Our guide Tabish, says that this is a Shia Eid celebration, hence the recitation in the multiple villages that we pass.
The road climbs a little as we leave the villages behind and we stop to take photos at a viewpoint overlooking the river.
Climbing further away from the river we cross into another valley, this one seems dry (actually called the Sarfaranga Cold Desert), and we wind our way down into the valley floor. Reaching the bottom and we join a long tree lined avenue to the other side.
Not far from here, we stop again at an Instagram type sign announcing Shigar as the Land of K2. Plenty of selfies from other tourists.
From here, were again following the side of the Indus on tarmac, broken tarmac and sandy patches. The river seems to be more powerful today and the rapids swirl purposefully.
The road becomes more twisty and there's more traffic so we're judging gaps and trying to see around blind bends. There are plenty of locals on bikes too.
I haven't worn much about the villages we've passed through or my favourite, waving. We only see the stretches of villages either side of the roads we're on, but they are the usual mix of shops, garages and schools that are typical in all the places we've ridden.
And there's the usual mix of mums with kids, groups of children of both sexes, and mens drinking tea or smoking. I haven't waved much so far, but have started again and have received the universal response: a smile and a wave back; from men and children, the women are a little more reserved.
The next stop is the Manthokha Waterfall. We've ridden here on the Skardu Kargil road. Kargil is across the border in Indian administered Kashmir. Years ago you would have been able to get to Kargil, but now this is one of the most hotly disputed borders in the world and it's only a track at the border, which is a shame.
The waterfall's carpark is chaos, but we squeeze in and walk a short distance to the waterfall itself. The are hundreds of people there enjoying the cooling water, either directly under the waterfall or by dipping their feet in the water.
Once again we are overwhelmed by people wanting to shake our hands, talk to us to find out where we're from and what we think of Pakistan, and then have a selfie with us. While we are leaving we pull along side cars and one wind down a window and throws out an empty crisp packet. Steve promptly picks it up and returns it to the car saying 'I think you dropped this'. The driver willingly accepted, not wanting to argue with a large English gentleman. Pakistan is a wonderful picturesque country, spoilt by litter, it's shocking to see the piles almost everywhere. If Pakistanis are so proud of their country, why do they treat it like a toilet?
Lunch at a partly constructed restaurant after which we set off for our destination for the night.
The road becomes more twisty. Hugo and Gerard lead and eventually our guide Tabish follows, but it takes him ages to catch Hugo as he's setting quite a pace. Eventually we catch him and we enjoy a very long section of road non stop. On one bend a heavily loaded old jeep sways in my direction, pulled by it's roof cargo and I instinctively duck my shoulder to avoid it, even though it was no where near me.
Two guys on a loaded 125cc do well to stay with us, passing and then being passed, but eventually they can't keep up with our 150cc powerhouses! Later when we stop they come over to talk to us. They've ridden all the way from Islamabad; we flew. At some point Ray has a puncture. We contemplate leaving him behind. 🤣
As we've been riding nonstop for so long, the group stretches out over a greater distance than usual, and the guys at the back are not quite sure they are following the right road. But then they see kids waving and laughing and then they know they are following in the path of Biker Dom, who is the warm up act for the riders behind! 😁
A short ride to compete the day and we pull into the Khaplu Destination hotel. A tiring 5km run (we're now at 2500m) and then dinner in the hotel.... and then dinner!... AND THEN DINNER! Although the menu is extensive, it's more of an aspiration as half the things are not available. By the time we order it's already well past 830pm and the food takes an hour to reach us. By this time Mr Angry has left the building. That was his one meal per day. I hope he has breakfast (he didn't).
No comments:
Post a Comment