Adventures with Julia

September 18, 2019

Khapalu is small hillside town with a Palace/Hotel at the top.  After breakfast the Palace guide provided us with a tour of the place including the rooms in yesterdays post.  It was interesting to see how hard life must have been, even for the royal family.  Just to stay warm in the winter required thick walls, small rooms, low ceilings and tiny windows.  The royal family had 3 kitchens, for themselves, staff and field workers, which helped warm the place.  However, many rooms suffered from smoke damage and the kitchens were black from soot.  In the summer, there were terraces and balcony’s that opened to bring in light.  Warm summer weather only lasted 3 months at best.  They did have an excellent view.

After the tour, we drove further up the hill to visit a tiny, very poor village.  Half way up we encountered a truck parked sideways to the road with several men loading rock into the back of it.  So we walked the rest of the way.  We tried to take photos, but no one was interested in letting us photograph them.  This was a vey conservative muslim community.

Men loading a truck with rock blocked the road, so we walked the rest of the way. About 9,000 ft elevation.

Almost at the village we could see the small, very old mosque at the top of the hill behind the village.

The only photo of a person I wa able to capture and she was obviously not willing. This was a vey conservative community for sure.

We could see a small, old mosque perched at the very top of the hill the village was on, but did not want to climb that far. We saw a few people in the village but they wanted nothing to do with us.  Shifa told us they were from an ultra conservative sect of islam.  By the time we were ready to drive back to Khapalu, the truck was gone.   Back in town, we drove to the old local mosque, saw it without trouble and managed a few photos.  This seemed to be wash day and many ladies were at the ditch doing laundry.

A local watching the day go by as we climb the steps to the old town mosque

Outdoor prayer area

Indoor prayer room in the mosque.

Stores across the street from the mosque

A stop owner getting ready to close for prayer time.

Another local watching the day go by.

Women doing laundry in the local irrigation ditch.

A couple of sweet children.

Mark gets the attention of a little girl.

Then came the event of the day, an excursion to a nearby trout farm to catch our lunch.  We drove all the way to the bottom of the hill, followed the river upstream a few miles, crossed over a one lane suspension bridge, where we came face to face with a small herd of yaks, and drove back down river a mile or two to the farm.

The view heading downhill from Khapalu to the river.

The river bed as we drive upstream

Crossing the single lane suspension bridge.

Yaks coming the other way.

Eyeball to eyeball with a yak.

The farm consisted of several ponds with different size fish, a large kitchen and several outdoor dining areas for different sized groups.  Only one other family was there when we were.  I was given a bamboo pole with 12 feet of line and a hook stuck to the end of the pole.  Shifa was given a large wad of dough to use as bait and he nicely stuck pieces of dough on the hook for me.  It took several tries and lots of dough before I got a fish to stay hooked.  After catching two fish, I quit.  Mark had no interest in fishing so Shifa caught two more fish, one for him and one for our driver, Khajullah.

Catching rainbow trout.

Cleaning the fish with a dull knife.

Preparing the fish to fry.

For me the fun part was cleaning and cooking the fish and the staff allowed me to come in their kitchen to do just that.  Someone put an apron on me and handed me a  dull knife, but I managed to cut and gut the fish.  The chef found some corn meal for me to use.  It was too finely ground, but I made do with it.  I managed not to overcook the fish and they tasted wonderful.  It was after 3pm when we retraced our steps back to the Palace.

The sun was gone from our terrace but we sat outside anyway enjoying the surround mountain views and taking in the fresh mountain air.   For dinner, a bowl of rich tasty soup in the dining room was all we needed.

September 19, 2019.  91919 a palanmdrome.

Departed the Palace at 6:45 to catch our 1pm flight from Skardu to Islamabad.  The drive took 3.5 hours and we added time for a few photo ops, a tour of the small, but interesting, K-2 Museum in Skardu and a drive through the city, passing by the very busy local hospital.

A sample of the road back to Skardu

A man made waterfall for irrigation purposes.

Another stretch of mountain road. The metal pole is for power.

Women cutting animal fodder by the river.

A river scene showing how the landscape is irrigated.

Early Buddhist rock marking from the 2nd century BC. Entering Skardu

Entering Skardu

A busy Skardu street.

Another busy street with mountains surrounding the town.

At the Skardu Airport

Boarding a 737 for Islamabad. The security around the Skardu airport was intense. Military personnel were al around the field

The airport is quite large and was loaded with security people.  I was fleeced by a woman who covered every inch of my body including private parts.  I could have slugged her, but didn’t.  We rode busses over a mile to get to the 737, which was hidden behind a large sand berm.  Once loaded inside, we taxied more than a mile to the take off point, passing security guards stationed in the sand every few hundred feet.  This operation was way more secure than our US flights…for which I am thankful.  This was our only flight in Pakistan and it was spectacular, as we flew by many Himalayan peaks including K-2, which was on the other side of the plane,  and Nanga Parbat.  Shifa thought it was the best flight in the world for seeing snow-capped peaks, all in an hour.

The pilot made a climbing left turn around this peak no one could name. Pretty spectacular, even through a plane window.

Another unnamed mountain on a crystal clear day.

The large, close mountain is Haramosh with Haramosh Valley in the foreground. Rakaposhi Mountain is the pointy peak in the center rear.

The mammoth Nanga Parbat made a grand appearance.

The very large Islamabad Airport. I was surprised at how modern and clean the whole facility was, an how empty.

Upon arriving in Islamabad, we were both impressed by the large, modern, clean facility and how smoothly we passed through the terminal.  Two hotel staff met us at baggage claim and shortly we were in good looking new hotel car and on our way to the city.  Took half an hour to drive to the Serena in downtown Islamabad.  The roads were like our 8 lane highways in California.  It was a shock after the rural roads we had been on for almost three weeks.  And the Islamabad Serena, is a real 5 star hotel.  It, like the airport, felt huge.  The lobby was so big it was easy to get lost.  We made appointments immediately for a pedicure for me and a massage and shave for Mark.  Then we relaxed a bit before having a change in dining experiences…Japanese food.  Still cannot buy alcohol, but are allowed to bring our own bottle and  receive glasses.  By now all my misplaced fears have evaporated.  Beautiful country, warm, friendly people and plenty of security.