| Pakistan 3 | |||
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On the Karakorum Highway (13 July - 06 August) |
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| Cut into the rock: Karakorum Highway | Landslides are quite common | ||
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| Two hotel employees in northern Pakistan | The Pakistani border policemen | ||
Hospitality in the “terror state”Already in India we have big douts about coming to Pakistan for the second time. After almost 16 month on tour around the world we now cycle back to Pakistan because the only way to individually go from the indian subcontinent by bicycle to east Asia leads over the Karakorum Highway connecting Pakistan and China. And only in the border area between Iran and Pakistan we so far selected other means of transport than our Tandem for security reasons. Thus now we think about what we will do: Can we go all the way by bicycle, or do we have to take another means of transport to arrive safely in China? This question is in our head for weeks, especially because of the current events in the Lal or Red Mosque.Two days before we cross the border from India to Pakistan is being invaded by the government, after so called radical islamic clerics had taken chinese workers in Pakistan as hostages, and after using innocent youngsters of the adjacent madrassas, or Koran schools, as human shields. When the final ultimatum of the government had expired the mosque had benn stormed, and hundreds of people have benn killed, as well as the religious head Abdul Rashid Ghazi. Many in these days are fearful about the breakout of a civil war. Exactly during these events we enter Pakistan from India on the 12th July with a strange feeling in our stomach area. Full of doubt about our travel through this country we cycle towards Lahore. But what happens at first? At the first shop where we stop for a coke we are not allowed to pay: "You are guests"! And another friendly young man accompanies us by bicycle several kilometers on the way to our hotel after only asking for the right direction. |
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| An Afghan refugee | food vendor in front of advertisment | ||
Each day a new suicide bomb blastAs feared several suicide bombs scatter the country, in particular near the border to Afghanistan, but also in the big cities Islamabad, Lahore and Peshawar, and we really dont have a good feeling. A friend of us works for Docters with no borders, "Medicines sans frontiers" He was supposed to come to Pakistan, but his mission was cancelled due to the current situation, and also other welfare organizations suggest to their workers to leave the country. There is each day a new bomb blast in the country. What are we to do? We could cycle around Islamabad, but we are fearful of the unknown. Also the wild Kohistan along the Karakorum Highways with its stones throwing children does not seem to be appealing to us.But anyway, we have a very good time in Lahore with other travellers who also came from China, India, Iran or even Afghanistan, and they supply us in the best possible way with valuable information. But also the meetings with the so called radical muslims are great: They invite us for a tea or for a cold beverage, or they ask what else they can do for us, as we are as they so often say "guests in their country". All complain about America though, but when we compare that Pakistan and America have both a not so well doing President and still nice inhabitants, they approve this with a smile. One day Mandy goes to the physician and receives even free medical treatment. Interestingly enough, the lady doctor asks as the second question: "How long are you married"? "Ähh, one year" stutters Mandy after thinking for one second. In Pakistan the relationship of non-married couples is really a big taboo, and only 15 per cent of the marriages are so called "Love Marriages" |
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| Political demonstration in Lahore | LKWs are always painted wonderfully in Pakistan | ||
"Two bus tickets please"Finally the doubts win, and four days after our arrival we go to the bus station of Lahore, screwing our tandem into the smallest possible form. We still enjoy the first four hours after Rawalpindi in the hypermodern touring bus with beverage bar, free daily newspaper and an American comedy via television screen on the boring, well paved motorway. In Rawalpindi we rescrew the tandem in record time again back together and cycle to the next bus, in which we will have to spend the next 21 hours. In the rear back seats we spend the night on loose, broken seats, without getting hardly an eye closed, while the bus driver speeds over the holes in the Karakorum Highway. We feel pain everywhere, and as we see the Karakorum Highway after sunrise in full beauty, we have the dull feeling to have done something wrong. Again and again we judge places and roads by it whether we would have had to master an ascent, a downhill, or whether it would have been a nice break.Disoriented we reach Gilgit, sadly, and we feel, as if we would have not in the propper way. To our joy the suicide attacks have stopped, after highest judges of Pakistan, first dismissed by president Musharraf, finally was restored into office by another court. And in Gilgit it is pleasantly cool, we finally have escaped the heat of the Indian Subkontinent and did not have to deal with the terrible traffic between Lahore and Islamabad. Also we avoided the stone throwing kids in Indus Kohistan by taking the bus. But all does not feel correctly somehow for us. We corrupted ourselfes from having made lots and lots of nice experiences on the way, which we could not at all make during the bus ride, and we feel completely out of rhythm. And in such a way we make the only correct decision briefly after our arrival in Gilgit: Benny cycles to the bus station and buys two new tickets - naturally, again back to Lahore! We repeat those scarcely 30 hour, terrible bus travel. Why? Only, in order to continue our journey, where we had terminated our last stage on our tandem bicycle in the dirt and in the heat of Lahore. |
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| With our tandem in the Indus valley | Breath-taking view | ||
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| Vegetarian meals are not available very much in Pakistan, therefore we cook ourselves | The Badshahi mosque in Lahore at night | ||
We go north with our TandemAgain in Lahore we meet the two Frenchmen Alex and Nico our age, who want to cycle also on the Karakorum Highway to Kashgar into China, and with them we want to cycle together from now on. And cycling in Pakistan is nice, often we getto hear an appreciative "Wah wah", and drivers hold out the high-stretched thumb to us. It is again the purest joy to cycle! Now traffic in Pakistan seems to us completely different than expected, maybe we are just not sensible/ sensitive any more after 6 month in India? Often a vehicle gives way to us. When we have a break after the first 20 kilometers, we are watched curiously by laughing small boys with Cricket bats, and they sit down closely beside us. Cricket is in Pakistan national sport number one, and everywhere we see how this "slow form of the baseball with tee break" is played. Hardly that we sit on the bike, us the traffic police stops us and friendly invites us to take a beverage with them. Events like this one happen to us quite often in the next days, when we are invited by total strangers, and sometimes we even have to reject the invitation to get going. |
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| An ocean of spices, flours, powders | Mandy is allowed to enter the world of the pakistani women | ||
From Mandys Diary
Women in PakistanWith a later drinking stop the boys sit with native men, while I sit relaxed beside it. Questions to me are placed first to Benny or our friends, to them I answer then, and they pass the answer on to the men. Contrary to Benny and our friends I am invited as reconciliation of the oldest woman of the house into the house and may talk with the women! I am even asked to stay overnight here.Since we travelled the three Muslim countries Turkey, Iran and Pakistan, I in addition learned much how I behave there as a woman. I still remember, how I was angry that time, when a modern Turkish cyclist came with us for two days, and during that timein every case he addressed Benny. It was at that time not yet conscious to me that it was a form of the respect, by behaving in such a way. Also the hand vibrating with men I have cure myself, since except-more conjugal, it is still so small body contact, in the society taboo is. All in all Pakistan is probably the strictest Islamic country of our past journey. Although the women do not have to wear a head cloth according to law, then one sees the head cloth flashing nevertheless with the exception of few women in the modern large cities and the educated women from the northernmost areas everywhere. Also I carry one, as well as the traditional far garb Salwar Kameez, which only little from the body form abandons. As an foreigner I was so always respectfully treated and had as well as no problems. |
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| With Nicolas (right) and Alex (not in the picture) we cycle 2 weeks together | We sleep one night under the stars | ||
| Diary entry Mandy Native women are exposed to a larger pressure, which annnimmt unfortunately often violent forms. A teacher from Lahore tells me that women without head cloth into Lahore several weeks ago acid was squirted on the hair. That this unfortunately no individual case is, but sad everyday life, shows the shaking report of Amnesty to international-to situation of the women in Pakistan. Increasingly many women die in alleged kitchen accidents, in which they become with gasoline überschüttet or are hurt by acid. Many of the married women report of measurement actions by the married man, by the family such as cattle are sold off and obligation-married, often with much to old men, in order to pay money debts of the family. Also in the name of the honour Mrs. Opfer von Gewalt become. We get a tiny view of social structures as travelers only. In close proximity to Islamabad I meet a young woman named Rukshi, which is active particularly for a relief organization in mountain regions. Hygiene, sanitary mechanisms and education apply to improve it there, circumstances, from which particularly the women would have to suffer. Hochschwanger must get it still to water away from far, and few would lose their child thereby. With the wheel we cross several days the conservative mountain region Indus Kohistan, where we do not see actually only one woman. When I ask Rukshi, how it pleases her in Pakistan as a woman, it tells me that it itself probably and that the men treat it always very respectfully. It belongs to the 15 per cent of the women in Pakistan, whom a so-called dear wedding will be allowed to celebrate in few months. It would be too easy to say the fact that all Mrs. in Pakistan victim of force and being would be unfortunate however it also lied to say, was few. Who wants to know more about the situation of the women, the shaking report is recommended to that by Amnesty international: Amnesty report and who would like to help, which can itself take part and donate gladly in our donation project of Amnesty international, so that also in the future such bad states come to the daylight and are fought. Each donor of a still so small amount we send as thank-beautifully at our expense a postcard. |
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| Without consumer goods children become creative: Selfbuilt vices | The Karakorumhighway before Chilas | ||
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| Nico fotographs Alex and us before a landslide | Bus and back, here in Rawalpindi | ||
Genussradeln on the Karakorum HighwayFrom Lahore we need four days, until we reach the actual Karakorum Highway, which begins in the village Thakot. Starting from there nature has a breath-robbing scenery to create, which can be seized only heavily into words. Because thousands of years ago the Indian Subkontinent began to push itself in northward into the asiatic land mass. Thus developed here powerful mountains, which fed just as enormous rivers. And over thousands of years the river system of the Indus in-ate a ravine into the mountains, by which the States of China and Pakistan built an unparalleled road starting from 1958. The route leads often by the naked rock, deeply under one the Indus, steeply beside one up-rising up the mountains.We drive this dream route probably each cyclist along, with always again being astonished views, and experience slowly, how the green vegetation transforms into grey rock, which resembles nearly an unreal moon landscape sometime. Despite some rises, there are which to master, we drive nevertheless also innumerable marks beautiful departures down, usually on centralgood bitumen, sometimes in addition, on getting by runways. Humans are here just as inflexibly as the rock, reserved, but nevertheless friendly. The stones of throwing children, of whom we were warned in such a way, present themselves for us as bored Lausbuben, which throw themselves also mutually with stones. As long as we greet it always friendly and at them do not by-race, get off we ungeschoren. After sunset is not no more geradelt, for safety reasons, why we knock or other time with Polizeistaionen, or sometimes by the policemen is intercepted. We are always accepted friendly and invited already times on a Joint or a dte. When we reach Gilgit, we put actually the entire distance back driven with the bus now also with the tandem and are on the one hand on us, in addition, infinitely grateful to pride to be with the bicycle on the way. Thus the bus travel showed us nevertheless, how many more we from country and people experience by tandem. With our friends Alex and Nico we spent a good time and only in Gilgit separate our ways, since their visa runs out soon. While they are on the way home to France, radeln we further toward Tibet. India could do us not guerilla wars, we enjoys again our journey, and trying, living far our dream. |
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| One more beautiful break (Nanga Parbat view), with Alex and Nicolas from France | Typical kitchen in Pakistan | ||
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| Truck stop | Together with Pedro, JP, Catia and Remis | ||
| < back to India, part 10 | continue with Picture gallery KKH - > | ||