Giselle arrives in Kathmandu in 4 days and I am still 1500km away in Lahore. 1500km is nothing but with two borders to cross, Indian road mayhem, unknown road conditions in Nepal - they are going to be 4 long days.
Giselle will bring tools to remove the broken bolt, new suspension and a new rear tyre... plus I am sure Mum will throw in a few things I like, oh and most important... will be great to see Giselle. ;-)
Friday, November 13, 2009
Pakistan – changes to have a future
I was surprised with the degree as which I enjoyed my short 8 days in Pakistan. The people were friendly and engaging, spoke English, stunning Karakorum Range, the stale capital, Islamabad and mayhem in Lahore. I never felt unsafe and only a little unwelcome near Taliban areas of the KKH.
I was not long nor did I see a great deal of Pakistan but saw enough to want to go back. I think the country is a great tourism destination but there are ingrained attitude and security policies that needs to change to get rid of the home grown Islamist and Terrorist groups. The army needs to be independent of the government, government control the ISI and attitudes to India change. For example: there was a bombing in Lahore and attempted takeover of Rawalpindi police station, discussing these incidents with a Pakistani man, he was addimate that India was involved because why would a Pakistani person hurt another Pakistani? Other people shook their head and could not explain it while others thought all government, ISI, Army and public had to work together to get rid of extremist groups.
My opinion is the latter, until the power broking between the government, ISI and Army is resolved and a uniform policy across all three is in place, Pakistan will continue on the current path. Firstly the ISI must stop all support of the terrorist groups and realize that the idea of using terrorist/extremist groups to wage a war on India or their use as a defence force is counterproductive for the country to move forward. In the long run it is the Pakistani people that suffer.
I was not long nor did I see a great deal of Pakistan but saw enough to want to go back. I think the country is a great tourism destination but there are ingrained attitude and security policies that needs to change to get rid of the home grown Islamist and Terrorist groups. The army needs to be independent of the government, government control the ISI and attitudes to India change. For example: there was a bombing in Lahore and attempted takeover of Rawalpindi police station, discussing these incidents with a Pakistani man, he was addimate that India was involved because why would a Pakistani person hurt another Pakistani? Other people shook their head and could not explain it while others thought all government, ISI, Army and public had to work together to get rid of extremist groups.
My opinion is the latter, until the power broking between the government, ISI and Army is resolved and a uniform policy across all three is in place, Pakistan will continue on the current path. Firstly the ISI must stop all support of the terrorist groups and realize that the idea of using terrorist/extremist groups to wage a war on India or their use as a defence force is counterproductive for the country to move forward. In the long run it is the Pakistani people that suffer.
Wednesday, November 11, 2009
Karakoram Highway
The KKH is famous around the world and I have been keen for a long time to drive the road. Chinese customs are 130km from the border and they organise all cars into a convoy with a Chinese army guard, for our safety – yeah right!!! They were mucking around, so I pushed a little and they organised a separate escort for me – I had a very long drive ahead to reach Karimabad in Pakistan. Then that car was slow so I left them and drove by myself, what could the Chinese do in ‘no man’s land’? No problem got to the last checkpoint, they were surprised to see me alone, they made a call and out of China I drove.
Driving along the Chinese side from Tashkorgan I averaged 110km/h on smooth roads but as soon as I entered Pakistan the road was gravel, one lane, pot holes, rock slides and switch backs down the mountain from the pass at 4700m.
The Pakistani border police were relaxed, casually dressed, spoke English and up for a joke – the way I like borders.
I heard the Chinese are rebuilding the KKH and the road is now worse during contruction. I have discovered that any trade route to western China, the roads in that country are being rebuilt by the Chinese - interesting to see if the Chinese are helping the Nepalese?
Driving along the Chinese side from Tashkorgan I averaged 110km/h on smooth roads but as soon as I entered Pakistan the road was gravel, one lane, pot holes, rock slides and switch backs down the mountain from the pass at 4700m.
The Pakistani border police were relaxed, casually dressed, spoke English and up for a joke – the way I like borders.
I heard the Chinese are rebuilding the KKH and the road is now worse during contruction. I have discovered that any trade route to western China, the roads in that country are being rebuilt by the Chinese - interesting to see if the Chinese are helping the Nepalese?
Change of plans in Xinjiang
When I left London, I planned to drive around Xinjiang and the Taklamakan desert. Due to the Uygur and Han Chinese riots, the rules were changed stopping all independent travel within Xinjiang province for foreign vehicles. I could hire a guide but I didn’t want to travel that way and it would be out of my budget.
So three days in Kashgar, one day for Chinese drivers licence and bike safety check, one day for temporary fix of bike and one day for a quick look around, then off to the border.
Kashgar is an interesting place as it was a major town on the Silk Road and is populated with a majority of Uygur (Wiger in English), who have more in common with Central Asians than Chinese. The old town is Uygur dominated with a maze of mudbrick houses, Uygur restaurants and markets. The Chinese machine is replacing all houses with new concrete and brick, no choice, so the cities atmosphere will soon disappear.
As seems to be the standard in the world, a major incident is referred to by a date, the incident I am referring to is the riots in Urumqi between the Uygur and Han, everyone refers to it as the ‘5th July’. As a result, there are no international calls, fax or internet in Xinjiang province – frustrating for me but even more for the locals who have to live with isolation.
A tip for the Police, Army and Border people – it’s OK to smile!
So three days in Kashgar, one day for Chinese drivers licence and bike safety check, one day for temporary fix of bike and one day for a quick look around, then off to the border.
Kashgar is an interesting place as it was a major town on the Silk Road and is populated with a majority of Uygur (Wiger in English), who have more in common with Central Asians than Chinese. The old town is Uygur dominated with a maze of mudbrick houses, Uygur restaurants and markets. The Chinese machine is replacing all houses with new concrete and brick, no choice, so the cities atmosphere will soon disappear.
As seems to be the standard in the world, a major incident is referred to by a date, the incident I am referring to is the riots in Urumqi between the Uygur and Han, everyone refers to it as the ‘5th July’. As a result, there are no international calls, fax or internet in Xinjiang province – frustrating for me but even more for the locals who have to live with isolation.
A tip for the Police, Army and Border people – it’s OK to smile!
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