21 to 22 july 2007, quetta

the worst bus ride so far... this was an overnight bus from quetta to taftan border.

the seats came off loosely and the entire journey was a bumpy ride.

as we were seated in the last row, the never ending bumps kept us awake throughout the night and made us looked like pandas the following day...

in exchange for USD200, look what we've got here... a huge pile of iranian money to put in the wallet.

he (who had just barely recovered from a night's fever and diarrhoea) trying to be friendly with the locals... or the other way round...

my hindi look...

16 to 20 July 2007, Lahore (hot and wet)

train to quetta... a very warm and dusty overnight train...

mr. syed riaz - he helped us get a discount on our train tickets a few days ago and here he is... sending us off.

waiting for our train to quetta in the train station. we were surrounded by curious locals while seated on the floor.

pakistan sufi dance night




qawalli performance. we were treated as special guests and given 'front seats', which are normally reserved for the rich people. the people seemed to enjoy the performance very much and started to shower the performers with money! one local was telling us that this is normal and many of the top 'bands' earn a living out of performing here.

regale internet inn ( 150 rs/dorm)

local escaping the heat of lahore inside the mosque.

this old man acted friendly in the beginning and brought us around the mosque. he then asked for 2oo rupees which we refused. lesson learnt: don't follow old man.

badshahi mosque. i will relate my experience here in the next pictures.

in colorful trousers posing with colorful truck.

i was trying to take a picture of the colorful goat in the background but in the end i got a colorful picture of happy pakistani children. i wouldn't say this children are pure like angels but such act of eagerness to take a picture will never be seen in modernize places like singapore.
getting lost in the lahore old town on a warm and sticky afternoon. i was running around trying to get a soap box for the budget conscious siew lian. to see the real southern pakistani way of life, this is a good place to explore.

14 to 16 july 2007, islamabad - the red mosque attack

Sha Faisal Masjid - claimed to be Asia's largest mosque. a Chinese man drove us here when we met him on the road outside his guarded terrace house.

it was a thrilling bus ride from gilgit to islamabad. the roads were narrow... at times, only one vehicle can cross a sharp turn round the tall hill while the other parked close to the hill to wait for his turn. road condition was very poor... some vehicles fell to the side of the hill and were held in the middle of the slope by some thick tree branches.

i don't know how but I fell asleep on the bus anyway and woke up in the morning to find that the bus was cruising smoothly on a big road towards Rawalpindi. phew...

we arrived at a hotel at Rawalpindi but the place was too rowdy and expensive. so we took another mini-bus to Islamabad, where we checked into Star Hotel.

the weather in islamabad was so hot at the time of visit... i think it was around 38 degrees celcius. the weather cooled to a good 28 degrees after a big rain.

the red mosque attack had just ended a few days ago. many people died and some roads especially near the Lal Masjıd and embassies were closed. many soldiers were stationed there and curfews were imposed. some slight tension can be felt around everywhere.

the locals had different views about the killing. many were against the govt's decision to fire at the students who held hundreds of hostages. to show their disatisfaction, the extremists took the opportunity to carry out massive suicide bombings in many parts of pakistan, mainly in the north western area, which took away many innocent lives.

12 to 13 July 2007, gilgit

a local truck carrying goods - they are always "well dressed"

madina hotel - 100 rupees per dorm bed (=sgd 2.50)

this is me in headscarf...

gilgit is the lower of hunza area. weather was not as good as karimabad and there were very few women on the streets! (i think i only saw less than 10 during the night time). we stayed in Madina Hotel, where many backpackers stay.

we heard that the road from here to Islamabad had been closed for many days bcos of the poor road condition. but when we enquire at the ticket office, they said that the road will be open the next day so we quickly bought the tickets and stayed in the hotel for only one night. on the day of our departure to the bus terminal, there was a street protest outside our hotel and the boss told his brother to send us (sk and i, xiaohua and song) to the terminal. that was really nice!

1 to 12 july 2007, Karimabad (centre of Hunza Valley)

our dusty feet after the trek

me and xiao hua (晓华）from malaysia... we have been travelling together since kashgar

happily collecting mulberries

his retirement home

Lady's finger peak behind him

a 3hrs trek up to the Eagles' Nest Hotel (Duikar View Point)...

it would have been shorter if i wasnt around... i have low blood pressure and need to take many short breaks during the journey up to catch my breath.

and finally, this was the stunning bird's eye view of Hunza (abt 2800m above sea level) ...

a high school (Hasegawa) built in the memory of a professional climber who died years ago while trekking up the unclimbed Ultar mountain in Hunza

looks like an old man

our tanned feet

this one looks like a xmas tree... the flowers look like stars...

sheeps grazing the grassland outside a hotel

fresh flowers...

colorful and tasty afternoon snack at Saeed's house

locals on the mobile satellite station for an evening chat
good time to take a nap for everyone...

Mr Haider gee, the owner of our hotel...

Baltit Fort entrance - reading its history

the restored Baltit Fort, 700 years old.

the local women
this house was extended up across the street

Lucky Star Hotel restaurant, where we have most of our breakfast (omelette and milk tea)

sunset...

Rakaposhi mountain

Hunza valley is made up of 3 parts: upper, centre and lower.
Karimabad is the centre of the Hunza Valley. the people here are very welcoming and friendly.
this photo was taken from the big patio outside of our dorm room at Haider Inn. Dorm bed is Rs. 75 (=SGD 1.80)

in Karimabad, we met many hospitable kind souls who left us a beautiful memory...

1. Saeed - brought us to his house after i spoke with him on the street. he introduced us to all his family members. during our stay in Karimabad, they invited us over to a birthday party and tea-sessions for many days.

2. Mr Alamgir, who worked at the ticket office in Baltit Fort, brought us to his orchard and house for tea.

3. Zahir from Gilgit - bought us a meal in a local shop, a friendly gesture to welcome us to hunza.

though the people there are poor and most were jobless, they try to give the best that they can to welcome you to stay in hunza.