Karakoram Highway

Sorry no photos, a dial up connection here in Gilgit is very slow.

2nd July
It took 8½ hours to go 200kms today. Not good going but this is one of those days that we will remember for many a year. It was 200 kilometres of hair raising driving of which I don't think I have experienced before. The road is 2 lane which is a god send but driving for that distance of sometimes pot holed road, keeping an eye on the mad mini bus drivers that are travelling at twice my speed, catching a glimpse of the view when ever I can knowing all the time the swirling muddy waters of the mighty Indus River is thousands of feet vertically below you . The road has been carved out of sheer mountainsides by the Chinese. It took them 20 years to complete with many killed in the process. They built as a corridor from China to the Indian Ocean. When ever you turn a corner the view is of the road snaking away into the distance, rising and falling in long languorous stretches. Guard rails are few, most have been demolished by land slides and the remains of a truck was left on the side of the road as a reminder of what might happen. For the whole distance we travelled today the Indus never let up, it roared, swirled, whirlpooled and rushed downwards. A murky torrent. It would be interesting to know how many vehicles had gone over the edge.
We made it to a place called Darrus, A small turn built where the Indus roars through a 50 metre bridged gap. Our hotel room is literally metres from the river, the noise of the water rushing through the gap is quite deafening. Joan has had an upset stomach the last couple of days. The Porta Potti has proven its worth.
4th July
Sitting under peach and pomegranate, apple and apricot trees writing this on a grassed area next to the Chinnar Inn here in Gilgit. A brass band is playing in the background. We made the final 260kms of the KKH that we will be travelling on late afternoon. This is bliss. The drive yesterday started the same as the day before with the road hewn out of solid rock, sometimes it was like a horizontal 'U' with rock below and above as you drove. I was quite concerned beforehand as most of the day's drive I would be on the drop side. As it was I needn't have worried, it made little difference. After 70-80 kms the valley began to open a little and that proved the case for most of the day. Still hair raising at times but the surface was better apart from around the slips. Later in the day the snow capped peaks of the main range of the Hindu Kush and Karakoram Ranges began to appear behind the Indus Valley range. They included Angar Prabat, the world's 8th highest mountain.
50Kms before Gilgit at one of the clear mountain streams a young bloke was selling freshly caught trout, I bought one that must have weighed a good 1.5kg for $3 and had the chef of the hotel cook it for us local style. This was with a crusty masala coating that held in the juices. It was delicious. All it need was a sauvignon blanc to wash it down.
Before entering Pakistan I was concerned with the diesel quality compared to the other countries. A VW fanatic in Rawalpindi told me of the brand to get which I have done and the motor seems to go as sweetly as usual. . This is a relief .
We will spend a day or two here in Gilgit resting before heading west to the Shandur Pass. The polo celebrations begin on Friday. I believe the road is not the best in places on the way to the pass and may be impassable if we go on to Chittral as we would like. Otherwise it's back down the KKH.