10 October 2008 - Karimabad, Northern Pakistan

Well we made it! We've reached Pakistan! But there is so much to tell that I will split it into 2 blogs: the first to cover our journey through China to Pakistan, and the 2nd for the story from there. I will do this mostly via diary entries for blog number 1 - you all seem to enjoy those best, but I'll try to first set the scene. It's going to be a long blog, so make a nice cup of tea and grab a biccie and settle in!

From Kashgar to Pakistan is a 4 day cycle through agricultural plains, leading into a climbing gully, opening up onto the stunning Pamir Plateau at over 3,500 metres, passing the beautiful Karakul Lake and finally climbing over a 4,000 metre pass before dropping down to the 'border town'of Tashkurgan. Then it is a 5 hour bus drive from here, 120km to the border at Khunjerab pass (4700m) and a further 80 or so km down on the Pakistan side to the town of Sost. This cannot be done by bicycle unfortunately as the Chinese authorities won't allow it. So, following are extracts from the 5 days the journey tookl. We hope you enjoy and don't forget to follow the link off our website to the accompanying photos too! (Andrew's busy loading the latest now!).

Also - before I start the diary - we just wanted to say how much we enjoy your comments on the blog - we devour them as soon as we see internet and though we don't usually respond to each one, we read them and love them all - also, a special thanks to Tony Beardshaw in particular for your comments after each blog, as well as your support and encouragement - we hope you enjoy this latest!

3.10.08
....it's straight onto the KKH from the main jnction in Kashgar - an easy start and in fact the first 80km+ are on a straight flat road passing through farming land and villages - much of it poplar-lined - lovely! We stopped for a laghman (of course) lunch at 50km in a small town, then carried on, looking for water as we wanted to load up before continuing too far - knowing that water can be limited on this stretch. We stoped by a young guy washing his hands in the ditch-stream beside his house and asked (well, gesticulated) if it was good to drink? He nodded, but also beckoned us into his house. There, he led us to a tap for water in his yard, then presented a watermelon which he broke open and cut up for us as all. He also got some bread, then climbed his trellis for grapes! What a wonderfully generous and kind spirited man! Then he showed us his animals: 2 cows, several sheep and lots of doves living under the barn rafters. He has a pregnant wife through we didn't meet her - and he very proudly showed us his TV and DVD okayer! ... Before leaving, we gave him our post card of Edinburgh - it was all we had to offer, but he seemed pleased, although I think he could hardly figure out what he was looking at. As we loeft loaded up with the 10 litre bag of water, he strapped another delicious watermelon onto my bike which we ate later by the side of the road. All day, huge landcruisers have passed us heading up to Karakul Lake, presumably - some of them with blacked out windows - no chance they'll ever get invited into someone's home, have delicious food shared with them and their journey enriched by the experience. Cycling really does make these random meetings possible.

4.10.08
.....progress up the gully was very slow indeed as we crawled at around 5 or 6km per hour, taking regular stops for food snacks and to reload water. Up and up, slowly slowly. During one break we agree that ideally we would cover another 30km from the last checkpoint, leaving us 40km to do tomorrow to Karakul - do-able in a day even if it is a steep climb al the way, which it may well be! We had 18km moire to reach our target, so we kept plodding on and on. With less than 7km to go we saw a smart blue and white building - an accommodation block for the many roadworkers. I had heard that they sometimes let travelers stay, so we thought we'd try out luck.....after some to-ing and fro-ing, a lovely young guy invited us in, gave us his bedroom (3 bunk beds) to rest in while he cooked dinner. We understood that he needed permission from his boss before we could stay. Andrew slept for a while (he'd been feeling very ill earlier in the day - we weren't sure why at this point) as I read and before too long we were invited to join our new friend and 2 colleagues for a delicious meal: rice, a beef and veg dish, a cabbage and egg dish and steamed garlicky pak choi. Our bowls were filled and re-filled until we were fit to burst! I failed the chopstick test and was given a spoon - somewhat humiliating!, but Andrew passed! he says his father taught him years ago. And there was I thinking I did it properly - but no - I'm all wrong and can't begin to use them the way they demonstrated. During our meal it was explained that we couldn't stay at this accommodation block, but could sleep at te one where the boss is based, 10 or 12km further away. Of course, that's over an hour on bikes in the hiolls, so we quickly finished our meal, were profuse in our thanks and appreciation, took a couple of 'team photos'and cycled off into the increasing wind and cold. It was now about 7pm and all but dark - we had no hope of reaching the next base, so as soon as we were out of sight (all waving, very sorry that we couldn't stay) we looked for somewhere to camp. Happily, we quickly found the ideal run-off under the road - one that it dry and free of boulders - little chance of getting a flash flood or rock fall during the night. We've pitched just the inner of the tent as no room for more but it's ideal and cosy once mpre and we feel very safe, out of sight under the road, just in time before total darkness. Final slog up to Karakul tomorrow - phew!

5.10.08
Woke up after a restless night - Andrew was sick at around midnight and had a headache and a bit feverish. We have put it down to altitude as we have since figuyred that we were at around 3,500m last night in our tent. This means we must have climbed a good 1,500m+ yesterday (JKashgar is at 1,350). He was better by morning and we carried on. Freezing cold for the first hour or more as the sun hadn't cleared the mountain tops yet, but the gully opened up and we found ourselves looking down onto the vast Pamir Plateau - bathed in sunshine, with snow capped peaks along one side and enormous white sand dunes along the other. We took loads of photos and video footage. The road dropped onto the plateau and turned left to run all the way up it to Karakul Lake. A colossal galciered peak rose to our left - 'kongur'at 7719m and the mighty Muztagh Ata loomed ahead at 7546m. Both peaks dominated our horizons all day and the cameras were kept busy. The road was mostly level (mercifully!), but did climb the final tough kilometres to the lake, not helped by a headwind. After easy kms in the morning, these last 10 or 15ikm were tough going.

Finally, Karakul came into sight and almost immediately 2 boys on bikes joined us, inviting us to stay in their family yurt, but we intended to pay for a decent rom at the 'resort'- even though the write up in Lonely Planet (LP) doesn't particularly sing its praises. A lad on a motorbike then also joined us, pushing his own yurt - we kept going to the resort with all 3 in pursuit. WHAT a disappointment the resort is! A tatty building with a restaurant, a few camels outside 'for tourists to ride', several people sellings stones and yrut stays. Andrew went in to ask about rooms while a crowd of men pestered me outside for yurt stays - I just kept pointing towards Andrew. A teenage girl from the hotel showed Andrew a 4 bed dorm for 50 yaun each - more than we were paying in Kasgar - shared and with no washing facilities at al (ed note: we later met travellers who also checked out the toilets - big mistake!). Rubbish. And I'd rather stay in my own tent than sleep with a faimly of 8 in a yurt, so we decided to lunch and move on. As we sat down, a giy asked us to pay 20 yuan each simply to be there in the 'resort', regardless tat we were eating. We refused, got up and left. Meanwhile a group of the yurt pesterers had got into a fairly nasty fight outside - all in all, a hideous experience and a total ruination of a plaec descreived as the most beautiful place in Xinjiang province. And saddest of all - Philip's mythical chinese restaurant is clearly long gone - a tragedy (visited by Philip 15 years ago on a trip over the KKH - now the stuff of family legend!).

We got back on the road but soon were invited into a yurt for lunch - plov (mutton and rice). Initially only the kids were there so they got on with cooking for us. Eventually Mum arrived, I think from the nearest village, with granma and fresh bread, and took over. We were served our first yak butter tea - not too bad, but I declined the top up! No more tea thanks all the same vicar!

While we rested and ate, 2 other paries called in for tea - 2 Korean guys and one Chinese lady - none stayed for long - a quick yr\urt chai is perhaps part of the itinerary................We have carried on from Karakul up onto a marshy plateay around 3900m. We can see the final ascent up to 4000m which we will tackle tomorrow. That will be around 50km from Tashkurgan, which will incolce a descent of 800m to 3200m. So after the morning climb (tough) it should be a quicker, easier downhill. The last 17km have been into a major headwind and very very hard going. We're going to set up camp under the road once more as last night it appeared to provide very good warmth - perhaps because the road warms up in the day? But we're very high so expet it to get very cold tonight. The view of Muztagh Ata is absolutely breathaking. What a day of incredible scenery and callenging altitude. A touch day, but a great day.

6.10.08
Today, in many ways, has been one of the days we dreamed of when planning this trip. We woke up in our tent, under the road, and were greeted with the stunning view of Muztagh Ata. The ride today has essentially taken us all around to the other side of this mountain and the views and the empty road (perefct tarmac the whole way) hae been extraordinary. We have also passed out of the Kyrgyz area around Karakul and into the Tajik autonomous region of China, around Tashkurgan. Here the women wear pill box hats embrouded with a veil over the top (though not covering their faces). Andrew rightly said they reminded him of air hostesses. The men all wear a blue peaked cap that makes them look like James Dean in Rebel Without a Cause (well, sort of!). A whole new nation of people and we're still in China.....and Laghman is still on every menu! (ed note: Very sorry, but no photos of the Tajik - an appropriate opportunity never presented itself - shame)...................

(we booked into a smart new hotel, though very cheap, in Tashkurgan).....A small shop in te foyer is run by a nice Pakistani young guy from Giolgit and we have enlisted his help to organise a car over the border for tomorrow - he speaks reasonable English so we hoipe he understood our request properly - we shall see. For now, rest, eat, sleep - andrew especially - he seems to be feeling better since we have lost altitude and has his appetite back at least . For interest and fun we each took our pulses last night in the tent - Andrew's was 95 (usually under 50 at rest) but mine was only 64 - perhaps this indicates why I haven't felt bad at all with altitude, while Andrew has really suffered for 2 or 3 days, poor thing! Tomorrow ....Pakistan!

7.10.08
The plan had been to hire a car and driver to take us as far as the Pakistan border, then let us out so that we could cycle down the KKH on the Pakistan side. We knew that buses from Tashkurgan to Sost won't let you out on the Pakistan side, even though it's completely permissable to cycle on that side. However, although we got through customs just fine, as soon as they saw us getting into a private vehicle, the Chinese officials stepped in and told us to go by bus instead. We really didn't get a say in the matter, so we said goodbye to our driver, bought a bus ticket (luckily the bus was there going through the customs process) and loaded our bikes and bags on. We resigned ourselves to not bneing able to cycle the section from Khunjerab Pass to Sost afterall - a disappointment, but nothing we could do about it - we tried our best. Our bus had many other nationalities on board, but no other westerners. No seats - only couhettes, so we settled in for a reclined journey of around 5 hours, escorted by military jeep right up to the Chinese border.

As always seems to be the case, the cahnge at the border is total: goegraphically it makes sense that borders fall where natural geographical features change - in this case, rounded mountains and high pastures over 4000m high immediately give way to jagged black peaks and te black crumbling walls of a gorge, all the way down to Sost. But also, the change in people is extraordinary! The Chinese border officials all very smart, uniformed and serious, as expected. A few hundred metres on, our bus was borded by a smiling jovial Pakistani officer in full uniform with beret, handlebar moustache and bright blue eyes. His lesser ifficials all looked on curiously, wrapped in brown blankets. They all waved enthusiastically, smiling as we pulled away. What a lovely welcome to Pakistan!

The descent was quite incredible - the road immediately deteriorates and no small wonder, as the entire length of it is clearly permanently in danger of rock falls. Several times the steep steep slopes and cliffs above us were trickling gravel and small rocks. (Ed note: we have since learnt that the Chinese are widening the entire length of the KKH and beyond to minimum 62 feet wide to allow for commercial traffic to feed down to the ports in Pakistan to enable them to access their Middle Eastern and African markets - how they will achieve this seems incredible in such a challenging environment).

So - we reached Sost just fine and settled into a nice little guesthouse for our first night in Pakistan.......the rest to follow in our next blog!