Chitral

11th July
It was a wise move staying the extra night at Shandur Pass. There were only a few stragglers left and they were up near the bazaar. We went back to the lake where we were alone. The night was one of those nights where there is complete silence. Not even a bird call. Earlier the donkey herd that must've been yarded during the festival wandered past grazing on the short alpine grass.
We left early yesterday as we knew the road was going to be rough and we wanted to get to Chitral in time to send some emails. It took us 5¼ hours to go 75kms. We thought the KKH was bad, this was worse and so much more dangerous. The Lonely Planet said that the 11kms closest to the Shandur Pass were 4wd, well they were the best part of the trip. The rest was treacherous single lane road that had never seen a grader. In fact I doubt there is a grader in the country. It was rocky with sudden jump ups and drops down into streams and waterways. Passing bays were few and often inadequate. The most anxious moment was when we met an army truck at a very narrow point. The drop to the rushing river would have been 200 metres and I was on the river side. Of course there were no guard rails and I was afraid the edge might give way. It took us a good 2 minutes for him to inch past us. I refused to move closer to the edge. This is very slip prone country. When there is one they don't bulldoze it down to the original road surface but just make a track up and over the slip, always single lane and usually very rough.
By the time we reached tarseal both of us were completely drained. I'm sitting here at a hotel in Chitral writing this as the same river, they call it the Kabul here, rushes past. After three days of dirt and dust it was bliss to have a hot shower and to relax. We have one more pass to traverse which incidentally was closed yesterday with a slip, before we reach the plains and head south.
The water tank has been a major problem, the way it protrudes 75mm lower than the rest of the car. Apart from concentrating on the driving I had to pick the best section of road with less rocks on that side of the van. Even then it has taken a beating with the plywood protection panel partially demolished and the tank itself battered but luckily not leaking. If we sell our van in the UK and buy another in AU it will be a major point in our choice of vehicle.
The troubles in Islamabad have erupted at a bad time. We have no need to go there as we head south and I think it wise to pass into Iran as soon as we can. We always knew that Pakistan could be awkward but so far the only danger that have personally affected us has been a couple of the roads we have driven on.