Friday, 26 November 2010
Thursday, 25 November 2010
Surrounded by bloody hippies
Chandigarh was unlike any other Indian city, the streets were wide, the roads on a grid system so generally straight, a lack of people for the space, it was just weird. It's India's first experimental city that was designed by Le Corbusier who was a renowned painter and furniture designer, before attempting architecture. The city was very green and after wandering through many 'sectors', as they were called, you could see it was a city for rich Indians. Le Corbusier's influence was massive on the style of architecture and he even incorporated tapestry of his paintings on the walls of buildings such as the High Court almost spanning entire walls.
The other highlight was an Indian version of the Terracotta Army, a rock garden designed by a guy called Nek Chand. The garden was a fantasy world made from recycled materials containing tree sculptures that looked real but were made from concrete. People and animals were also sculpted in concrete but decorated with materials like smashed china plates and bangles.
Haridwar was just a stopover before Rishikesh but it turned out to be well worth a visit. It's another holy city on the Ganges, similar to Varanasi with less burning bodies! It was a complete contrast from Chandigarh, beggars everywhere, pilgrims bathing and splashing around in the river, the hustle and bustle, it's what's so interesting about India. We saw puja on the river which is a daily offering to the gods where flowers in a leaf bowl are sent floating down the Ganges. The funniest part was, wandering down the river away from the crowds, we saw a young boy stood on rocks trying to catch some of the bowls incase people had put a few rupees in so he could pocket the money!! We watched him, unaware of us, from a bridge above and he didn't seem to be getting much joy. We know it's wrong to do but we appreciated his entrepreneurial spirit and gave him some rupees for the sheer audacity. The hotel we stayed at was half decent but you know you’re doing budget travel when you wake up during the night itching!!
The hotel in Rishikesh was quite the opposite and it felt like a second home, the owner was a spiritual man who couldn't do enough for us. This was the case when we left 5 days later as his personal car dropped us to the bus station free of charge. We were in the home of yoga and meditation which is known worldwide and you could sense it by the amount of the hippie types. The place made us feel the most relaxed we have been the whole trip. Jo managed to get on an Ayuvedic Massage course after doing some research and endured the best massage we have ever had!! It was that good, Jo signed up for a 3 day course and we went back for another bout of research 2 days later. One of the days, we hired a moped for an exploration of the surroundings which were perfect for biking, winding roads hugging the Ganges. After seeing the Ganges on our last trip in Varanasi, we never thought we would see it with beaches, let alone a colour that actually resembles a river.
The capital of India welcomed us after a horrible overnight bus journey that didn't involve much sleep. We thankfully booked ahead and it ended up being a pretty nice hotel for a good price considering we were in Delhi. The owners were Sikh and seemed to be a common characteristic that they are incredibly friendly and it was much the same this time. Our time in India was looking to be cut short due to only a 3 month visa granted in Pakistan when a 6 month is granted as standard in the UK. A fake itinerary and a slight amendment to our online flight booking to Mongolia and we were ready to take on the Indian buearocrisy. Our hopes kept getting dashed with people on forums and in person telling us that extending was near impossible but we had come prepared and they granted the extra 2 months required to finish our trip with a month in the Andaman Islands and a flight home on 26th Feb.
Our meeting with Alex’s friend’s, Adam & Chitra, was sooner than anticipated. In between sorting our visa, we had a stroll near the Gateway of India and Jo spots a couple who pull their camera out simultaneously and take the same photo, to her amusement it was the two newbies fresh off the boat. They literally landed hours before, just embarking on their sightseeing tour and we bump into them in a city of 13 million, it was surreal. We met later that evening for dinner and a few beers for an update of gossip back home.
The Gandhi museum was a lot to take in but the most interesting part of our Delhi experience, there was a quote that rang true with both of us:
“Death is a highway which all of us must tread, whether we wish to or not. And though countless travellers tread it, it ever seems deserted. Hence this is also the path of supreme peace. He who is afraid to take it, feels agitated, he who remains fearless enjoys the bliss of peace”
On that uplifting note about death, we will try and give you some more news soon.
Alex & Jo xxx
The other highlight was an Indian version of the Terracotta Army, a rock garden designed by a guy called Nek Chand. The garden was a fantasy world made from recycled materials containing tree sculptures that looked real but were made from concrete. People and animals were also sculpted in concrete but decorated with materials like smashed china plates and bangles.
Haridwar was just a stopover before Rishikesh but it turned out to be well worth a visit. It's another holy city on the Ganges, similar to Varanasi with less burning bodies! It was a complete contrast from Chandigarh, beggars everywhere, pilgrims bathing and splashing around in the river, the hustle and bustle, it's what's so interesting about India. We saw puja on the river which is a daily offering to the gods where flowers in a leaf bowl are sent floating down the Ganges. The funniest part was, wandering down the river away from the crowds, we saw a young boy stood on rocks trying to catch some of the bowls incase people had put a few rupees in so he could pocket the money!! We watched him, unaware of us, from a bridge above and he didn't seem to be getting much joy. We know it's wrong to do but we appreciated his entrepreneurial spirit and gave him some rupees for the sheer audacity. The hotel we stayed at was half decent but you know you’re doing budget travel when you wake up during the night itching!!
The hotel in Rishikesh was quite the opposite and it felt like a second home, the owner was a spiritual man who couldn't do enough for us. This was the case when we left 5 days later as his personal car dropped us to the bus station free of charge. We were in the home of yoga and meditation which is known worldwide and you could sense it by the amount of the hippie types. The place made us feel the most relaxed we have been the whole trip. Jo managed to get on an Ayuvedic Massage course after doing some research and endured the best massage we have ever had!! It was that good, Jo signed up for a 3 day course and we went back for another bout of research 2 days later. One of the days, we hired a moped for an exploration of the surroundings which were perfect for biking, winding roads hugging the Ganges. After seeing the Ganges on our last trip in Varanasi, we never thought we would see it with beaches, let alone a colour that actually resembles a river.
The capital of India welcomed us after a horrible overnight bus journey that didn't involve much sleep. We thankfully booked ahead and it ended up being a pretty nice hotel for a good price considering we were in Delhi. The owners were Sikh and seemed to be a common characteristic that they are incredibly friendly and it was much the same this time. Our time in India was looking to be cut short due to only a 3 month visa granted in Pakistan when a 6 month is granted as standard in the UK. A fake itinerary and a slight amendment to our online flight booking to Mongolia and we were ready to take on the Indian buearocrisy. Our hopes kept getting dashed with people on forums and in person telling us that extending was near impossible but we had come prepared and they granted the extra 2 months required to finish our trip with a month in the Andaman Islands and a flight home on 26th Feb.
Our meeting with Alex’s friend’s, Adam & Chitra, was sooner than anticipated. In between sorting our visa, we had a stroll near the Gateway of India and Jo spots a couple who pull their camera out simultaneously and take the same photo, to her amusement it was the two newbies fresh off the boat. They literally landed hours before, just embarking on their sightseeing tour and we bump into them in a city of 13 million, it was surreal. We met later that evening for dinner and a few beers for an update of gossip back home.
The Gandhi museum was a lot to take in but the most interesting part of our Delhi experience, there was a quote that rang true with both of us:
“Death is a highway which all of us must tread, whether we wish to or not. And though countless travellers tread it, it ever seems deserted. Hence this is also the path of supreme peace. He who is afraid to take it, feels agitated, he who remains fearless enjoys the bliss of peace”
On that uplifting note about death, we will try and give you some more news soon.
Alex & Jo xxx
Sunday, 7 November 2010
Group Sex in India
Amritsar was just like the India we had known and loved the first time around, bustling streets, friendly people, delicious food and amazing smells. It's also home to the holiest shrine in Sikhism, the Golden Temple, which draws millions of pilgrims from all over the world. The temple itself is incredible and the dome is supposed to be gilded with pure gold. They have a kitchen inside the walls that caters for 60,000 to 80,000 pilgrims every day completely free of charge for anyone who visits, donations are welcome but not enforced. We thought it rude not to eat and experience the mass scale operation of preparation and the serving of food to the masses, it was pretty cool eating with a hall of a few hundred people who looked pleased we had joined them for dinner. This was just the second floor of dining halls and we were ushered out pretty sharpish as the next lot were waiting, plate in hand for their meal.
Indian Punjab seemed to be just as friendly as Pakistani Punjab as we had numerous photos and conversations with visitors. This continued at the park near the temple where Indians were killed or wounded by the British which we wanted to visit after re-watching the film Gandhi before we left. Jo was asked in the park if she wanted group sex and when she responded "No, I am with my boyfriend", she was asked if she wanted him to join us!! We don't remember Indian's being this liberal last time, it was a far cry from just over the border in Pakistan. On the subject of sex, a cycle rickshaw driver befriended us on the street and we finally gave in and got him to take us on a tour of the city. Questions about our marital status is generally standard conversation, which got onto the subject of his wife. His response was "I have no wife or girlfriend so now I have sex with my hand", which resulted in a look of disbelief from us that he saw no problem in telling us this.
After our last plush hotel disaster in China with no swimming pool, we took the plunge (no pun intended) and checked in to a fancy hotel for the night. We were so excited to have a day by the pool, on the way to the room our heart sank, there definitely was a pool but with no water in it!! We managed to agree after much deliberation they fill the pool as that was the reason for booking the hotel. It will be ready by 12 was the in initial response, this kept getting later and later until we were told 4 was the final time. Jo was fuming, we were offered a free dinner but that defeated the object of staying there for a pool so Alex spoke to the manager on the phone after the numpties behind desk couldn't resolve anything and we were promised an extra night free and the pool full the next morning which worked out so much better. It was bliss, room service, a massage in our room, a day by the pool, a bottle of French wine with dinner. C'est magnifique.
McLeod Ganj was packed with people for the size of the place but a day in we found out the Dalai Lama had been making 4 day speeches to anyone who wanted to listen. His home is in Dharmasala just down the road along with Tibet's government in exile. Set in the mountains, it was quite a peaceful place once most of the tourists had left. There was an interesting museum about Chinese oppression of the Tibetan's and we also got a history lesson off a guy who we got to book our bus onwards. He had a MA in economics but owned a travel business?? He knew so much about why the Chinese invaded and even about the separation of India and Pakistan, it was good to get a good understanding of the situation.
Onto Manali which is supposedly the most populated area for Tibetan's in exile which was to be the place Alex entered a competition to win a trip to Bhutan which a National Geographic Photographer with the story being 'Tibetan's in Exile' which you can see here:
http://www.flickr.com/photos/13539181@N06/sets/72157625179592758/
Manali was really chilled, probably due to having the claim of world-renowned hash growing wild in the mountains, we thought it rude not to try at least a space cake!! We stayed in Old Manali which was so much more relaxed but a lot of our time was spent trying to find people for Alex to photograph for the competition. One of the guys we met that allowed Alex to take his photo was Babaji who was probably the most humble person we have met along the way. His tales of walking across a lot of India on foot, never having a family and never marrying because all he needs is God to be happy. All he asked in return was we send him the photos taken, seeing he even came to the Tibetan monastery with us so Alex could take his photo with a monk to tell the story of Tibetan's settling in peace in North India. He joined us for a cup of chai and we promised him we print the photos right away and meet again when they were ready. 30 minutes later, we met again on the main street in New Manali to show him the photos and give him 500 rupees to help him out. His face lit up and gave both of us a massive bear-hug. The money only equated to around £7 but considering rooms are 300 and a good meal is 70, you can appreciate his amazement.
A day trip to Kullu for a festival of the gods was an crazy one, there were thousands from all over the valley that came to see the chaos. Plenty of drums and running around with statues of the gods made the carnival atmosphere, at times some of the crowd nearly being taken out.
The influence of the British Raj was self evident in the next port of call, Shimla. The main street felt like Bath had been invaded by Indians!! Everything from the red postboxes to the church, there was a definite Britishness to the place, even the children wore blazer and tie to school. Being a big tourist destination for Indian's, our budget hotel became ramshackle as there seemed to be a lot of wealth. The British ran the country from the hillstation when in power and that elitism is still seen today with some of the top school's in India situated there. Arriving early off the night bus, we traipsed round for an hour trying to meet our budget in a hotel that actually had a room. Eventually we did and it was very basic to say the least, running water became an issue for over a day of the stay and incense was needed to cover the stale smell of the room.
A few days later we jumped on a toy train that took us to Kalka, through 103 tunnels winding round mountains, it was a beautiful journey. From there, we took a connecting train to Chandigarh to see what a clean rich Indian city looks like.
Alex & Jo xx
Indian Punjab seemed to be just as friendly as Pakistani Punjab as we had numerous photos and conversations with visitors. This continued at the park near the temple where Indians were killed or wounded by the British which we wanted to visit after re-watching the film Gandhi before we left. Jo was asked in the park if she wanted group sex and when she responded "No, I am with my boyfriend", she was asked if she wanted him to join us!! We don't remember Indian's being this liberal last time, it was a far cry from just over the border in Pakistan. On the subject of sex, a cycle rickshaw driver befriended us on the street and we finally gave in and got him to take us on a tour of the city. Questions about our marital status is generally standard conversation, which got onto the subject of his wife. His response was "I have no wife or girlfriend so now I have sex with my hand", which resulted in a look of disbelief from us that he saw no problem in telling us this.
After our last plush hotel disaster in China with no swimming pool, we took the plunge (no pun intended) and checked in to a fancy hotel for the night. We were so excited to have a day by the pool, on the way to the room our heart sank, there definitely was a pool but with no water in it!! We managed to agree after much deliberation they fill the pool as that was the reason for booking the hotel. It will be ready by 12 was the in initial response, this kept getting later and later until we were told 4 was the final time. Jo was fuming, we were offered a free dinner but that defeated the object of staying there for a pool so Alex spoke to the manager on the phone after the numpties behind desk couldn't resolve anything and we were promised an extra night free and the pool full the next morning which worked out so much better. It was bliss, room service, a massage in our room, a day by the pool, a bottle of French wine with dinner. C'est magnifique.
McLeod Ganj was packed with people for the size of the place but a day in we found out the Dalai Lama had been making 4 day speeches to anyone who wanted to listen. His home is in Dharmasala just down the road along with Tibet's government in exile. Set in the mountains, it was quite a peaceful place once most of the tourists had left. There was an interesting museum about Chinese oppression of the Tibetan's and we also got a history lesson off a guy who we got to book our bus onwards. He had a MA in economics but owned a travel business?? He knew so much about why the Chinese invaded and even about the separation of India and Pakistan, it was good to get a good understanding of the situation.
Onto Manali which is supposedly the most populated area for Tibetan's in exile which was to be the place Alex entered a competition to win a trip to Bhutan which a National Geographic Photographer with the story being 'Tibetan's in Exile' which you can see here:
http://www.flickr.com/photos/13539181@N06/sets/72157625179592758/
Manali was really chilled, probably due to having the claim of world-renowned hash growing wild in the mountains, we thought it rude not to try at least a space cake!! We stayed in Old Manali which was so much more relaxed but a lot of our time was spent trying to find people for Alex to photograph for the competition. One of the guys we met that allowed Alex to take his photo was Babaji who was probably the most humble person we have met along the way. His tales of walking across a lot of India on foot, never having a family and never marrying because all he needs is God to be happy. All he asked in return was we send him the photos taken, seeing he even came to the Tibetan monastery with us so Alex could take his photo with a monk to tell the story of Tibetan's settling in peace in North India. He joined us for a cup of chai and we promised him we print the photos right away and meet again when they were ready. 30 minutes later, we met again on the main street in New Manali to show him the photos and give him 500 rupees to help him out. His face lit up and gave both of us a massive bear-hug. The money only equated to around £7 but considering rooms are 300 and a good meal is 70, you can appreciate his amazement.
A day trip to Kullu for a festival of the gods was an crazy one, there were thousands from all over the valley that came to see the chaos. Plenty of drums and running around with statues of the gods made the carnival atmosphere, at times some of the crowd nearly being taken out.
The influence of the British Raj was self evident in the next port of call, Shimla. The main street felt like Bath had been invaded by Indians!! Everything from the red postboxes to the church, there was a definite Britishness to the place, even the children wore blazer and tie to school. Being a big tourist destination for Indian's, our budget hotel became ramshackle as there seemed to be a lot of wealth. The British ran the country from the hillstation when in power and that elitism is still seen today with some of the top school's in India situated there. Arriving early off the night bus, we traipsed round for an hour trying to meet our budget in a hotel that actually had a room. Eventually we did and it was very basic to say the least, running water became an issue for over a day of the stay and incense was needed to cover the stale smell of the room.
A few days later we jumped on a toy train that took us to Kalka, through 103 tunnels winding round mountains, it was a beautiful journey. From there, we took a connecting train to Chandigarh to see what a clean rich Indian city looks like.
Alex & Jo xx
Monday, 25 October 2010
Living it up in Lahore
Lahore was the cultural centre of Pakistan and it was an interesting city to wander round. We visited Lahore Fort which had influences from the British and also Sikhs. We did get bombarded by pakistani tourists asking for photos of us with them on a visit to one of the biggest mosques in Pakistan. We felt like celebrities for the day, even the children were pestering us for our signature, god knows why!! As soon as they went back to show their mates, a new cluster would come over and ask for the same. On leaving the fort, a toilet break was needed and it was typical lady luck again as we stumbled into the office of the park supervisor where the monument that signifies Pakistan's resolution of becoming an independent nation. A brief history lesson later, we were escorted by one of his henchmen out to the middle of the monument where none of the public are allowed to read the resolution.
A walk through the old city was a taste of real Lahore, it was a lot more run down than the rest of the city but seemed to be even friendlier. We stopped for lunch at a pretty modest looking cafe where we got talking to the owner who was such a nice man, he ended up refusing to take any money off us for the food after protesting that we would be offended if he didn't. Jo managed to get her lamb chops one evening which were so much better than Tayyabs!!
On our return to Rawlpindi, we phoned Uncle Masood (Steve's Uncle) to let him know we would come and visit him the following day. "We are meeting you in an hour at your hotel" was the reply which didn't seem to change so we thought it rude not to rock the boat. The problem was, we had just eaten and after learning about Pakistani culture, we felt another meal was on it's way. An hour later, there was a knock at the hotel door, where Masood stood with a close family friend called Farooq. Instead of calling for us at reception, they walked 4 or 5 flights of stairs to call on us themselves, Masood had to rest for the next 15 minutes to get his breath back!!
They also commented on the room and asked us why we were staying in such a shithole, we were slightly taken aback as we initially felt it was quite plush. It had a TV which we were not used to and a sofa, granted the sofa and the bedsheets did have a few holes in. When you take a step back and look at it from their point of view, it was a bit shoddy but if you want your money to last for 8 months, you have to deal with these things!! When we left the hotel, sure enough we were taken to a cafe round the corner for another feed which they refused to accept any money for. Both of them couldn't do enough for us, we were ordered that someone would pick us up the next morning to take us to Islamabad so we could pick up our Indian Visa, to then rest at the hotel and be picked up later for dinner at Masood's. Farooq was a cool guy, he had come back to Pakistan to look after his parents who were sick after most of his life in London and Canada.
The visa was a formality although the organistaion at the Indian embassy was non existent, which was to be expected. We were escorted by Farooq and a family relation, then dropped off after they insisted they take us to McDonalds as we hadn't eaten lunch. Later they picked us up for dinner with Masood, his wife, Farooq, Fasil (son in law) and his wife along with their children. They laid on such a feast, the food was incredible and obviously they cooked far more than we could physically eat. They had even gone out and bought us both a present, a jumper for Alex and a new shawl for Jo, definitely the best hospitality we have received on our trip!! We exchanged photos of the Anwar family and it was a weird feeling to be meeting Alex's good friend's family before he has!!
The next day we left for Lahore again by train, then onto the border for our new adventure in India which we were both so excited about. We were anxious about re-visiting a country we loved all those years ago and whether it would still live up to our favourite. The border crossing was just plain weird and very eiree, you can tell the countries don't like each other as we were the only one's crossing at the time!!
Pakistan was such an amazing experience, it's a real shame the country is so volatile and there's so much corruption as the people were are so friendly and hospitable, a far cry from the images and stories you see on the news. Jo was grateful she wouldn't have to cover up so much as she felt opressed on numerous occasions, mailnly being asked to go an eat behind a curtain at a cafe. It seems backwards that such a devote nation would still treat women the way they do, especially seeing just over the border how liberal Indians are in comparison.
We are in Chandigarh which is supposed to be India's greenest city, and for those of you who know a little about design / architecture, Le Corbusier helped design the city so there should be some interesting architecture. So far, we have been through Amritsar, McLeod Ganj, Manali and then Shimla but will update you soon.
Until next time folks, take care
Alex & Jo xxx
A walk through the old city was a taste of real Lahore, it was a lot more run down than the rest of the city but seemed to be even friendlier. We stopped for lunch at a pretty modest looking cafe where we got talking to the owner who was such a nice man, he ended up refusing to take any money off us for the food after protesting that we would be offended if he didn't. Jo managed to get her lamb chops one evening which were so much better than Tayyabs!!
On our return to Rawlpindi, we phoned Uncle Masood (Steve's Uncle) to let him know we would come and visit him the following day. "We are meeting you in an hour at your hotel" was the reply which didn't seem to change so we thought it rude not to rock the boat. The problem was, we had just eaten and after learning about Pakistani culture, we felt another meal was on it's way. An hour later, there was a knock at the hotel door, where Masood stood with a close family friend called Farooq. Instead of calling for us at reception, they walked 4 or 5 flights of stairs to call on us themselves, Masood had to rest for the next 15 minutes to get his breath back!!
They also commented on the room and asked us why we were staying in such a shithole, we were slightly taken aback as we initially felt it was quite plush. It had a TV which we were not used to and a sofa, granted the sofa and the bedsheets did have a few holes in. When you take a step back and look at it from their point of view, it was a bit shoddy but if you want your money to last for 8 months, you have to deal with these things!! When we left the hotel, sure enough we were taken to a cafe round the corner for another feed which they refused to accept any money for. Both of them couldn't do enough for us, we were ordered that someone would pick us up the next morning to take us to Islamabad so we could pick up our Indian Visa, to then rest at the hotel and be picked up later for dinner at Masood's. Farooq was a cool guy, he had come back to Pakistan to look after his parents who were sick after most of his life in London and Canada.
The visa was a formality although the organistaion at the Indian embassy was non existent, which was to be expected. We were escorted by Farooq and a family relation, then dropped off after they insisted they take us to McDonalds as we hadn't eaten lunch. Later they picked us up for dinner with Masood, his wife, Farooq, Fasil (son in law) and his wife along with their children. They laid on such a feast, the food was incredible and obviously they cooked far more than we could physically eat. They had even gone out and bought us both a present, a jumper for Alex and a new shawl for Jo, definitely the best hospitality we have received on our trip!! We exchanged photos of the Anwar family and it was a weird feeling to be meeting Alex's good friend's family before he has!!
The next day we left for Lahore again by train, then onto the border for our new adventure in India which we were both so excited about. We were anxious about re-visiting a country we loved all those years ago and whether it would still live up to our favourite. The border crossing was just plain weird and very eiree, you can tell the countries don't like each other as we were the only one's crossing at the time!!
Pakistan was such an amazing experience, it's a real shame the country is so volatile and there's so much corruption as the people were are so friendly and hospitable, a far cry from the images and stories you see on the news. Jo was grateful she wouldn't have to cover up so much as she felt opressed on numerous occasions, mailnly being asked to go an eat behind a curtain at a cafe. It seems backwards that such a devote nation would still treat women the way they do, especially seeing just over the border how liberal Indians are in comparison.
We are in Chandigarh which is supposed to be India's greenest city, and for those of you who know a little about design / architecture, Le Corbusier helped design the city so there should be some interesting architecture. So far, we have been through Amritsar, McLeod Ganj, Manali and then Shimla but will update you soon.
Until next time folks, take care
Alex & Jo xxx
Wednesday, 6 October 2010
Mr Colley & Ms Beer take class for the day
A short stop in Gilgit was needed to refuel, this gave us the opportunity to plan for our next adventure! After befriending the owner of one of the local restaurants, we met his best friend the next evening who worked for an NGO who invited us for chai (as usual) and to have a look around the school. We decided to take him up on the offer and ended up meeting the family that set up the NGO in the first place. Suprisingly, they were from Colarado in the US and had been living out here for years teaching English to underpriveleged children and working in deprived areas within North Pakistan. It was interesting to get a woman's take about being veiled and how they are treated out here which is generally as a second class citizen.
North-East Pakistan was calling, the main stopping off point was Skardu which we used as a hub to travel the area. The hotel we found was one of our favourites as the staff were so friendly, the view was pretty spectacular, the beds were comfy and they brought chai to the room so we could have it in bed!! We ended up staying for a week with visits to Shigar and Khaplu in between. We ate well in Skardu, the best restaurant in town that was highly recommended by everyone felt like a second home. The owner had been a chef in Knightsbridge of all places and he told us Princess Di had been in to eat on an occasion he was working. He also had been in NY for 10 years and Moscow but he didn't seem to like the amount of drunks in London!!
Khaplu was quite a quaint little village that had a nice mixture of sand dunes and plains but still surrounded by snow capped mountains, we left after one night partly due to the worst squat toilet we had come across!! Jo did get told off by some of the women villagers for not covering her head in a certain village but that was soon rectified at a local shop where we bought some material and everybody laughing at her trying to put it on properly. Shigar was beautiful and like Skardu, we found a hotel with such a friendly owner, it makes such a difference to the impression of a place. He told us that his food was expensive and we should go to the bazaar, we ignored his advice due our hunger and he prepared a delicious feast. Expecting a hefty bill on checkout, the lunch came to 200 rupees which we couldn't believe as it's 130 to the pound. They had an amazing fort in Shigar that had been developed into a hotel so they could maintain the building and gardens. You could even sleep in the room that the king used to sleep, but this was a little out of our budget at £90 a night! Whilst wandering around we were invited to tea with the manager and his friend who was director of education for the region of Balistan.
A military flight was on the cards after speaking to a few people, we even went to the airport to try and speak to the Army Group Captain as we met his brother in Khaplu. No-one knew his whereabouts so we decided to stop being pikey and pay for a flight, it was double what locals pay and extortion for a one hour flight but it turned out to be the most incredible flight we have been on.
Back in Skardu for the last day before our flight, we promised a man we met in the street to visit his new Centre that he had set up to teach English to the underprivileged children of the area. We arrived to a warm welcome of the class consisting of mixing ages, 42 in total. Each of the children took it in turns to stand up and tell us their name along with their mother's and father's plus their age. We had to talk about ourselves which was translated by Kamal (who set up the centre) and they had a chance to ask us questions through him. Alex took portraits of each child that we will print and send to them soon! They were so excited to meet us and talk English with native speakers, it was a real boost for them.
The flight to Islamabad was a short one but incredible due to the closeness we flew to the mountains, it felt like you could reach out and touch them. We only flew around 9000ft and there are many in Northern Pakistan around 8000ft, the highlight was seeing Nanga Parbat which was the mountain we trekked to about a week earlier poking through the clouds! For some reason Rawalpindi is closer to Islamabad airport so we opted for the shorter taxi ride and to make it easier to stay with Anwar's uncle Masood.
We only spent 2 nights there, one round Rawlpindi and the other going to Islamabad to get our Indian visa. Jo was not liking Pindi after being ushered to a curtained section upstairs to be sat with other women diners out of site, it was in a cafe called Anwar's Cafe ironically. Luckily, we befriended the waiter who wanted some English coins so we could sit anywhere on the next few occasions we ate there! Seeing we had limited time left on the visa, Jo was after her lamb chops in Lahore so we decided to leave and return to Pindi to see Masood and also pick up our visa 5 days later.
Lahore was definitely the right move as it has so much more to offer than the other big cities. The owner of the guesthouse took a shine to Jo so we received 5 star treatement, bringing her roses on 2 days, free chai and biscuits, sweets and only bringing us a cushion the night we watched a pakistani folk singer on the rooftop of the hotel. Lahore felt immediately friendlier than Pindi.
Will update you on events in Lahore and meeting the Anwar family soon!
Hope everyone is well.
Alex & Jo xx
North-East Pakistan was calling, the main stopping off point was Skardu which we used as a hub to travel the area. The hotel we found was one of our favourites as the staff were so friendly, the view was pretty spectacular, the beds were comfy and they brought chai to the room so we could have it in bed!! We ended up staying for a week with visits to Shigar and Khaplu in between. We ate well in Skardu, the best restaurant in town that was highly recommended by everyone felt like a second home. The owner had been a chef in Knightsbridge of all places and he told us Princess Di had been in to eat on an occasion he was working. He also had been in NY for 10 years and Moscow but he didn't seem to like the amount of drunks in London!!
Khaplu was quite a quaint little village that had a nice mixture of sand dunes and plains but still surrounded by snow capped mountains, we left after one night partly due to the worst squat toilet we had come across!! Jo did get told off by some of the women villagers for not covering her head in a certain village but that was soon rectified at a local shop where we bought some material and everybody laughing at her trying to put it on properly. Shigar was beautiful and like Skardu, we found a hotel with such a friendly owner, it makes such a difference to the impression of a place. He told us that his food was expensive and we should go to the bazaar, we ignored his advice due our hunger and he prepared a delicious feast. Expecting a hefty bill on checkout, the lunch came to 200 rupees which we couldn't believe as it's 130 to the pound. They had an amazing fort in Shigar that had been developed into a hotel so they could maintain the building and gardens. You could even sleep in the room that the king used to sleep, but this was a little out of our budget at £90 a night! Whilst wandering around we were invited to tea with the manager and his friend who was director of education for the region of Balistan.
A military flight was on the cards after speaking to a few people, we even went to the airport to try and speak to the Army Group Captain as we met his brother in Khaplu. No-one knew his whereabouts so we decided to stop being pikey and pay for a flight, it was double what locals pay and extortion for a one hour flight but it turned out to be the most incredible flight we have been on.
Back in Skardu for the last day before our flight, we promised a man we met in the street to visit his new Centre that he had set up to teach English to the underprivileged children of the area. We arrived to a warm welcome of the class consisting of mixing ages, 42 in total. Each of the children took it in turns to stand up and tell us their name along with their mother's and father's plus their age. We had to talk about ourselves which was translated by Kamal (who set up the centre) and they had a chance to ask us questions through him. Alex took portraits of each child that we will print and send to them soon! They were so excited to meet us and talk English with native speakers, it was a real boost for them.
The flight to Islamabad was a short one but incredible due to the closeness we flew to the mountains, it felt like you could reach out and touch them. We only flew around 9000ft and there are many in Northern Pakistan around 8000ft, the highlight was seeing Nanga Parbat which was the mountain we trekked to about a week earlier poking through the clouds! For some reason Rawalpindi is closer to Islamabad airport so we opted for the shorter taxi ride and to make it easier to stay with Anwar's uncle Masood.
We only spent 2 nights there, one round Rawlpindi and the other going to Islamabad to get our Indian visa. Jo was not liking Pindi after being ushered to a curtained section upstairs to be sat with other women diners out of site, it was in a cafe called Anwar's Cafe ironically. Luckily, we befriended the waiter who wanted some English coins so we could sit anywhere on the next few occasions we ate there! Seeing we had limited time left on the visa, Jo was after her lamb chops in Lahore so we decided to leave and return to Pindi to see Masood and also pick up our visa 5 days later.
Lahore was definitely the right move as it has so much more to offer than the other big cities. The owner of the guesthouse took a shine to Jo so we received 5 star treatement, bringing her roses on 2 days, free chai and biscuits, sweets and only bringing us a cushion the night we watched a pakistani folk singer on the rooftop of the hotel. Lahore felt immediately friendlier than Pindi.
Will update you on events in Lahore and meeting the Anwar family soon!
Hope everyone is well.
Alex & Jo xx
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