absence of human rights and the high amount of corruption (in general not concerning you) are difficult to face as well as the typical hypocrisy of many Pakistanis in the way of: “As long as I don’t know – I don’t care and if I find out by accident, I close my eyes…”
Final Words:
If you consider yourself an intrepid, independent and curious man or woman…
who can deal with the security issue and don’t mind having plenty of armed men around you (at police check points, festivals, soldiers & police on the roads in and outside of towns, shops etc.), or that many men often stare seriously and curiously at you (no matter what sex you have) and realise that you are under constant surveillance (from locals in general and concerning security issues from police and intelligence in uniform or plain cloths) and that curiosity and suspicion sometimes shake hands – you will undoubtedly find many friendly and welcoming people, wanting to invite you for a drink or a meal; seriously interested in you, your home country and above all, your view of all things Pakistani.
If you prefer adventures of planned and unplanned nature, in a little travelled destination, where western foreigners are far and few in between, if you like to travel in a country that is often misunderstood but with fascinating landscapes and beautiful people of great diversity and very different in their looks (e.g. often and especially in the mountains: very different from the Indian type, read: white skin, sometimes with blue/green eyes and red hair) and if you can deal with the ever presence of men and the nearly absence of women in public - head to Pakistan for your next travel destination. Stay safe and enjoy your time.
Roger
| 