The Pakistan Hunza Odyssey and Jeep Safari Was Over
I spent the last evening in Islamabad in bed with the thought of food very far from my mind. In the meantime, Margie calls up to the room and says..."Sheila, come down...there's finally good food.." Forget it. A flight to Rawapindi where it all started and Irene's luggage had finally materialized....just three weeks too late. Day rooms in another gorgeous hotel and a late evening Singapore Airlines flight back home.
You have never seen anybody happier to be on a plane in your life. The cabin steward would come to me and say..."Oh, Madame...I have a very yummy desert for you." And I'd go ....ummmmmmmm. I didn't stop eating all the way back to Chicago and continued eating for the next two weeks. Fruits, vegetables, pasta, steak, chicken...a bottomless pit. Doc Margie said she was bringing fruits and vegetables to her office every day and her staff wanted to know if she had become a vegetarian. There's nothing like a "near starvation vacation" to make a person appreciate food.
About the trip to Pakistan...what can I say? A lot!
- The jeep safari was practically worthless. As recounted earlier, we spent each and every day, from early in the morning to late at night in the jeeps, arriving at nowhere Pakistan only to fall into bed exhausted, wake up early the next day and repeat the same thing. It was one of the hardest travel experiences in our lives. This was expressed to Wilderness Travel and they dropped the trip from their brochure the following year.
- We never expected great food...but that "one chicken for 12 people" really took the cake. Very, very happy we brought that 18# of candy. That, the apricots and pistachio nuts, really were our survival foods.
On the other hand...
- I'm really glad we had the chance to experience Pakistan. The people we came in contact with were wonderful and my heart breaks for them when I hear about earthquakes, the Taliban and everything else that makes their difficult lives even harder; and
- I deeply regret not going up the infamous Khyber Pass.
- So very lucky that there were 10 great people along with us. We were together for 25 consecutive days, from early morning until late at night. Tenting, eating, driving...and the dynamics could have disasterous. Not one argument, or disagreement. Stop a moment and think how amazing that is. Thanks, everyone.
- The trek was the highlight. People are still trekking and visiting the Hunza area. Especially K2 and Baltoro Glacier, one of the longest glaciers outside the polar regions, They are many tour organizers running trips into Pakistan and they know the areas to avoid. For goodness sake, bad things happen to good people every day. We leave our houses and - are in car accidents - have a stroke, heart attack or other unexpected health issues - ice falls off a bulding - a crazy lunatic walks into a department store and shoots five innocent women - nothing is safe. Please don't rule out visiting a destination because you perceive it as "unsafe." ( I'm not advocating heading into a war zone!) If you have the opportunity and want to visit...do it!
- A great support crew. No complaints about any of them. Not even our infamous cook who did his best with what he had.
- I never got tired of admiring the vivid Pakistani trucks with their lights flashing...
This difficult trip left us with enough memories, laughter and funny stories to last a lifetime along with good friends, Margie and Art. You really had to be there and participate. Or, then again, maybe not... Either way, this is a country you must experience for yourself.
