We arrived in Astore, a Himalayan village perched on the mountainside, to find access to our guesthouse blocked by a polo match. It was on the edge of the field, on the other side. We were stoked, polo is the best audience participation sport there is and we’ve only seen a game once before in … More Hanging in the Himalayas – Astore and Rama Lake
The Deosai Plains are a National Park established to protect the Himalayan Brown Bear. The second highest plateau in the world, it is only open in the summer, linking Skardu and Astore for a few months a year via a rough 4WD track. Covering 3000 sq kmit is vast and is carefully managed by Park … More The 2nd highest plateau in the world – Deosai National Park
Our 4WD driver had come to Gilgit late on the evening we arrived. We were heading straight out the next day on a 4 day loop; out to Skardu day 1, spend day 2 there, then take 2 days to come back via the Deosai National Park with an overnight stay in Astore, a Himalayan … More Dusty Skardu
Marie’s stomach has been increasingly complaining for a few days now. It finally gave in and she was up and down all night like a cat on a hot tin roof, with it getting steadily worse until it reached an explosive crescendo about an hour before we were due to depart Islamabad on a 7-8hr … More Road tripping to Gilgit
Just before we left NZ the people we’d organised our border pick up and trip to Islamabad with had contacted us to say they had 2 Dutch guys taking a car with driver on a 2 day journey up to Gilgit (the main city on the Karakoram Highway in the mountains) and did we want … More The calm of Islamabad
Monday morning meant shops were open. Before moving on from Lahore we wanted to clear a couple of practicalities. Firstly we’d discovered that we need exact change for lots of things – auto-rickshaws, small shops, even the hotel didn’t have change for our big notes. There was a bank on the corner of our street … More Onwards to Islamabad (via Rohtas Fort)
Every evening since 1959 (except for a brief period when they were at war) India and Pakistan have undertaken a nightly border closing ceremony at the Wagah crossing. It has become infamous for being a strange spectacle of overt nationalism, and involving very tall men from the Border Security Force on the Indian side and … More The infamous Wagah border closing ceremony
Lahore is the capital of Punjab state. Home to 11m people it’s Pakistan’s second largest city and its cultural hub. It’s a vibrant place full of chaos and contrast, with squalor and splendour, wide green boulevards and chaotic small streets. The locals have a saying “If you haven’t seen Lahore you haven’t been born yet.” … More “If you haven’t seen Lahore you haven’t been born yet”
Border crossing days aka clean top days (it always helps to look half presentable when asking to enter a country) are always a mix of excitement and nerves about the unknown. We love crossing borders, nothing beats walking into a new country with the locals. Despite having a lot in common, India and Pakistan’s relations … More Into Pakistan – Crossing the border
We’ve been asked this question a fair bit. First a quick history lesson – Pakistan only gained independence in 1947 following partition from India (the two countries then almost immediately went to war over the still-disputed Kashmir region). Initially incorporating what is now Bangladesh in the East and present-day Pakistan in its West, Pakistan became … More You want to go where?! Why Pakistan
Marie & Emma's Travel Journal 