Our new friend, Dr Suleman Lalani, from Texas (USA) is the chairman of a NFP (AKFUSA.ORG and AKDN.ORG). They are working in over 20 countries and in Hunza they work with the Aga Khan Foundation and he organised for us to go and see some of the projects in action.

We we collected by the local and regional Managers, from the Hunza View Hotel and taken by 4 wheel drive to a prestigious girls school, Aga Khan Secondary School in Hunza. Here the female Principal (an alumni of the school) took us on a tour of the library, a biology classroom, yr 9 computer lab and a general yr 9 class. She then took us to the hostel where some of the girls board and we saw their dormitories and were treated to a delicious morning tea in dinning room. Vince and I were sitting next to her for morning tea and we got to ask her some questions about the changes in Pakistan and the girls education in general. The school’s focus is on Science, particularly pre medicine and engineering studies. Each year they have around 700 applicants and they select the top 45. The school currently has around 175 students from yr 8 – 12. The grounds and views were stunning and all the students we met were bright and cheerful. These girls will go on to become Doctors and Engineers. Scholarships are available so that money is not an issue for those who are accepted.

Next we were driven to the Kado 1 Training Centre where local women learn to cut and polish local gems and set them in silver. They learn a full range of jewellery design including rings, earrings, pendants, bracelets and necklaces. I saw some gorgeous aquamarines (my birthstone) but as I had not brought my purse that was the end of that. Any item that is sold gives 60% to the artisan (for labour) and 40% goes to the foundation to cover costs. The centre has developed a reputation and people are keen to be trained there. They also make custom orders for weddings etc.

We then went by car, along to CIQAM, which is a woodworking centre, where less educated women are able to learn practical woodwork skills. They build furniture through to using up the leftovers to make letters, spoons and smaller items for sale. We also so some construction work that the women had been involved in as part of the restoration of the historic old town settlement of Altit, which won a UNESCO World Heritage award in 2007 by the Aga Khan Cultural Services – Pakistan. We were given a tour through the settlement, which was absolutely fascinating and we met many beautiful, happy children and colourful women along the way.

We had a walking tour of the Altit Fort, which was very special….extremely cool inside….with very small and low doorways (a strategic move to make enemies have to enter one by one in a crouching position). The views were amazing, including the view over the settlement roofs that we had just walked through. We were treated to a lovely lunch in the cafe thanks to the generosity of our hosts.

We then got back in the cars and off to Baltit Fort. We could only go part way and we had to walk up a very steep hill….which just about killed me……I am so unfit! The view was lovely, and going down was so much easier. The group went on to Eagles Nest, but Vince and I went back to our hotel because I had an URGENT tummy problem…..time for the Gastro Stop!

We reluctantly left the comfort and luxury of Serena Hotel (Euro 165), Gilgit after a delicious breakfast. We stopped for fuel before leaving town and turning back onto the KKH headed North.

The mountain scenery was magnificent and the police checkpoints along the way were all very friendly. We passed through many small villages, some with stalls selling fresh produce….and in one case I saw a cow being butchered by the side of the road…..with all its fur still on!

We saw were the continental plates (Indian and Eurasian) collided, the Indian plate continues to move north pushing the Eurasian plate at a rate of 5 cm per year, raising the mountains by around 7 mm annually. We passed through the Central Karakuam National Park, which was just stunning! We saw the remnants of the old silk road (Kinu-Kutto) which started as a foot path, into a pony track and later one jeep width road (1958-60). In the 70’s the construction of the KKH saw the Old Silk Road fall into disuse, but it still has the best views of the Rakaposhi Mountain.

Along the way we stopped at a look out to admire the view and met Moin Khan and his helper, Sonny. These two Pakastani riders run motorcycle tours (adifferentagenda.com)….particularly for Americans as Moin had studied in the states. They had four Americans with them, Liza, Elmar, Esthan and Suleman. They invited us to tag along with them as they headed North up to the border …..and we accepted. Pakistani hospitality at it’s best! We stayed at the Hunza View Hotel (free of charge), owned by Moin’s close friend, Mammud, and were made most welcome. We were invited to join the group for a delicious dinner and rest up for the adventure tomorrow when we will travel to Passu across the lake by boat (as the new tunnel in to open to the public yet). We will spend the night there before moving North to the border with China…..very exciting!

I have to say this was not one of my best days………after a very disrupted nights sleep in our single beds….thanks to housekeeping waking us up to deliver water we didn’t order…..we had a bit of breakfast and packed the bike trying to be on the road for the long day ahead by 8.00am. I have not slept properly for the past two nights thanks to invasive hotel staff, and the combination of being sleep deprived and unable to have a proper shower (due to the disgusting state of our hotel bathroom and lack of hot water or pressure – despite paying Euro 80) had left me very cranky and uncomfortable. So much so, that after about a half hour of putting up with the hotel staff all taking photos (without even asking) around our bike as we tried to get packed….I ended up snarling at two of them who tried to push between Vince and I to get to our bike seat for more photos. Not the best start to the day….but it sent them on their way and let us get on with our packing. I do appreciate we are a novelty and everyone loves the ANIMAL….and mostly I do tolerate it with good grace…..but sometimes I wish they would all just leave us alone and give us some space to get on with things.

Vince’s prep in navigating our way out of busy Islamabad paid off and we soon found ourselves fuelled up and headed North for Murree. Moving up into the mountains was lovely as the temperature dropped and the greenery surrounded us…..magical and more tranquil. As we weaved our way up the windy roads we still had to contend with a multitude of crazy traffic, animals, landslides and rockfalls… which Vince negotiated expertly…..but it did slow us down to an average of about 25km per hour…….very slow going. As we passed through small villages we were slowed even further by even more traffic and people. Still mostly men and boys….but the odd colourful woman could also be seen…….albeit hidden behind her veil. We were very excited to see wild monkeys for the first time.

Without an escort we could stop as we pleased and, although we wanted to press on as we knew we had a long day ahead to get to Naran (270km or so), we did stop for a cool drink around 10.30am, a toilet/coffee break and lunch in Abbottsabad around 1.00pm. We continued on our journey, enjoying the change of scenery and welcome cooler weather…..but it was a long, grueling day in terms of physical toll on both Vince and myself. By the time we arrived at Naran around 5.30 pm, our butts no longer belonged to us and our knees were in agony. We pulled up at the PTDC Motel, recommended by our friend Iqbal and tried to check in.

The double room (Euro 50) offered was right near a music festival, so we were shown to an alternative Cabana (Euro70) a bit further away…..but still noisy. There was no hot water or water pressure …..so I had to remain dirty again and to top it off my “tummy trouble” is back……could it get any worse….but wait… yes it could! As we walked back from viewing the Cabana to the reception I saw someone on the ANIMAL… holding her upright like he was going to ride off…..I yelled out… but he ignored me so I started running…..yes guys….I CAN RUN….. I was furious and told him to get off my bike….he continued to ignore me like I didn’t exist… as his mate took photos on his phone! I had to really control my urge to grab the phone and smash it to pieces….the ordacity of them was just outrageous! Eventually he got off….no remorse or apology….his only explanation was “We like your bike” with a big stupid grin on his face……I yelled at him… telling him that I didn’t care if he liked it or not….it was private property and he had no right to sit on it or touch it. I asked how he would feel if I sat in his car or came to his house and just came in and sat down without permission…..he said nothing and just kept smiling. I wanted so badly to slap that stupid look right off his arrogant face! I told him to get away from me and my bike before I called the police. By then Vince had arrived with the hotel manager…..Vince told him to stay way from his bike or he would knock his $%#@ block off! The Manager also said something to him in Pakastani…..but the guy just kept smiling and walked off checking his ill gotten photos…….NOT HAPPY JAN – SO RUDE! UNBELIEVABLE!

NOTE: The following morning, whilst having breakfast, we met some of the Communications Company Executives who brought 90 people here for the team building music festival. They saw what happened with our bike yesterday and they wanted to let us know how angry they all were about the behaviour of one of their staff…..they are making enquiries and said they will sack him when they find him, as that is not the Pakastani way. I told them that I would be happy with just having him delete his ill gotten photos from his phone so the behaviour goes unrewarded. They are both from Islamabad and have offered to host us if we pass through on the way back….very kind. It was very reassuring that Pakastani people condemn this kind of behaviour just like we do……guess there are “tools” the world over….I wonder if I can teach the ANIMAL to bite!

As we are advised not to travel on the 26th due to security issues on the road to Sukkur our escort was postponed until the 27th. After a quite and uneventful day in our hotel yesterday we were well rested and ready to move on. Some Italian tourists had arrived on the 26th, and they would be joining our escort to Sukkur.

We started early, without breakfast, as our escort was due to pick us up at 7.00am….we were up and ready with the bike packed well before and waiting. The 3 four wheel drives (white, beige and red) belonging to 5 Italians were also lined up as they were slowly alighting from their sleeper sections and finishing off their breakfast. The gentleman on his own (his wife is flying to meet him in India) offered to carry extra water for us as he is a biker too and knows what it’s like. We were very appreciative of the offer and took him up on it. (Note here that the stickers they had made for their trip included :Lets Get Lost….but more about that later!)

Once the escort arrived we were quickly on our way. The beige car was quite aggressive and pushed to the front….which meant in the heavy traffic it was difficult for us to see past and we could not see the escort properly. We all stopped to refuel and Vince took this opportunity to get behind the escort vehicle….much to the disgust of the beige car driver….who continued throughout the day to try to get in front…..but Vince was smarter than him and managed to maintain our position…..in a convoy situation the bike should be at the front!

The road from Quetta and the towns beyond, were a feast for the eyes with so much going on, traffic everywhere, vehicles of all shapes and sizes, often overloaded….including with animals and people….unbelievable. At one point I saw a goat being pushed into the luggage compartment of a tour bus….I saw chickens in Tuk Tuks, a motorbike with a rider and pillion and a goat straddled across the seat between them (missed the photo though). There were carts pulled by donkeys, horses, camels and bullocks! Life was busy in the city streets…even at that early morning hour.

As we moved over the mountain pass we saw our first glimpse for water…..after days and days of travelling only through desert. As we moved across the provinces, from Balochisatan, through Singh and into Punjab, we saw the landscape soften and fill with greenery and crops and the obvious signs of irrigation and agriculture were evident. We saw camels and water buffalo in addition to the everyday goats, sheep, cattle, horses and donkeys that we have seen elsewhere.

There were many passport and security checks along the way and with the addition of 5 extra people (who I have to say were very disorganised in having their papers ready) it became a lengthy, and very hot process. The temperatures were in the 40s and when we are moving on the bike it is tolerable, but when we stop it is just insane! But we kept our fluids up and tried to keep our patience….life in a convoy!

We often see the Jilly Trucks broken down….marked with rocks to warn others…..but today we also saw some accidents……not very nice!

At one point we were told that the police would take us to a rest stop as there was an issue on the road and not safe for us to travel for about another 30 min. So we stopped for a cool drink….the escort then came and told us we needed to go! Over the past 5 days we have discovered that escorts wait for no one….and rightly so…they have a job to do. (In fact over the escort time I dropped a glove and we just had to leave it behind…..the lock from Vinces pack safe fell off but we just had to leave that too). So when the message came back that we had to wait because the Italians refused to leave because they were making coffee….Vince and I were unimpressed but said nothing….and just sweltered in silence. Later for a lunch stop things seemed to be a bit better organised with us all being ready to go at the correct time. The police really are marvelous, once we left Balochistan we had no more Levies escorts, but sometimes it was regular police and at others an elite squad of commandos.

Our “Italian Job” came at the end of the 12 hour day…..despite the NOC banning the use of GPS (so we didn’t use ours) they were using theirs but all three vehicles failed to spot when we overshot Sukkur and were headed for Multan……I alerted Vince when I saw the road signs and we pulled over our motorbike escort to discuss. The Italians went off their trees at the policeman and attracted quite a crowd. Vince and I tried to keep a low profile and eventually we were on our way to the hotel the Italian’s wanted, the Inter Pak Inn. We cooperated, as we felt that the convey would need to stick together to be easier for the escort tomorrow. However, when we got there they decided it was too expensive and wanted to go somewhere else. It was a bun fight between them all……Vince and I had already checked in, but luckily not unloaded the bike. The Italians argued with the police saying it was the wrong hotel and remained unconvinced when the police assured them this was the only one of that name. Eventually, we set off for another hotel. Again the Italians were not happy…..I was sunburnt, soaked in sweat, dirty and my dermatitis was manic…..Vince and I said we were going to stay at that hotel (Euro 30) and we left them arguing out in the street! The behaviour was ridiculous and we just wanted away from it. It has really tested our patience today and we are not looking forward to travelling with them again tomorrow….but we will make the best of it….that’s what Aussies do!

We had a very welcome shower ….even without hot water…..the room was air-conditioned…..and though the power still went off (at least two to three times a day everywhere we have been in Pakistan) they had a generator that kicked in. The meal was great and we have ordered an early breakfast for the morning! I was asleep before my head hit the pillow…in fact poor Vince didn’t even get a proper “good night” or kiss, as he was downloading GoPro footage and I fell asleep!

After a night on the floor of the Levies Lock-Up guard room, we woke around 6.00am and got changed into our riding gear…as we had no idea what time the escort would be leaving….we had just been told it would be early. As it turned out we got no notice….just a guard popping his head in the door around 7.00am and saying “we go!”. They stopped for fuel….we didn’t need any….and then we were on our way. Another stop to pick up an extra armed officer (making 4 in total) and we were out in the desert…..desolate and foreboding. Taftan is very rural and it seems a harsh existence there….but the goats were happy in the main street!

At the first check point the boys all got together and I sneaked off to take photos of the first wild camel I have seen! One of the guards followed me and tried to coax the camel closer for my picture…but no luck…we had to go….and the escort waits for no one….rush, rush, rush!

Further along the sealed road was closed off…..we think due to a sandstorm that cut it off and sand needing to be removed….but we were not sure. In any case it involved going off road into the desert……yes folks, that’s right….we can now claim the adventure of riding off road across the Sandy Desert of Baluchistan!!!! Go Adventure Girl and Adventure Boy! I was a little alarmed when our armed escort stopped unexpectedly in the middle of the desert….but it was only for a toilet break for one of the guards!

Back on the bitumen, we saw a rock that Vince thinks is Pakistan’s answer to Ayres Rock in Australia. I was fascinated by the highly decorated (and often overloaded) trucks on the road….awesome! When we arrived at Nokkund we had to go to the police compound and wait for our next escort to be organised. There was one particular young officer who was quite cheeky but left us in no doubt he would shoot anything that looked sideways at us! This particular escort was much faster and we hoped that we had them for a while, but soon enough we were handed over at a subsequent meeting point that involved removing the remains of a truck accident where a man had died. This time it was a motorbike escort with the pillion having an AK47, we seemed to alternate between Toyota utes and motorbikes. I am a bit unclear exactly who is who but there seems to be at least three different groups….the Levies, Police and the FC Militia. In any case they are all involved in protecting us.

We arrived at the Al-Dawood around 4.30pm and the next escort chief met us and got us organised into a room in the hotel (1000 PKR 10 Euros per night). The room was dilapidated, stinking hot, with only a fan, two single beds (mine had blood on the sheet) and the power goes off regularly. We had to ask for towels, which were threadbare and there was only a squat toilet. We were told to go to our room, freshen up and come down for lunch in 10 minutes…..are we in protection or are we prisoners…..Vince says a bird in a gilded cage is still a bird in a cage! A little later there was a change over from the Levies to the Police….2 AK47 armed officers who followed us everywhere….checked our room and made us lock all our windows (which we had opened to try to cool down). They were very nice….and stayed all night with us….watching over us constantly….even taking Vince to the shop next door to by some water and drinks…….the other one stayed with me in the hotel. Many of the people in the hotel were very friendly and sat and chatted to us….I asked a question about schooling and I inadvertently opened a pandoras box…..the next thing I knew I was being handed a phone to speak with the local Principal of the Bright Future Community School….and one of his teachers……they wanted me to come and see their centre….which I couldn’t. The next thing I knew they arrived at the hotel along with 10 of their English students ….we all sat in the garden (under armed guard of course)….Vince joined us and it was a very pleasant time. We gave them all a sticker and encouraged them to stay in touch. I will check out their website and when I get back to Australia will see what resources etc I can assist them with. (I was also subsequently contacted by three members of the BEF Balochistan Education Foundation as a joint government and banking sponsorship program for remote community schools in the province….they invited me to tour their schools…..but I had to decline due to having to leave for Quetta).

Welcome To BEF(Balochistan Education Foundation)

After saying goodbye to our new friends we invited our body guards to have dinner with us. It was very interesting talking with them and finding out about their family and professional lives. They also told us that the power goes off at midnight and doesn’t come on until morning and the room will be too hot….so they suggested we sleep on the roof. We took their advice as even with a fan the room was like a sauna….and the four of us were happily sleeping on the roof under the stars!