Hotel Marina International Islamabad

... mostly mine!). Leaving China, also not easy. In the morning we have to go to customs (130km before the border at Tashkakent), as we are overslept we wanna do this formal stuff first and have breakfast after, taking a last tea with Tudajim. So we spend about an hour at 2 offices, vehicle check (this time we have hidden all food stuff), passport checks etc. All ok. So now breakfast.....Not possible! We are not allowed to turn back to the village AND have to rush to the border before ...

... dans avond, was wel aardig maar niet wat we er van verwacht hadden. Na de trip (na 12 en) bleek de stad een gekken huis te zijn : het is onafhankelijksheids dag. Net alsof turkeye de wereldcup wint: 10000000 mensen op straat , toeterende autos dansen, herrie en veel blijde gezichten. Eric kwam aan de praat met mensen (dat is niet zo moeilijk hier) en die kreeg zelfs speciaal een bos bloemen. Was allemaal erg bijzonder allemaal. <br><br><br>

... as quietly as he had appeared. It was quite a surreal experience and left us with a spine tingling unease.<br><br>We were somewhat distracted by our conversation with this strange young man but we did manage to buy two books on Pakistani cooking. I always try to re-create at home similar dishes to those on our travels and I just had to find out how to make chap shuros! <br><br>An evening drink of fresh mango juice in the shadows of the bazaar before a wonderful meal ...

When I was in Peshawar I met a French girl, P, who lives 40% of the year in Islamabad and 60% of the time in Paris. She said if I came to Islamabad I could stay so I took her up on her kind offer for a few days. I needed to go there because I was to catch my first flight since the start. From all that I'd seen and heard I really wanted to go to The Kalash Valleys in the Chitral region and at this time of year I had been told that the roads were not passable because ...

... situated a few miles down the road in Rawalpindi, Islamabad's dirty, hectic little brother - the archetypal capital city. <br><br>Getting our visas proved to be harder than expected. We had applied in Tehran and were hoping to simply turn up and collect them - such misguided faith in non-existent systems! There was no record of our applications, so we had to apply again - although our insistence on speaking to the man in charge made things a little smoother. So ...

... and this is copied from the FCO website: We advise against all travel to areas where there are reports of military or militant activity. This applies particularly to: northern and western Balochistan, including the Sui/Dera Bugti and Kohlu areas; the Federally Administered Tribal Areas, including Waziristan; Swat, North West Frontier Province (NWFP); and all border areas except for official crossing points. We also advise against using the ...

... Highway where FCO advice was "Keep the hell out" or words to that effect but now that FCO has issued a similar warning about the whole of Pakistan they have allowed the men on the trip the opportunity to ride with the truck so three have gone. There's also a local guide and 2 **** shovelers to move the land slides that will hinder the way!! I wrote most of that yesterday but everything moves a bit slower here so i am now here to finish off. Today we went to a place ...

... God is one" (29:46), but also states that they have misinterpreted the sacred texts of the Bible and the prophets of Abraham, Noah, Jesus, John, Jacob, Aaron, Moses, and others. In Christianity, Jesus Christ is considered the Son of God who came to Earth and died for the sins of man, inherited from the fall from Grace, the original sin of Adam and Eve. Jesus is thus given divinity status and is the one who forgives. In Islam, Jesus is considered a prophet and a ...

... looking cauliflowers and aubergines just seem to be there for show -  certainly, they don't seem to make it as far as the local restaurant and into the  obligatory pan of hot oil. Well, that's all from here, folks. Mrs R's got some carpets to look  at. See you in the next one - India, March 2006, in-sh'Allah. Pepsi &amp; Shirley ******************************** Mr &amp; Mrs R - Like southern birds  that have stayed north too long. **********************************