TravelStream™ news feed for member kafir_mel on TravelPod's free travel blogs service http://www.travelpod.com/syndication/rss/kafir_mel en-us Copyright ©2009 TravelPod.com Mon, 19 May 2008 09:01:35 -0400 http://www.travelpod.com http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/kafir_mel/2/1209728820/tpod.html http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/kafir_mel/2/1209728820/tpod.html#comments Travel Blogs http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/kafir_mel/2/1209728820/tpod.html Mon, 19 May 2008 09:01:35 -0400 Indonesia - diving, beach and Bali

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Ubud, Bali, Indonesia

Ubud and the Monkey Forest (Bali)
After being pampered in that unreal haven that was Karma Resort - Kandara, I was back in the real world. Lugging my 20kg backpack around like a turtle with its shell, hot noonday tropical heat and Lonely Planet in hand, trying to find a way to my next destination. In this case, it was the picturesque tourist-trap town called Ubud, set inland amongst verdant rice terraces and famed for its artists and traditional dances/performances. Me, I'm just there to feed the monkeys in the sacred monkey forest!




I _think_ that, if a tourist was to see one other part of Bali apart from Kuta beach, it would be to Ubud. This place has nearly as many handicraft/art/souvenir stalls as Kuta/Legian. All of which I was immune to. However, I was thrilled to find vanilla pods in the local market, about a dozen for A$3!! They normally cost about $5 EACH. (Soaked them in vodka when I got back to Singapore, but the extraction process takes at least 6-8 weeks so I'll come back for my "harvest" next time I am in Singapore. It was already a dark brown liquor when I left. Too bad I actually dislike vanilla!!)





Cooled my heels at the Lotus Cafe, which had a very Zen setting of tables set in a pavillion next to a massive man-made lotus pond.



















Had a stash of mangosteens for myself (yum!), and had bought a comb of bananas from a nice old lady with a shop along the road to the Monkey Forest Sanctuary ("Bananas for the monkeys?", she said, in a lilting voice). I had been warned that these sacred monkeys were actually pretty rascally. They were known to steal sunglasses off people's heads and were also pretty adept at unzipping bags to get to the goodies within. Hmm... so I tried to outsmart the monkeys by making sure my backpack zips were tied to each other, tricky even for myself to undo.

These macaques were like the many other monkeys I had fed all over the world: New Delhi, Singapore, Penang, Thailand. I started by taking one mangosteen out and giving it to one monkey. While I was happily taking snaps of monkey-with-mangosteen, a huge and stinky monkey leapt on my back! It was trying to get to Fort-Mel-Backpack. Savage little bastard tried biting it but Cordura backpack material won. Unhappy monkey was then pulling at my hair to show its frustration. One nearby souvenir hawker shouted out to me to be careful.. but what the h*ll do you do?? Talk about having a monkey on your back! I don't remember what happened next but the damn thing then BIT me! Next thing I knew, I had a deep puncture wound between the first and second knuckle on my left fist.

Oh F*CK!!!! This has just gotten serious!

I managed to throw my backpack to the ground, where it was eagerly set upon by half a dozen monkeys. They got the bag open and were rummaging through its contents. Mangosteens, tetrabrik pack of some sweet drink, belingjo crackers.. all seized upon and devoured or destroyed. I was worried sick for my wallet but I guess monkeys, unlike human bandits, still live in a pre-monetary society. I watched all this helplessly for a few minutes before a wild-looking woman with dreads (or just plain bad hair) came along with a big rotan (stick) and chased the monkeys away. Ironically, the comb of bananas that the nice old lady sold me remained untouched in my bag.

Got myself patched up at the ranger's office (a little alcohol followed by some Betadeine and a Band-aid). From his manner, I have the suspicion that this is a very regular occurence. He assured me that the monkeys were not rabid. (2 weeks later and it has all healed up well.. and I am no "madder" than I was previously!)













Padangbai (East coast, Bali)
Pit stop to get a dive in at Secret Lagoon. Was chasing 3 white-tipped reef sharks around. Cooooool :) Otherwise, does not compare with Bunaken Island.

Candidasa (East coast, Bali)
Another pit-stop. Internet cafe. Oh god, Windows Millenium with a dial-up connection? I watched 10 minutes of my life go by while I downloaded 1 Mb. I could cry. As someone said to me, welcome to the Third World.

Amed/Tulamben (North-east coast, Bali)
I can't believe I sat pillion on an ojek (motorcycle) all the way from Candidasa to Amed. That's about 1.5 hours. My backpack was in front of the driver. If I had known that the first half hour would be like going up Mt Dandenong, I would have thought twice about it.

Snorkelling just 50m offshore at Amed, with the 3000+m Gunung Agung (gunung=mountain, agung=king) rising in the west.

Dived the famed Liberty wreck. Bizarre seeing up to 20-40 other scuba divers all swarming around the wreck like flies. Right, I am past scuba diving now. I think I am getting tired of all this beauty around me- multi-coloured fish, coral and other weird marine life.













Mt Bromo, Java
Undoubtedly the most stirring sunrise of my life. Started with a pre-dawn ride on horseback, past the desert-like Sea of Sands, upwards to the lip of the crater of the 2329m active volcano. After the tropical heat of the lowlands, it was good to feel the bracing chill of the pre-dawn air (around 10 degrees?). I dashed up the final 280+ steps to the crater's edge just in time to see the sun rise over the misty ridges in the horizon. What other track to play at this point but One Perfect Sunrise by Orbital (with vocals by the incomparable Lisa Gerrard)?

The volcano was actually belching clouds of acrid suphurous fumes which was to be avoided as it made breathing a near impossibility. It apparently erupted a few years ago and killed a few people. Good thing it was quiet that morning :)

















































Borobodur, Java











Biggest Buddhist monument in the world, in an island that is >90% muslim. Did the tour with a sweet camp gay boy (has GOT to be!!) as a guide and a Dutch couple. One half of the Dutch couple was a Jake Gyllenhall-lookalike and all the local schoolgirls were going nuts over him.


Breakfast in Yogja. Was actually really tasty! Chicken head was crunchy.... Other sticks were chicken liver/gizzard and hard boiled-quail eggs with soy sauce.









Jakarta, Java
I won't mince my words like my Borobodur guide minced his steps- this place is a stinking hell-hole. Here are some pics!












There were floods last year in Jakarta and 70% of Jakarta was inundated. It wasn't even rainy and this massive canal was within one foot of overflowing. There were big black "gloops" floating about in the water. I didn't think it possible, but, yes, they were what I thought they were.

















There was much poverty once past the gleaming skyscrapers along Jalan Thamrin and Sudirman. The traffic was also unbearable. It was constant grid lock and road rage most of the time. A gzillion ojeks (motorcycles) jostling for position with a sizable number of three-wheeled contraptions, with much black smoke emitted by all. Apart from the status symbol factor, there is absolutely NO reason to go around Jakarta by car as it is almost always faster by ojek. During peak hour, walking beats them all! Ask me sometime about trying to cross the roads here! Oh god, it was like Hanoi all over again! Makes me want to go hide under the nearest bush and wimper quietly.

Ok.. ok.. some nicer bits:
These gorgeous sailing ships were docked at Sunda Kelapa, the old harbour. They are made by Buginese craftsmen and have a crew of a dozen or so. Timber (some illegally felled, no doubt) come in from Kalimantan while bags of cement? flour? go back out to the less developed areas of Indonesia. It is amazing that these are still viable in this day and age. The kampung (village.. though was more like slum) adjacent to the harbour was barely above water and garbage-strewn. Quite sad. However, it had LOTS and LOTS of cats! Oh the cat shots that I took....




Barbeque-ed fish cakes in banana leaf, eaten with a spicy peanut sauce. Yum!










Some weird statue they call the Pizza Man (!)











And the obligatory cute cat shots, though second cat just has an enigmatic evil look.

]]> http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/kafir_mel/2/1211884800/tpod.html http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/kafir_mel/2/1211884800/tpod.html#comments Travel Blogs http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/kafir_mel/2/1211884800/tpod.html Tue, 06 May 2008 08:45:22 -0400 Indonesia - diving, beach and Bali

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Kuta, Bali, Indonesia

Ahh Bali, that Australia holiday cliche. I descended upon the madness that is Kuta beach, the ever-pulsating tourist heart of Bali, bursting with more foreign tourists, souvenir stalls, funky tourist restaurants, chic bars, pesky vendors, surfer dudes and scooters than you can shake a peanut-sauce covered satay stick at. It beats Phuket hands down in terms of scale, and makes the Gold Coast look like a one-horse town.

Like the kiasu Singaporean that I am, my first instinct was to try and explore every last souvenir/craft stall. Then I realised how big the whole place was. Shops cram either side of Jalan Legian (not to mention the myriad laneways) for at least 3 suburbs. Starting from Seminyak in the north, down to Legian, then Kuta, then to at least one other suburb south. I made a valiant effort for almost an hour and a half (in the heat of the day), then resigned myself to viewing the shops from the comfort of the passenger seat of an air-conditioned taxi! By then, I had also come to realise that almost all of the shops sold similar/identical items.

Most commonly found:
- Trinkets i.e. bracelets and necklaces of wood/shell/beads by the thousands, if not tens of thousands. The stock that even the tiniest shop carried as astounding. Shop owners yelled out ever decreasing prices for trinkets that I had not even shown the slightest interest in (trinkets? me?). I think I heard as low as 500 rupiahs (1 AUD = 8500 rupiahs). Bear this figure in mind for the story Ill tell later.

- Bir Bintang T shirts.. to go with the Beer Chang T-shirt you bought in Bali.

- Interior design stores that are a variation of the Villa and Hut chain of stores in Australia. All dark wood furniture, lamps and other objects reeking of Eastern exoticism.

Speaking of Eastern Exoticism, it is ironic how many Buddha heads there are here for sale. These Buddhas (not the laughing Buddha but the one that looks like it has a head of tight Afro curls) are available in a gzillion forms. As metal figurines, as artificial-stone figurines, in bas relief on your glass candle burner, even in dreadful paint-by-numbers oil canvasses (even saw a fluoro checkerboard version done Andy Warhol style pop art style).

Hmm.. Buddhas galore in a predominantly Hindu island (Bali) in a country that has the greatest number of the world's Muslims? Whatever the tourists want, I guess. Unless that Buddha is worshipped as a Hindu deity? No idea. Is it wrong to have a Buddha head in your garden if you're not Buddhist i.e. purely for decoration? Disrespectful, at least?

(I actually prefer the gargoyles (for lack of a better term) that guard the entrances to Balinese temples. These are ferocious-looking bug-eyed creatures. Put Shrek in armour and you'll get something similar. Some of them are actually Garudas. Watch out for the entry from Ubud, where mel goes gargoyle-hunting)

- Ceramic plates and bowls inlaid with identically sized pieces of coloured glass, mosaic fashion. Tempted, but my decor style at the moment is decidedly spartan!









- Custom made surfboards. It's Kuta Beach after all! Surfing is why they came in the first place all those years ago. Saw some for sale for about A$350, new.









When tired of shopping, there's is no shortage of places to eat and drink at, including some really funky open air places next to the foreshore- all modern decor, clean lines, dim lighting at night and (I'm sure) chilled out beats in the background.

Those with less money can run the gauntlet of pesky vendors on the foreshore. Here is Kuta beach itself, a fabulously long and straight stretch of sand and surf. Great swells break upon the shore here, in long languid barrel waves. There are almost as many surfers (and surfer wannabes) as vendors trying to sell you everything from (yet another) trinket to sarongs, T shirts, surf board rental/lessons, drinks, 2 minute noodle dishes, nail-decorations (seriously, me?), temporary tattoos and on-the-beach massages.

This newbie wandered onto the beach and was immediately pounced on by a succession of vendors. I stupidly succumbed to one who, after having told her no, struck up a conversation with me. After a few minutes of chatting, she persuaded me to look at some of her wares. By this stage, it is near impossible to say no to someone who has sneaked in the back door. So I ended up with a whale-bone lucky "Bali" thing-on-a-thong that I have no use for. First person who wants it can have it! She started by asking for the ridiculous sum of 70000 rupiah (nearly A$10). I told her that that was crazy, so she said, "how much you want?". That's when I knew I was checkmated as I didn't have a clue what these things cost. There was the guy that yelled out 500 rupiahs for one necklace but I wasn't sure. Whatever crazy price I name, she would already be making a profit. I paid my 25,000 emotional blackmail fee, then sulked for the next hour. :P After this, I learnt to say, "thanks but I already have a trinket/sarong/whatever you're trying to sell me".


Karma Resort - Kandara
After the hustle and bustle of Kuta, the tranquility of Karma Resort in Kandara was a universe away. Courtesy of a friend (thanks, Edmund!), I had complimentary vouchers for 2 nights at this very exclusive resort in the Bukit Peninsula in South Bali. Set in splendid isolation atop stunning cliffs overlooking the Indian Ocean, this newly opened (March '08) resort was luxury and indulgence at every level.








I got my own 3 bedroom fully furnished (and very private) villa with its own pool. Not just any pool but an infinity pool, where water flows out over the edge on 3 sides, like in a waterfall. The sun was shining its little heart out the first day I was there, and the light made pretty patterns on the floor of the pool. :) :) :)



















The resort common area (which included the in-house restaurant di Mare) was something out of a travel magazine. Right on the cliff's edge, there were almost aerial views of the shore far below, and of the vast blue Indian ocean stretching to infinity. I never got tired of watching the long parallel wave fronts as they charged and broke endlessly, one after another. So smooth, the wave crest, until it reaches that point where it breaks. Then white foam appears, spreads and takes over all along the wave. There was also a gorgeous coral reef just off the beach below but I was disappointed that the beach was temporarily closed (umm.. resort beach cafe below burnt down!).

The tier below the restaurant had another infinity pool, and the tier above it was filled with decor for which the only appropriate music is chilled/beach house/some variation thereof. Apart from the jaw-dropping views, the restaurant was also surprisingly good. As I was already getting the accommodation for free, I spent up on fine dining. For the non-foodies, you can stop reading now.


















Day 1- lunch
Club sandwich with pancetta, sourdough bread, and lime mayonnaise. Simple but very well done - best I have ever had. Pleasantly surprised. Sourdough bread was lightly toasted, and the lime mayonnaise gave it an unusual twist. Pancetta was a better choice than bacon. Some other sourdough bread was also provided- was surprised to learn that the bread was imported (!). Wouldn't it be funny if it was bread from Melbourne? Great fruity Italian olive oil provided to go with it.

















Day 1 - dinner
Beef Carpaccio - unusual but free. I didn't order it. I don't like argula.

Tian of jumbo green crab. Oh god, such incredible flavours again! The accompanying broth was really good, and you can just make out that there are some greenish drops of oil (probably infused with some herb) floating about.

Fennel-infused panna cotta with passionfruit sauce. I'm going to try this when I get home- great blend of flavours!!! Apparently it fennel or other anise-containing plant goes well with orange. The chef chose passionfruit for the citric (damn.. spelt it Citrix!*)/acidic component. I'd probably throw in vanillin as well.

* Oh my god, I can STILL spell Citrix! I am obviously still not relaxed enough!












Day 2 - lunch
Crisp calamari with garlic aioli. Simple dish, done very well. I think he used a tempura batter. Very light garlic aioli. Tomato fondue was a waste of time. He could have chosen any number of other sauces that would have gone better with the deep-fried calamari.

Mango and tapioca something. Icy mango sorbet on a crisp layer of something that was like candied sugar, and warm sago pearls under. Some coconut cream around the sides. Meh.












Day 2 - dinner
Wagyu beef burger. Not a patch on Rockpool's. Enough said.

Trio of melon something. 3 scoops of sorbet: lime/lemon, honeydew melon and strawberry. Finely chopped pieces of watermelon, papaya and pineapple for garnishing, and there was a clear sweet juice/syrup as "soup" (like lychee syrup?). Also some raspberry and mango coulis on the side. Flavour heaven.


All in all, great to be in this weird coccoon of a place and forget that it is the third world out there. Live like royalty for a few days (and don't even think of the carbon footprint!!!).
]]> http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/kafir_mel/2/1209263940/tpod.html http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/kafir_mel/2/1209263940/tpod.html#comments Travel Blogs http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/kafir_mel/2/1209263940/tpod.html Mon, 28 Apr 2008 12:09:08 -0400 Indonesia - diving, beach and Bali

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Bunaken Island, North Sulawesi, Indonesia

Hello from (gurgle.. gurgle) Waterworld. I've just returned to civilisation (Manado city) after completing my 4 day PADI Open water scuba diving course in the coral-fringed island of Bunaken. (For the geographicaly challenged, I am in Indonesia, specifically North Sulawesi. I am actually closer to Darwin than I am to Singapore!)

Bunaken Island is something of a diving mecca and the reputation is well-deserved. I have never seen such diversity (and abundance!) of both coral and fish... and other weird things. Such colour too! My cup runneth over! No wonder my cousin Grace has been back here 5 times. I saw at least 5 types of starfish, half a dozen types of spiky sea urchins, strange sea squirts (which look like part of a colon), ghostly translucent blue polyps, vivid fluorescent yellow sponges, prehistoric-looking Moray eels, a solitary majestic Napoleon wrasse (seriously hefty fish!) swimming by.. list goes on.

The highlight would have to be the two green turtle sightings. Never really thought much of turtles but I was just in awe when I spotted these huge but slow-moving creatures close up. There is a sense of deliberateness to all their movements that is so different to all the flighty creatures around them. Oh, and I musn't forget the very cute polka dotted boxfish which look like.. you guessed it, boxes! Apparently these fishes exist: cowfish, goatfish, catfish, lionfish, frogfish.. hmm.. marine biologists need to get more creative with naming!

Scuba diving was.. er.. interesting. There comes a brief moment of panic early on when you're deep underwater and really realise that the ONLY thing keeping you from drowning (gurgle.. gurgle) is your regulator (the mouthpiece) feeding you air from your scuba tank. What if you accidentally took in a gulpful of water underwater, then another.. gurgle.. gurgle..? Buoyancy was also an interesting concept- to ascend while underwater, the easiest
thing to do is to puff up your lungs with air like a balloon. Conversely, exhale as much air as you can and you will find yourself sinking like a stone in no time.



I stayed at a resort called Bastiano's and cannot recommend it enough. Frans Rattu was my instructor and absolutely a joy to learn from. I keep thinking that Frans reminds me of Alan Rickman. Food was good and staff were the best! Mealtimes were spent with Eric, the laid-back Mr-Peace-Love-and-Harmony instructor from Brussels; Wee, the hapless fellow Singaporean coursemate who coughed and choked underwater; one cranky older Aussie lady; and a friendly group of 5 other Melburnians (just can't get away rfom them!:P). Bastiano's had a great dining room that was on an upper level and over-looking the sea.. one of my best memories is of sitting on that deck after dinner watching an amazing electrical storm play out on the distant horizon. It was quite surreal because there was all this lightning but it was too far away for any thunder to be heard.


Manado

Continuing on with the water theme, Manado has been nothing but WET for me so far. On the hour long boat ride from Bunaken island, a storm front hit. Rain came in sideways. Later, while I was out shopping, it blew a gale and the rain could be rightly described as vicious. At some point, you just have to accept that you're already wet and that it doesn't really matter HOW wet. Walking around in a tropical downpour is actually quite fun, especially if you are wearing footwear you can step into puddles with!!

Food is probably the highlight since I can't really say much about the rest of Manado. I am now hooked on Teh Botol, a sweet black tea that you can buy in a bottle, like Fanta. Now also available in tetrabrik :) Also thrilled to find great bakeries here like the ones in Singapore (for Aussies, think Breadtop). Rich, moist, dark chocolate sponge cakes.. decadent lapis (layered) cakes.. sweet buns of all kinds.. mmmm.

There are things that are desired solely because of their unavailability. When I was floating amongst the incredible coral and marine life, I kept dreaming of all the Singapore foods that I was missing. The foods available in Manado have gone quite some way in scratching that itch, which is a good thing.

I had a fantastic gado-gado (cabbage, snake bean, tofu, bean sprouts and compressed rice portions smothered in a spicy peanut sauce). Also, while seeking respite from the rain, I chanced upon some roadside warungs (stalls) with a makeshift tarp-covered eating area. Here I had ayam goreng (fried chicken, better than KFC!) and charcoal-grilled satay with to-die-for peanut sauce. There was goreng pisang (fried battered bananas) too but , alas, only cows have four stomachs!

I now have 2 buns, 2 slices of cake, 1.5 kg of mangosteens and some unknown tropical fruit (that I know I like), and a small durian with me.. and I can't eat anymore :( As my colleague Leung would say, my eyes are bigger than my stomach!!

Manado market was lots of fun:

































Other odds and ends:
- I have never been so plagued by ants. On Bunaken, large (8mm?) ants would regularly just appear on my skin, no idea from where. At least they didn't bite. I got pretty practiced in flicking ants. When I got to Manado, I emptied some booties that I had hung outside to dry in Bunaken (yes, Grace, your booties) and HUNDREDS of these large ants came pouring out onto the floor. I am not normally scared of ants but .. eeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee!!!!!!!!!

- My body is covered with numerous red splotches. Mosquitoes, sand flies, bed bugs, weird bitey things in the water.. I don't know what's been feasting on me and I've stopped caring. I actually look like I have measles or some nasty disease.

- I STILL really don't like eating white fish!! And there's been lots on the menu!!
]]> http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/kafir_mel/kkh2007/1183650720/tpod.html http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/kafir_mel/kkh2007/1183650720/tpod.html#comments Travel Blogs http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/kafir_mel/kkh2007/1183650720/tpod.html Sun, 19 Aug 2007 23:44:58 -0400 Wandering up the Karakoram Highway, from Pakistan to China.

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New Delhi, India

India. Where do I start? I knew India would be challenging/confronting but it hit me like a Mack truck and kept on going.

Landed at night in New Delhi's Indira Gandhi International Airport and exited onto a sea of humanity. People waiting, people catching taxis, people loading stuff onto vehicles, people unloading stuff, people trying to sell stuff.... it was just people everywhere. The night air was like Singapore's too- thick, soupy heat that you wade through.

Let's just say that the moral of the tale that I am about to tell is that, if your plane arrives late in a city, make sure you already have a hotel room booked. (I can't believe that despite the exhaustive research I did for Pakistan and stops on the KKH, I totally forgot about New Delhi. Tried to read a fellow backpacker's Rough Guide to India while on a bus but nausea quickly put a stop to that)

(Note.. the whole place really is Delhi. Centre of New Delhi itself is marked about 1 suburb away from Old Delhi. Confusing)

So, armed with nothing more than a map of New Delhi that the airport tourism counter gave me, I jumped onto the (decrepit) airport-city bus. Outside Old Delhi railway station, one of the autorickshaw guys came on board the bus and told me that this was near the end of the line and that I should get off. To cut a long story short, he took me on his autorickshaw to look for a few hotels. He said most of the guesthouses around Old Delhi railway station (aka backpacker central) were closed due to work being done on the underground metro line nearby (huh.. I swallowed that!). We looked at a couple of 2-3 star places but they were all full. One had a vacancy but it was US$120 plus tax. The next one was also charging something similar.

At this stage, I was seriously tired, having not slept the night before either (was on 18 + 4 hour journey down the KKH). It was 2am in the morning, I'd spent the last 2 hours looking for hotels, there weren't any 24 hour cafes I could crash at, I couldn't go back to the airport to wait it out till morning, I couldn't very well sit outside a police station, I couldn't rent the autorickshaw for the next x hours.... so I forked out US$150 (A$180) for 6 hours in a crummy room that I found out later was worth about a tenth of the price. The whole thing was an elaborate scam. One word: Ouch!

(Meghara Palace Hotel in Karol Bagh.. you guys are cheating bastards!!)

Driving around Delhi in the wee hours of the morning was a very strange experience. Near the Old Delhi railway station, there were numerous men asleep under the stars on their cycle rickshaws. I am assuming that they are the working homeless?!? Cows, sacred to Hindus, wandered (and defecated on) the streets at will. Dogs, too, had the run of the streets at night. I realised that I had never seen a dog on the roof of a car - cats, yes, but never dogs... until Delhi! Ahh... Delhi quiet for a change.

The next day was HOT. Like 35+ degrees hot. It's summer on the Gangetic plain and not many tourists come at this time. In the time of the British Raj, the British would have retreated to the hill stations months ago. Nothing to do but just sweat into your clothes and look forward to a cool shower and air-con room at the end of the day.

However, what Kashgar failed to deliver, the New Delhi bazaars more than made up for. This is the bazaar to end all bazaars. On Sunday, I walked for block after block, wandering around a bazaar that must have spanned an entire suburb. Tens (if not hundreds) of thousands of shoppers were out in force. Brick and mortar shops, makeshift stalls on the road in front of those shops, shops down crowded back alleys etc. So many things to see, so much food to eat.

Oh yes, I got my I-want-to-eat-everything-in-sight appetite back. Street food is so plentiful and yummy here. Paneer (cheese of a tofu-like consistency) kebabs marinated with a light curry sauce and grilled. Freshly deep fried samosas. Hot off the tandoor rotis. Rich Korma curries. Mango lassi. Tempting local sweets covered in edible silver foil. Pistachio ice-cream. Shaved-ice popsicles drenched in syrup.

There were some weirder items too, like this drink that seemed to be made of mint but in fact tasted like crushed mint with pepper and tasbasco sauce. Oh yes, while we're talking about food and weird.. India has numerous McDonald's, none of which sell Big Mac (or any other sort of beef burger)!!!!

---------------
The main purpose for setting foot in India was, of course, to see the legendary Taj Mahal... and what a sight it was. It is in a place called Agra, about 200+km south of New Delhi and another seat of the Mughal emperors. Here's a recap of the Taj Mahal tale (as told by mel based on what her guide told her): Boy meets Girl. They fall in love and marry. 20 years later, at age 39, Wife dies after bearing her 14th sprog. Griefstricken Husband, being Shah Jahan, Mr-All-powerful-Mughal-emperor-of-India, decides to build a mausoleum for her. 22 years and an unbelievably obscene amount of money later, the beautiful white marble Taj Mahal is finished. Shah Jahan then decides to build himself a matching black marble mausoleum across the river. His son, freaked out by how much more money Dad is going to drain out
of the coffers, seizes power. Shah Jahan spends the last 8 years of his life imprisoned 8km away in Agra Fort.

I was lucky that I got there just at sunrise, and during the off season. Like when I was at the Banyon at Angkor Wat, it is a really special feeling being able to spend time at something so awe-inspiring without having to share it with too many people. So here's the money shot.

For perfectionists, the Taj Mahal is just like a dream made real. The symmetry is just incredible, esp. the line that bisects everything in two down the centre. Up close, the intricacy of the marble work just blows you away. All the intricate black calligraphy is actually semi-precious stone inlaid in the underlying marble. Same with the flower patterns, except that each flower can be made up of many different different small petals, each being a thin, flat piece of semi-precious stone that has been tediously ground into shape before being fitted into the marble. Various semi-precious stones are used: onyx (black), lapis lazuli (deep blue), carnelian (red), jasper (brown), malachite (green), coral (pearly). All this is then repeated all around the building. In the interior of the tomb itself, there are marble "screens" of very complex patterns, each carved out of a single piece of marble. You could go crazy marvelling at the many lines of symmetry.
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]]> http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/kafir_mel/kkh2007/1183644300/tpod.html http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/kafir_mel/kkh2007/1183644300/tpod.html#comments Travel Blogs http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/kafir_mel/kkh2007/1183644300/tpod.html Thu, 05 Jul 2007 11:40:06 -0400 Wandering up the Karakoram Highway, from Pakistan to China.

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Passu, Pakistan

As it is prohibitively expensive to fly out of nowhere Kashgar to Pakistan, I had to make my way down the KKH again by road. The landslide was still there blocking the KKH, though nearly cleared. When my bus got to the northern end of the blockage, we were told 2 - 5 hours and we'd be through. Yeah right. Some people chose to wait on the bus but I thought it would be a big waste of time and that they would have to walk across eventually anyway. I walked around the blockage, to the southern end. However, this time there was no bus on the other side!!! So a few of us had to pay for a "special hire" back to the border town of Sost. The sh*t must have really hit the fan with regards to the blockage as I passed a car with the licence plate GLT - 1- apparently this was the Chief Secretary for the Gilgit region of the Northern Areas province (?). Not long after, I passed "NA - 1". About time! When I passed the blockage the first time around, there was only one sole bulldozer at work.

I was going to go to the Chapursan Valley 50km off Sost but piked when someone pointed out the very precarious-looking jeep road to me. Have to admit that I am a bit over the scenery. Like Angkor Wat, yes, the first temple is fantastic but, you've seen one, you've seen them all. The Chapursan Valley is.. another pretty valley... that's been getting popular with trekkers. I think it is not in the Lonely Planet guide yet. Someone said that it was like the Alex Garlan (?) novel "The Beach" - everyone is looking for the next IT place. In Thailand, it is the unspoilt beach; in Pakistan, it is the undiscovered pretty valley. Oh yeah, people trek up to the tomb of Baba Ghundi, an obscure and vengeful saint who caused an entire valley to flood when the people refused to obey him.

The other thing I really wanted to do though, was to walk across the suspension bridges at Passu. Each bridge (there are 2) spans the Hunza river and would be perhaps 100-200m across. Consisting of thick steel cables with wooden sticks and planks woven through the bottom for steps, the bridges have an Indiana-Jones-and-the-Temple-of-Doom feel to them. Then steps were between 30-60cm apart. My guide Karim said that some foreigners freak out at the sight of the bridge and refuse to go across. I was surprisingly fine with it. Crossing the bridge, each hand was always wrapped around the side steel cable/rail. One foot would always be firmly planted on a stable wooden support. From a risk management perspective, it was really quite safe. The bridge didn't sway in the middle either. The only disturbing thing was maybe slight vertigo seeing the dirty brown river rush past and getting the sensation of movement, while knowing that you're perfectly stationary on the bridge. I just concentrated on one step at a time and was fine.













I did use up one of my nine lives on the way to the first bridge though. The normal path follows the wide and flat riverbed but the Hunza had changed course and so there was water where we had to go. The only other alternative was to follow the dangerous high path up amongst the cliffs.

At one point, we had to traverse a small scree slope. However, I didn't move fast enough crossing the slope so scree started moving downwards. Next thing I knew, I was spread-eagled on the slope for stability and unable to gain any purchase. Tried to get a foothold with my boots but only started inching further down. Karim was on more stable ground a mere 50cm to my left. He tried linking his hands together to create a stirrup for my foot to push off against but that didn't help.

At this stage, I did get a feeling of, "So, is this it?" If I had slid a further 2-3m down the slope, I would have fallen over the edge into a ravine that may have had a drop of 5,10,20 metres? I would surely have had some serious injuries if I came out of it at all.

Fortunately, I gave him one end of my dupatta/scarf (yes, I was trekking in my shalwar kameez!) and held on to the other. That gave me a measure of relief and I then had the confidence to move around a bit more. I found a rock embedded in the slope and was able to push off against it while Karim pulled me to safety.

Um, yeah, I think that was one really close shave. Eeek!

After disgracing myself there, I was glad that I was able to do the bridge quite effortlessly. Not surprisingly, Karim suggested that we turn back here was the path to the second bridge was just as, if not more, difficult. No problem. I was freaked out at this point. Had to take off my boots to wade back along the river bed but that was infinitely better than facing the scree slope again!!

If the path from Passu to Bridge 1 was A-B, and the (difficult) path to Bridge 2 as B-C, and the path back to Passu was C-A, then one way of doing both bridges was to go back to Passu (A) and take a taxi to Hussaini village, walk 5 min to Bridge 2 (C), walk across, walk back, take the taxi back.. and hardly break out in a sweat :)

So that's exactly what I did. I'm glad I didn't do the 2+ hour walk between Bridges 1 and 2. I saw the descent to Bridge 2 (opposite side of Hussaini village) and it looked terrifying. It starts from high, high up in the cliffs and the impossibly steep (and narrow) path consisted of a series of none-too-stable slate steps. Not for the faint-hearted, not for those who hate heights, and not for those without goat-like surefootedness. (What am I doing here again????)


Anyway, I got to do both bridges... and let's not mention a certain scree slope!

Currently *writing this draft in a Subway outlet in Lahore. Don't give me grief. I've been travelling the last 4-5 days, just got out of an 18+4 hour bus trip, haven't had much sleep, and didn't eat for most of the last few days. I don't want to eat no briyani rice, no curry, no naan, no chappati.. and definitely no dhal. Yes, it was a good 6 inch seafood sensation sub! I'd almost kill for a smoked salmon salmon/ avocado/ feta/ Cos lettuce/ cucumber/ tomato/ Spanish onion salad. Or a toasted ham sandwich. Or bacon... mmm... bacon....

* Er... when I wrote the paper version of this draft.

Just one thing about the 18 hour trip from Gilgit to Rawalpindi/Islamabad: there was only one driver. We started at 9am, had a 30 min break for lunch at noon, a 30 min dinner at 9pm, and got to 'Pindi at 3am. Other than that, the driver was at the wheel for close to 17 hours!! Plus, this was no easy drive but was very curvy almost all the way, on a narrow pot-holed road with trucks to be overtaken every few minutes. Occupational Health and Safety, anyone? Passenger safety?

(Before any smart alec mentions the 45 min flight from Gilgit to Islamabad, I _was_ at the airport and bought the last seat available. However, the plane that took off from Islamabad turned back halfway through due to inclement weather on the flight path. So, no flights out of Gilgit that day. Nothing I could do but grit my teeth and endure 18 hours of swerve left, swerve right....)
]]> http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/kafir_mel/kkh2007/1183562160/tpod.html http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/kafir_mel/kkh2007/1183562160/tpod.html#comments Travel Blogs http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/kafir_mel/kkh2007/1183562160/tpod.html Wed, 04 Jul 2007 12:40:16 -0400 Wandering up the Karakoram Highway, from Pakistan to China.

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Kashgar, China

After days of "roughing" it in the mountains of Pakistan, it was good to be in Kashgar for some creature comforts. It's a decent sized chinese city, with a number of buildings more than 10 floors high. It is (I think) the second largest city in the remote, yet immense, western chinese province of Xinjiang. The provincial capital is Urumqi (or Mookie, as I call it), where I was at last year. Sometimes the distance between places makes this feel like Australia- it takes 24 hours by train to get from Urumqi to Kashgar. Geographically, this is the northern terminus of the KKH, 400km from the Khunjerab Pass. Kashgar (1000+m) is a place along the original Silk Route and skirts the Taklamakan desert.

This is a part of China that the Han Chinese have been trying to tame for a long time. The original inhabitants (can I call them natives??) are the muslim Uighurs (a Turkic race), who have more in common with the people of the surrounding 'stans than with the Han Chinese. It is supposed to be an autonomous region (just like Tibet to the south) but the Han Chinese seem to be running the show. I found myself mainly speaking English ,or miming. as 1) the Uighurs don't seem to like it too much when I speak Chinese and 2) their Xinjiang-style standard Chinese is unintelligible to my ears. The Han Chinese run shops and small businesses in the modern part of the city (and hang out in the People's Park opposite the obligatory Mao-Ze-Dong-with-outstretched-arm statue), and the Uighurs have their own more traditional stuff for sale in the bazaars (and hang out in the big square adjacent to Id-Kah Mosque).

The tourists also have their own little ghetto, namely the 2 hotels along Seman Road. FYI, it is pronounced more like Sir-Mun, the two characters being Se (= colour) and Man (=full). Both the Chini Bagh and the Seman Road Hotel occupy the ex-British and ex-Russian Consulates respectively, probably a leftover from the time of the Great Game, when the then-powers of the region (Britain and Russia) had their political game of intrigue. 4 of us from the NATCO bus from Sost stayed at the Chini Bagh. The friendly and laid back outdoor John's Information Cafe downstairs was a great place to hang out and chat to other travellers.. and knock back a few bottles of the local Sinkiang brew, especially for those who had just come from 'dry' Pakistan. No, I _still_ don't drink beer.

At the Chini Bagh, we also bumped into the ever-exuberant Nazir, a fellow NATCO bus passenger from Sost, whom we parted ways with at Tashkorgan. It was good to have him as he was familiar with Urumqi. However, it was also like having a hyperactive Chihuahua puppy on stimulants for company.

Nazir took us through endlessly fascinating Uighur streets lined with food and fruit sellers, and we burst out upon the massive plaza next to Id-Kah Mosque. The yellow mosque (built around 1442, so Google tells me, and the biggest in China) is the focus of Uighur activity in the town. Locals come to pray in the mosque, and eating and shopping are done in the streets nearby. On a warm Friday night on one of the longest days of the year, the square looked almost like a Carnival was taking place. People sat at the edge of the square, or had ice-shavings-and-syrup confections at the many stalls. Young men played pool at the outdoor pool tables and kids thrilled themselves on the mechanical rides. Hawkers walked around trying to to sell stuff. There were even these curious photo stalls that offered to take people's photos. Your special Id-Kah square moment, preserved forever :)












It was also Nazir who took us to an air-conditioned Uighur restaurant overlooking the square. It was a fantastic vantage point.5 of us shared local favourites: la mian (basically spaghetti with a spicy, capsicum-rich sauce containing veges and meat), shish kebabs (flavoursome skewers with one blob mutton, one blob fat, then 2 blobs mutton) and naan bread (chewy, dry baked bread the shape of a pizza base). I dislike capsicum so can't stand la mian. They had an interesting local drink though- very syrupy and containing pieces of watermelon, apple (pear?), rockmelon and re-hydrated dates.

It was great fun wandering around the Uighur parts of town the next day. Melons (rock, water and honeydew) and stone fruits (aproicot, nectarine, peaches) were in season and were being sold everywhere. Some vendors specialized in cutting snack-sized slices off a melon rather than selling whole melons. The bazaar sold lots of fascinating things too: powdered paint pigments, dried frogs, ornamental bone daggers, hand beaten copper pots, Mao/muslim/Russian/Uighur hats, Alsatian (dog) pelts and traditional musical instruments, amongst other things. Then there were the ever-present shish kebabs being grilled over charcoal braziers, with the accompanying naan stalls (with piles of the frisbee-shaped naans and no-hole bagels) close by. Oh yeah, and lots and lots of hung up fat-tailed sheep carcasses (from which the shish kebabs are made). I can't believe how much meat these people go through!!



















The next day was the BIG DAY i.e. the Sunday market. There are actually 2 markets: one called the Sunday market and one known as the animal market. It is often hyped as the biggest market in Centra Asia but, regardless of how big a market is, it will be boring unless there is sufficient variety. The first market was full of people selling souvenirs, namely pasmina/cashmere shawls, ornamental bone daggers, Hetian jade and miniatures of local traditional instruments. There were also mundane items for locals like shoes, blankets, cloth. The only interesting bits were the donkey car(t)park and the rather disturbing cat market. In this, dehydrated cats (have you ever seen a cat panting?!?!) were continually being yanked by rope leashes crudely tied around their necks. Kittens were squashed into small cages, possibly with the rest of the litter, and subject to the hot sun.












The animal market was an immense dusty yard specializing in the trade of livestock. Cattle, goats, fat-tailed-sheep and donkeys. A rough price for a sheep was 350 yuan (about A$50) and 3000 yuan (A$500) for a magnificent looking bull. Fascinating, but the heat was too much and the Chini Bagh crew decided to hurry back to the cool confines of the hotel.






















Misc observations:
Fashion
I think the local Uighur women must have been reading outdated fashion magazines from the neighbouring ex-Soviet 'stans. The current idea of "fashionable" seems to be high heels with the thin strap across the front foot areas (where foot meets leg). Uh.. I'm not one to judge high heels but I don't think those have been fashionable in the West for a very long time. Either that or maybe, somehow, fashion in this part of the world hasn't changed in the last 30-40 years. The Han Chinese just look like any other Han Chinese in any other urban part of China.

Begging
Guess they don't have free medical access for all, even though this is a Socialist country. Could be scams but I saw some sick people lying inert on carts being wheeled around the bazaar. People would then give money to fund whatever medical procedure it is that is sorely needed.

Desert4
Some crazy bunch of Westerners on a multi-stage 250km marathon through the Gobi desert finished in Kashgar on the Saturday I was there. The sun/heat is unrelenting and would only have been much worse in the desert. What can possess someone to want to run 250km through a DESERT?!?!?

So er.. Kashgar was fascinating. but maybe I was expecting too much because of the hype I'd heard about the Sunday market. Now, the slow, painful return leg back to the southern end of the KKH...
]]> http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/kafir_mel/kkh2007/1182586560/tpod.html http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/kafir_mel/kkh2007/1182586560/tpod.html#comments Travel Blogs http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/kafir_mel/kkh2007/1182586560/tpod.html Sun, 24 Jun 2007 07:42:52 -0400 Wandering up the Karakoram Highway, from Pakistan to China.

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Khunjerab Pass, Pakistan

Borders are absolute pains in the ass at the best of times, and this was no different. This
Kashgar Sunday market better be worth it because it has taken me a lot of numb butts and
patience to get to China (and I'll have to do it all over again going back to Pakistan).

First off, took a 3 hour bus from Karimabad in the Hunza valley to the Pakistani border
town called Sost, whereupon I found that I had missed the day's only bus to China. So the
only thing to do was to hang around in the absolute middle of nowhere. Seriously, look around Sost and it's just the same barren crumbly rocky inhospitable terrain that's been there for the last few hundred km of the KKH.

Sost is a one-street sorry excuse of a .. no.. it's not a town.. collection of rough wooden
shacks and other badly built hovels. Every second store sells drinks and snacks (usually
oversweetened biscuits). Vehicles stop here to get past Pakistani Customs and Immigration.

Fortunately, I found a rather decent hotel (Sky Bridge Inn) and had a room that faced a
small garden full of fruit trees. Plucked my own cherries from the cherry trees. The apples
weren't ripe yet though.

The next morning, a random collection of backpackers and other travellers assembled at the
NATCO bus stand. Over the next few hours, we all got to know each other. There was Rupert, the young Brit law grad going to Uzbekistan to do trekking in the Fan mountains; Ibrahim Ma Yung, the larrikin muslim Chinese guy who speaks 6 languages fluently; Nadir Khan, a fun-loving Pashto business guy; David the Spanish backpacker; and Takao, from Japan. Also a Japanese couple who have been studying in New Delhi.

I have never been subject to such stringent checks before at immigration. The Pakistani
immigration officials (flanked by scary looking army soldiers with very large black beards)
searched through everything. I was also sent to a small hut for a head to toe body search
by a female official. Not very pleased with her when she took a small ice pick-like object and stabbed my hiking shoes, looking for hollowed out areas. Others complained about their medicines (pills) being scratched and coffee packets being stabbed.

Glacier on the way to Khunjerab Pass.. probably either Passu or Batura:











The NATCO bus set off for the border but we stopped only an hour or more after leaving Sost as we had reached where the KKH had been blocked for the better part of the last week (or more). A bus was waiting on the other side of the blaockage but I decided I didn't have the strength to lug my 18kg backpack for 30 min across steep terrain at 3500m (confirmed with my GPS), so I paid a porter 500r (A$10). You can see from the picture where a rockslide - the black stuff - has blocked the narrow valley and caused water to back up and inundate the KKH. I have no idea how they are going to get around the situation. There were many goods trucks just backed up along the highway as there is no way they can get through until the damage is repaired.













Next was the Khunjerab pass, highest paved (hah!) border crossing in the world at 4700m. It was a spectacular journey up the pass though. There was a picturesque glacier, and a broad green valley towards China. It was quite taxing having to take all our gear down from the bus (and back on again) at the border. At 4700m, just breathing is a chore, let alone doing anything requiring effort.

The difference between China and Pakistan was very marked. For one, the roads are much
better maintained. The Chinese side also had buildings worthy of the 21st century. The
rough-and-ready Pakistani-side shelters looked positively primitive in comparison.

Finally got to the Chinese town of Tashkurgan in the evening. This is where the Chinese do
their customs and immigration procedues on people arriving from the border. I was rather
nervous as I did not have a Chinese visa. As a Singaporean, I should not require a visa for
stays of under 15 days. However, I have met ignorant immigration officials in other
countries before.. and at the border, they are God. Luckily for me, everything went
smoothly.

All the backpackers ended up at the same hotel and we went for a big feed that evening. I
hadn't been eating well in Pakistan, and hadn't had any meat in the last week or so. That
evening, we had spicy beef laghman (la mian.. hand pulled wheat noodles.. think spaghetti),
fried spicy eggplant, chilli mapo tofu, some weird "wood ear" (mu er) fungus dish the
Japanese guy wanted and the local spicy (gristly) beef chunks and swede dish.. washed down by cold beer (for the guys) and cold bottled green tea (for the girls). Ahhhhh......

(Thankfully my body didn't rebel from all that spicy food either)

Oh yeah.. NO MORE SHALWAR KAMEEZ!!!! At least until I go back to Pakistan. I now have peripheral vison again!

Next day, 4 of us hired a pick-up truck to Kashgar about 4 hours away. It was a wide and
smooth highway but, strangely, our chain-smoking driver chose to spend as much time on the left hand lane as he did on the right hand lane. When he decided to watch a DVD while
driving, the nervy passengers had enough and told him to turn it off.






















We stopped by tranquil Karakul lake where herders offer camel/horse rides and yurt accommodation to tourists. The surface of the lake is unusually placid, causing perfect reflections of the surrounding mountains.I was originally going to stay the night but decided against it because there really wasn't much there. Took a 30 min camel ride instead
(A$3).

Got in to "civilisation" (aka Kashgar) on Friday afternoon. This is the first time since Islamabad that I have been in a place with a building more than 5 storeys high. Yay!! Now let's see this Sunday market!!
]]> http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/kafir_mel/kkh2007/1182584460/tpod.html http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/kafir_mel/kkh2007/1182584460/tpod.html#comments Travel Blogs http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/kafir_mel/kkh2007/1182584460/tpod.html Sat, 23 Jun 2007 04:25:54 -0400 Wandering up the Karakoram Highway, from Pakistan to China.

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Hunza Valley (Karimabad), Pakistan

They call the Hunza valley the centrepiece of the KKH, and i think it is a well-deserved title. Out of the bleak Karakorum mountains, a valley suddenly appears that is a deep luxuriant green. Channeling glacial run-off, the people of the Hunza valley have created a lush green region of poplars, fruit trees, and fertile agricultural fields. As the valley floor is still the domain of the Hunza (or is it Indus?) river, the people have taken over the not-very-level region above that on both sides of the valley and built terraced fields. Above that are towering snow-capped mountains like Rakaposhi (7900m), Diran (7000+), Spantik, and Ultar I and II (7000+).

I spent 3 very enjoyable, though mostly exhausting days, in Karimabad- tourist centre of Hunza (and perhaps Pakistan). Happiness is a pair of dusty boots! Stayed at the LP-recommended Old Hunza Inn for A$4 a night. The views were a million dollars. From my bed, looking out the door, I could see the gleaming white of Rakaposhi, and all the way down the Hunza valley. At night, 3000m up, in the mountains, all the stars came out.

As a backpacker, being at backpacker haunts is sometimes more important than finding a decent room to sleep in.. though my $4 a night room was quite adequate. Old Hunza Inn is staffed by the very hospitable Lal Hussain, who also does delicious vegetarian communal dinners. There were also many other interesting backpackers there, most of who seem different from the sort you might meet in Khao San Road in Bangkok. Two brits were cycling up the KKH. Some others had also been on the road for awhile. I was impressed that everyone at the table could tell Tajikistan from Kyrgyzstan.

An unexpected bonus was meeting a fellow Singaporean at Old Hunza Inn. Michael was going south on the KKH and I was going north. Both of us knew of Eunice, another Singaporean who had done the KKH about a month before. Singaporean backpackers are rather rare, IMHO, as I think most Singaporeans would rather take a tour and/or stay at a resort for their holidays.


Michael and I walked up the (steep) hill to the 800-year old Baltit Fort, traditionally the home of the Hunza mirs (rulers). The fort had apparently been painstakingly restored by a number of organisations and is now UNESCO heritage listed. It is built high up on a hill and has commanding views of the valley. Practically nothing is naturally flat in Hunza. We then climbed up another hill behind the fort and watched sunset over the surrounding peaks. It was just an amazing feeling being surrounded by such magnificent giants.


One of the other things to do in Karimabad is to trek up to Ultar Meadows in the valley just at the back of town. After receiving conflicting and/or incomprehensible information from people, and getting quite lost, I got a local to guide us (2 guys, 2 girls) up to Ultar. We went through the narrow alleys of a tightly packed village built on the side of a hill, then walked along on of the water channels that brought water from the glaciers above to the fields below. Not for someone who hates heights. The water channel is an engineering marvel, clinging to the side of a cliff. One side of the channel is the cliff and the other is a built up bank with a flat top maybe 50cm wide that a person can walk upon. On the other side... nothingness. Nothing all the way down. Don't look down, don't look down......

(expand this to see the path along the hillside)









However, we got to a steep portion after the channel that I just baulked at. I didn't think that I had the energy to make it back down if I continued on. So the 2 boys went on ahead to Ultar Meadows (with views of Ultar Glacier) and the 2 girls headed back. In the end, it was only an hour further for the guys but our guide told us it was another 2-3 hours away to the meadows and it just seemed too far to go and come back. Rats.

The next day, I tackled Eagle's Nest Hotel in Duikar Village. It was just a long uphill slog along a jeep road, so nothing beyond my abilities. Went past endless (very green.. everything here is green!) potato fields, took pictures of too many cute goats, and admired the many dry stone walls that the locals had built. Just basically a glimpse of village life. Views just got better and better as I went up, with the trail ending in a rocky ridge above Eagle's Nest Hotel. The peaks that I saw during sunset last night were less obscured and even more impressive now. Baltit Fort, which I thought was high up, was a blob far below in the distance. Had a drink at the Eagle's Nest Restaurant, which had a fantasic view over the valley.


View from Altit Fort (another fort) of KKH:













For some reason, the Hunza valley is very popular with Japanese and Korean tourists, so much so that I got "Konichiwa" about as often as I had "Hello"! To cater for the many Japanese tourists, some Japanese (?) have set up guest houses here (one in Gilgit too). It is just surreal to be able to get Japanese food in Karimabad. Somehow I doubt there's sushi though- we are many, many miles away from the nearest sea!

However, I can vouch for the Hunza walnut cake from Cafe de Hunza. It is a fantastic little parcel of caramelised walnut on a bed of something moist and sweet, with a pastry exterior.









One other good thing about the Hunza valley is that the locals are mostly Ismaili muslims. The women are more visible and aren't so hard-and-fast about keeping their heads covered. I even saw a shop operated by women (shock!). Their spiritual leader is the Aga Khan and there seem to be many aid projects funded by Aga Khan-related organisations. The Hunza people also seem very proud of the fact that their people can all read and write. Education does play a large role in their society, and someone mentioned that they had 8 PhD-holders from their valley alone. The people here also seem a lot friendlier than anywhere else I've been (though it IS a tourist town).

Oh yeah.. got head-butted by this ill-tempered beast:











And here is the obligatory goat pic:










Next stop, border town of Sost, and then on to Kashgar for the biggest Sunday market in Central asia.



]]> http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/kafir_mel/kkh2007/1182268620/tpod.html http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/kafir_mel/kkh2007/1182268620/tpod.html#comments Travel Blogs http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/kafir_mel/kkh2007/1182268620/tpod.html Tue, 19 Jun 2007 13:09:45 -0400 Wandering up the Karakoram Highway, from Pakistan to China.

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Fairy Meadows, Pakistan

Fairy Meadows must rate as one of THE to do things in North Pakistan. It is an easy trek to a stunning grassy meadow with great views of the Nanga Parbat massif as well as access to the Raikot glacier.

Organised the 3D2N tour with Madina Guides (via Madina GH) for US$140, which was a really good deal. Apparently they weren't even going to make a profit off it, which may explain why my guide barely spoke to me!! Raji was otherwise competent but always seemed to forge ahead. Think he belonged to the I-hear-no-screams-so-she-hasn't-fallen-off-a-cliff school of trek guiding!

Anyway, I won't crap on too much in this entry as the pictures will tell more.

Day 1:
Raikot Bridge to Jhel

Local transport from Gilgit to Raikot Bridge on the KKH. Crazy jeep ride from Raikot Bridge to Jhel village, that cost A$30 for 15km, ascending 1320m in one hour+. Before you yell that I have been ripped off, consider that the villagers had to build (and maintain) it all themselves. Blow up the picture and have a look at the road. Great engineering with primitive equipment and only local materials. This is a very narrow road and the jeep wheels come worryingly close to the edge more often than I would have liked. Good thing we didn't meet anyone in the opposite direction either!

Starts off really stark and desolate near the KKH. By the time we get to Jhel further up the valley (+1320m altitude from start), it has become really green in parts.

Jhel to Fairy Meadows
From Jhel, it is a 2 hour walk to Fairy Meadows. I cheated and got a horse. Main campsite is Raikot Serai but I stayed in a cosy log cabin in Broad View Hotel 5 min walk away.









Fairy Meadows is a wide expanse of very very lush grass. So much water here, seems almost strange to someone used to drought in Australia. Hearders use this as summer pasture for livestock. Cattle, goats, donkeys, horses etc.


Here is the obligatory goat pic.











From Raikot Serai and Broad View, you can see up the ablation valley towards the Raikot Glacier. You will notice the part of the valley carved out by the glacier (grey dirty bits). The mountain you see is the north face of Nanga Parbat, aka killer mountain, as many climbers had died attempting to conquer it. This is one of 14 8-thousanders in the world (mountains >8000m) but the actual peak is visible only from the rupal (or south) side.





Day 2:
Fairy Meadows - Beyal camp
Beyal camp is only 1+ hours easy walk away. Went through fresh scented pine/fir(?)/juniper forests on a path that overlooked the moraine. Had to cross a few lovely glacial streams. Where it wasn't forested, there was just green green and green... with rocks strewn here and there.

Met herders and cute (though dirty) local kids at Beyal camp. They seem to have only these rough sod-roofed wooden huts as shelters. Tough life!

Beyal camp- View Point
View Point lookout was an hour's walk away. From there, you get a closer view of Nanga Parbat. You can also see the glacier, and hear the ice cracking.

Base camp was another 3 hours away and I was not in a position to go there and back :( So headed back to Broad View early, which was a good thing because weather turned foul that afternoon and there was a gale blowing down that mountain.

Day 3:
Back to Gilgit

Here is a picture of Raji and 2 of the men who were in charge of Broad View.
]]> http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/kafir_mel/kkh2007/1182188400/tpod.html http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/kafir_mel/kkh2007/1182188400/tpod.html#comments Travel Blogs http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/kafir_mel/kkh2007/1182188400/tpod.html Mon, 18 Jun 2007 13:58:25 -0400 Wandering up the Karakoram Highway, from Pakistan to China.

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Gilgit, Pakistan

Abottabad is a genteel town containing many of Pakistan's most prestigious military and civil training/educational institutions. It is also much cooler than on the plains and I was grateful to be able to sleep without sweating.

Took a mini-bus to Manshera one hour away and got to sit with the driver in the mini-bus as I was an unaccompanied female.



Had a lovely breakfast of chickpea curry and roti while waiting to catch the NATCO (Northern Areas Transportation company) bus to Gilgit approx 400km away. I have not had fatter, softer chickpeas. Washed it down with Sprite. There isn't a lot of choice when it comes to drinks here. There's bottled water in plastic bottles; re-usable glass bottles of carbonated softdrink or mango juice; and tetra-bricks of artificially sweetened mango juice. My one gripe is that there is NO ICE!!! Chilled drinks are usually no cooler than about 20 degrees. When it's so hot out there, you'd almost kill for an iced drink!

Things are almost ridiculously cheap though. Drinks cost 10r (A$0.20), breakfast above cost 20r, Local wage (e.g. workers in the food place above) was about 120r (A$2.40) a day, according to the owner. Internet access is about 15r per hour. Couldn't believe I had to use Windows 98 though (what's USB???).

I had decided not to fly from Islamabad to Gilgit as I was a bit of a purist and wanted to do every single km of the 1200km KKH. However, I highly suggest flying this leg of the KKH if anyone is umming and ahhing about it. 444km took from 11am to 1am the next day. That's 444km in 14 hours. That's under 30km/h oveall for 14 hours!! That's not due to slackness on the part of the 2 NATCO drivers either as they drove like maniacs anytime they were behind the wheel.

I got to sit at the front of the coach again (I am an unaccompanied female!) and got fantastic views. The road climbs into the Himalayas and weaves it tortuous way along mountain sides up the Indus Valley. Think Great Ocean Road but on a more massive scale. For hours on end, you would not find a 50m straight stretch. On particularly long climbs, the coach would have to stop to hose the engine down. The numerous waterfalls coming down the gullies, where the road does a deep bend, are also good places for people and vehicles to cool off.

I'd heard of how hair-raising a journey on this road can be, and it fulfilled my expectations (for the most part). The 1200km highway was opened about 30 years ago, a joint project between the Pakistani and Chinese governments- I think kind of like a friendship highway. It is about 1.5 lanes wide in most parts, with generous shoulders. The professionals driving the coach (hats off to them) have mastered the fine art of overtaking the many gaudily decorated goods trucks that ply the KKH.


Try overtaking with about 6 inches (or less) between your tyres and the drop-off into the Indus Valley. Then try that on a curvy road but with a view of what's in front. Then try that with oncoming traffic hurtling towards you ("surely he CAN'T be serious!!!"). O rtry overtaking around a blind corner, horns blaring. For even more fun, try all that at night where you can't really see where the edge is, and the bastard in front refuses to lower his headlights. Vehicles would pass with mere inches to spare. All without skipping a beat.


The vistas were great - seeing down long valleys, watching the mighty Indus rush past etc. I think the Karakorum translates to crumbly black rock and there was a lot of bare crumbly mountainside to be seen. Sometimes it might as well have been a moonscape. Or an open cut mine in outback WA. It's a harsh, desolate landscape for the most part, and the high peaks were not visible yet.

Got to Gilgit in the middle of the night and was rapt that someone from the Madina Guesthouse was there to get me (I hadn't booked but the LP recommended Madina). The Madina is an oasis - English spoken here, and there is French toast and other non-curry foods.

Can't say much nice stuff about the rest of Gilgit though. In Lahore, women all wore the dupatta, but wearing it over your head (as opposed to just draping it across your chest) was optional. Here, women not only wore it over their head but they also covered most of their face too. By the way, that's WHEN I saw a woman- they are so rare here. Apparently the religious types don't even like women in the bazaars (yes, men do all the shopping!). Anyway, I felt obliged to do the same. I have never felt so constrained in any place I have ever been in. I felt like I shouldn't be wandering the streets. I got stared at all the time (though I have to say I had many friendly hellos from shopkeepers). Buying a pair of sandals drew a crowd! Somewhat amusing....

I did have a quick look at the suspension bridge:













This lovely old guy actually put on a cap and posed for me without me asking. Didn't even pressure me to buy a cap! The cap looks really cool and is the favoured local headgear. It is also known a a Hunza cap, though I'll bet a Gilgiti will beg to differ!

Gilgit is mainly a jumping off point for treks and I signed myself up for a 3D2N trip to Fairy Meadows. Ahh.. mountains and glaciers, here I come!




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