# Pakistan, The Pistachio To My Kulfi.



## ghazi52

*Pakistan, The Pistachio To My Kulfi.*







*Pakistan, the pistachio to my kulfi.*

*And so my friend, my point was – what is so awesome about Pakistan?*

I’m a bloke who thrives on chaos but answering this question before buggering off on a new adventure would have resulted in a droopy “I don’t know mate, cricket?”. Personally, I can’t bear a game of ball and sticks any more then warm beer on a hot summers day… What a contrast Pakistan is, and here’s why.

*The terrorists will kill me*

By all the unglamorous artworks the armchair experts of the world were painting of Pakistan, I was in line for a beheading, a bombing or a kidnapping. It’s dangerous they said. Avoid travelling Pakistan they said. Sure, the driving here is total rubbish and you’d be lucky not to be sideswiped or rear ended at least once every five minutes, but that’s about as dangerous as it feels for me personally thus far.




Riding around high population areas can be quite erratic

I don’t recall having to run away from a long bearded bloke brandishing rocket launchers, although I did do some running away from a few wild dogs who didn’t appreciate the sound of a triple cylinder motor.

The only trouble I had was convincing locals to let me pay for something. While in a Becham cake shop, the owner was giving Matty and I free samples, and refused any money. A cake terrorist who killed with us kindness. And cream cakes.

Only one living thing that ended up getting beheaded was a white chicken on the Karakoram Highway. Everyone else seems to have their heads attached to their shoulders judging by the number of curious looks and smiles I’ve drawn in the last two months.




This is about as close as you’ll get to a beheading in Pakistan – chopping timber for the fire.

However, on a serious, more unfortunate note, terrorist blasts are still a reality of living in Pakistan. (More on that later)

*I’ll get kidnapped*

Yeah I got kidnapped alright… and loved it too. Everybody wants to hang out. Especially those cheeky old blokes that smoke cigarettes and play cards in the street corner hidden from their wives. You’ll be shaking hands and getting to know the locals whether it’s in Lahore or Karimabad and swapping stories too.




“What excuse did you have for your wife?” “Mate, I did the runner first thing this morning. You?” “Picking up some fence panels from the other side of Hunza… hahaha”

Pakistanis are a curious and friendly bunch of people, which can sometimes be quite overwhelming. Once you get around the eagerness, you really begin to appreciate the casual hello’s you get virtually everywhere you go. I mean, I’ve spent a year in europe and a majority of my life in Sydney, and all everyone does is ignore each other… Well, except at the pub when everyone gets chatting due to the cold liquid confidence on tap.

*People will rob me*

I ended up robbing Pakistan more then it robbed me. It got to the point where I had to try and force money on people for services rendered, which definetly didn’t work, and it wasn’t for a lack of trying – they kept running away from it! Countless cups of tea were washed down in shops, local’s houses, petrol stations… they’d pull out the biscuits and the bread, invite you to sit next to the boiler and get some warm brew bubbling.





Every stop could’ve been a tea stop if we wanted it to be. Matty was quite content sipping hot tea inside the barrier tent at Naltar with the local police, as was I!

Come to think of it, I don’t think I’ve ever been so well treated in any other country, which includes the super hospitable land of Iran, and my other favourite, Turkey. Ask for something and you’ve got a friend on a life mission to help resolve it. Yeah, I got robbed all right… robbed of the ability to get anything done myself. Pakistan did everything else for me.

*Addressing the misconstrued ideas about Islam*

l’m not a remotely a religious bloke, and I don’t care much for it either. I remember counting the bricks on the church wall as a youth, trying very hard to fall asleep (unsuccessfully) when old Father David talked smack about sheep in the pulpit. The most religious thing I’ve done is accidently zip my beard into my jacket in a Belfast cathedral, swear loudly and apologise to the big fella upstairs.





This is my kind of religion… Attabad Lake

I can comfortably comment we as a whole have alot to thank major media powers for when it comes to closed mindedness. Not that I’m saying some areas of the world don’t have their problems. They do. Some areas are not all areas, just as some people are not all people. Generalising is something we all need to be very wary of.

While riding Pakistan, one bloke fixed my mates flat tire in a small town for free. I was housed and fed magic soup when I was sick in a relative strangers home and felt more like royalty then a bloke with gastric problems. I’ve been invited to weddings after a few minutes of conversation, because here, it’s an honour to have a guest. People are so generous, you need to be careful of complementing anything you see – because they’ll try and give it to you.





We had no tube patches left. This bloke went and did the repair for free, and left Matty offering money to thin air.

People embrace me, shake my hand and call me brother. They invite me into their home and offer me tea and the good biscuits. Bloody hell, even my own mum won’t pull out the good biscuits for me. So yes, as you can see, people of Islam are human, just like the rest of us… (just as a side note, not only Pakistan, but Iran, Morocco and Turkey proved to be all very similar and extremely positive experiences

You can be pink, purple, green or yellow. Tall, short, fat or skinny. You can be a total troll or a barbie doll, believe in the chocolate starfish and drink hot dog flavoured water. Whatever the case, if you’re good… well you’re actually a good person. Makes sense right?





Despite their unsmiling faces (which for some reason is an ongoing trend in photographs in Pakistan) I can assure you that the Pakistani friendliness and warmth begins from a very young age. These young gentleman shook hands with big grins and welcomed me to their home in the Karakoram.

*There’s really nothing to see here*

Geographically speaking, northern Pakistan is wedged between the Karakoram, the Hindu Kush and the Himalayas. That means thousands of awe inspiring mountains. Towering, razor sharp and striving to pierce the sky. They’re the kind one dreams about except one can’t comprehend the size nor the beauty until it is seen in person. Cloudy or clear, mesmerising views of snow capped behemoths litter the “Prometheus” of Pakistan.





It’s another world on the Karakoram Highway.

Apricot and cherry trees line the ridges and small fields around the homes of Hunza. Even in the winter, when the weather drops to the minuses, locals are preparing for the coming spring. Red Massey Ferguson tractors churn down dusty roads loaded up with timber from the days felling. Women three times older than I outpace me on the walk uphill. Evidently my diet of beer, chicken and snickers bars is working wonders.





Spantik (aka the Golden Peak) located in Nagar Valley. This is the view from Hunza.

Meanwhile in the south, the sandy giant of Balochistan sleeps. Occasionally, when it does decide to wake up, the road disappears under sprays of sun bleached sand. Sand dunes turn into low mountains, sprinkled with tiny tabs of green vegetation which try to hide from the dust raising camel herds. Next come the rocky mountains, flared in orange, where the vegetation is replaced by rocky fields and a mysterious railway.





The beauty of Balochistan

To the east, the reach of Balochistan ends and small rivers form up between slender rushes in northern Sindh and Punjab. Water buffalo wander through hip high water into green fields, snuffing water from their broad noses. Trees set enough shade for pop up fruitstalls off the back of jingle trucks, while sugar cane litters the road all the way northwards. Imperfectly perfect.

*Pakistan is perfect (the realities)*
Well, no its not. Like every other place in the world, Pakistan has it flaws.





Shah, the human chimney, is one of many awesome humans you’ll meet in Pakistan. We spent a week riding together on the Karakoram Highway.

Ok so, the electricity is irregular, sometimes working, sometimes not. One minute you’re facebooking and the next minute you’re looking for the torch so you can have a wee without missing the bullseye. That said, it’s all the more reason to do the finer things in life – like going for a walk, or doing maitenance on the bike.

Let’s be realistic and admit the driving in Pakistan feels like a demolition derby in most populated areas. If you aren’t avoiding being pushed off the road, you’re avoiding being rear ended, and if not that, doing the duck and weave saving motorcyclists from themselves. Mirrors apparently, aren’t all the rage here on bikes and merging without a glance is.





A kindly officer out at Naltar slipped me an ‘ever so slight’ cheeky grin while we listened to some country music… and pushed yet another mug of tea towards me!

The driving isn’t all bad, which is why Islamabad is my favourite city. Yeah it’s classed as the “boring” city and there isn’t much to do for common city dwellers, but for the most part, is a lot more organised then the rest. Believe it or not, people actually stay in one lane which is seemingly outrageous compared to Lahore or the GT road which connects the two cities. Not only that, Islamabad is practically built in the middle of a national park… Which trail were we hiking today?

Unfortunately, terrorism is still quite evident by the bombings that have run around the country in the span of almost two weeks. Some people say it’s government related. Some say it’s the Taliban. Others say it’s foreign governments getting stuck in. All I do know is, I was quite saddened by them all. It definetly feels alot closer to home.

*What worthy experiences could you possibly have in Pakistan?*






These sweet old beards.

Meet Mohammed and his brother. These dudes work at a hotel in Mansehra, and are the sweetest security guards north of Islamabad. Maybe it was the beard bondage, but by the way I was greeted, I could have been some age old friend walking into that hotel. Yeah it wasn’t all grand gestures, but doesn’t everyone rave on about the little things?






At the sawmill with Esan Ali

Meet Esan Ali of Nagar. After letting Matty and I roam his sawmill without a fuss, we were then invited back to his tailor shop for tea. We got to know him and he got to know us over some hot milky tea. Esan Ali told us about the the trees of Nagar, and the culture of the areas to the north and south. His sons were studying in London and Italy while he carried on with life back home.





Pakistan’s Flash Gordon aka the saviour

Meet the saviour. Out of patches for the tubes, we managed to stop in a small village outside Becham. This bloke appeared out of nowhere and without a word had Matty’s tube patched within minutes. With such rapid speed, I don’t think Flash Gordon could’ve kept up. Anyway, this saviour refused any kind of payment and disappeared as soon as he was done. He should have been on the Pakistani athletics team.

Those four people I mentioned – all strangers. I have so many more similar stories to tell, but you get the point. Pakistanis commonly ask me “What can I help you with?” and I find this remarkably friendly approach is evident almost everywhere in Pakistan. It’s almost as if they want me to tell you, dear readers, that Pakistan is a nice place to be, despite what the mainstream media says. I’ll take first hand experience over media coverage every day of the week.

Then there is the raw beauty of the Karakoram. Majestic. Jawdropping. Beautiul… well look, none of those words really do that area justice, so let’s settle on indescribable beauty. One realises the magnitude of what a tiny being you are in this great old world when you need to crane your neck back to see the tips of those natural gorgeous cathedrals.





The Pasu Cathedrals in the middle of winter.

Even the cities are an experience. Lahore, for example. Walking down the street is an experience for your lungs. You’d probably be better off sucking down a pack of smokes a day. The street bazaars are full of curious characters, interesting smells and outrageously gaudy goods. Colonial architecture peeks over high walls covered in razor wire, while cathedrals and mosques dominate the skyline. Lahore is unique, kind of like the Pakistani version of Willy Wonka’s chocolate factory.

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## ghazi52

..





Nostalgic bazaars roll through the old city in Lahore.

*Bombings and Blasts
*
Pakistani’s are quite a resilient bunch. Upon hearing about the first blast in Lahore, my Pakistani friends were saddened, but also seemed to speak about it in such a casual way. It affected me more I guess because of two reasons – it’s so much closer to home and I feel like it’s totally unfair to a country that has contributed so much to my wellbeing on all levels.

The blast was only a few hundred metres from the hostel where I was staying the following night. 15 people had been killed and many more injured. It wasn’t until a few days later that the reality of the Mall road blast sunk in. Whenever I pass that infamous corner on Mall road, I remember what happened. Perhaps these people were going for a tea and chat about politics. I can’t tell if locals remember it too, or whether they just seal it behind a tough front of smiles.





Pakistanis still have a ready smile for you, despite the recent blasts around the country.

That same week, another 6 blasts went off across the country. Then I remember thinking after the fifth one, the one that killed 75 people at a Sufi shrine, was the first time I wondered if I should actually be leaving the country… then I realised no one else in Pakistan was leaving, they were just carrying on trying to enjoy their life, so why shouldn’t I do the same?

To be truthful, I did take a day away from everything just to reflect a little and remind myself how lucky I was to be on such an adventure. You take the bad with the good, and I’m glad I was exposed to these blasts in a way – it really made me realise what a great place my secondary home is. (For the record, my primary home is on board with Trumpet – the secondary, Australia)

*In summary
*
Pakistan is somewhat mental. If you want to lose your sanity, ride through the smoke heavy, action packed cities of Haripur, Abbotabad and Mansehra in one hit. If being awestruck by nature is your thing, keep going north until you see three of the worlds greatest mountain ranges collide. Behind all the interesting chaos, it’s really a nature lovers hidden paradise, left mostly untouched by the rest of the world.





Where the 3 great ranges of Hindu Kush, Karakoram and Himalayas meet… Pakistan is a nature lovers haven.

Pakistan isn’t the most perfect place in the world, and I cringe inwardly whenever I see educational institutions for children wrapped up in razor wire, which is necessary to protect innocent civilians from terror attacks… this aside, what really makes it a place worth visiting though, is the people. They are the pistachios to my kulfi and the sugar in my chai.

Despite the blasts, tribal concerns, government corruption and other bits and pieces, Pakistanis move onwards with a twinkling grin. They’re tough, they’re resilient, and don’t scurry away to hide despite the current issues. There is a strong pride of their identity and culture, and I don’t foresee that attitude changing anytime soon.




Karimabad, Hunza.

If anyone is going to change the country, it’s the younger generation coming through. They are well informed and quite involved in political matters, which new social media channels are helping out exceptionally well with. This generation of young people are trying hard to change the common misconstructed views of their home, and relay the truth of what lies in this corner of the world – that Pakistan, well, it really is awesome.


http://atthehandlebars.com/pakistan/

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## lastofthepatriots

My American friend once told me Pakistanis are the nicest violent people you'll ever meet.

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## basheer

Stealing an entire article without so much as a link back is not very nice.


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## ali_raza

northern pakistan is our crown jewel

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## ghazi52

http://atthehandlebars.com/pakistan/


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## VCheng

Triumph Tiger 800. Very nice bike.


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## ghazi52

Weighing up the chicken before the chopping block.






Pakistan, especially the KKH, is an amazing experience. Matty thinks so too.

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## Areesh

Syed.Ali.Haider said:


> Triumph Tiger 800. Very nice bike.



Clearly this gora is being fooled away by Pakistanis from the reality.

You should tell him how shameless and evil Pakistanis are. Just the way you discuss with Indians.

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## livingdead

basheer said:


> Stealing an entire article without so much as a link back is not very nice.


hi new member.. welcome to forum


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## neem456

lastofthepatriots said:


> My American friend once told me Pakistanis are the nicest violent people you'll ever meet.


Exactly, who else to know than americans. The beloved man of america was also found in pakistan. lol just kidding

@ OP, very nics pics. That local bazaar pic is nice, i have a thing to explore local bazaars whereever i go.

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## VCheng

Just for that post, I just sent this guy some money.

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## Deidara

Off topic : Pakistan should launch a cruise service from Karachi to Oman. Many people will love to spend some hrs in the sea.

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## Imad.Khan

JungleBook said:


> Off topic : Pakistan should launch a cruise service from Karachi to Oman. Many people will love to spend some hrs in the sea.



Also following cruise services

1. Karachi - Gwadar
2. Karachi/Gwadar to Dubai
3. Karachi/Gwadar to Mumbai ( hopefully in the future )
4. Karachi/Gwadar to Bandar Abbas (Iran)

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## Peshwa

great read! Makes me want to go to Pakistan.
There are good and bad people everywhere and Pakistan is no different. My experience with Pakistanis has been amazing and Im proud to call so many my friends and brothers. Loyal and Loving is the only word that comes to mind. 
We as people need to find the good in each other, but that is easier said than done!

I will put this last comment up expecting severe backlash but I strongly believe in it:
If Indians and Pakistanis are to EVER make peace, we need to have friends ruling on both sides of the border. The kind that I have met in my life at least. Because one will be more forthcoming to talk with those we call friends and even make compromises, than those that hate the mere existence of each other. I sincerely say this for people on both sides of the border.

And I truly wish I get to visit Pakistan someday. Already on my bucketlist! Enough Kumbaya...back to the PDF war

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## ghazi52

*Naltar Valley*


The next day, Rahim, Matty and I hopped on the bikes and rode back up the KKH to Naltar Valley. I made it out about halfway up the road before my stomach protested, (apparently this heinous affliction is due to gorging on dried apricots). Through the remainder of my shortlived ride, my stomach rumbled and strange noises emanated from my nether regions – every bump was a gamble!






Matty looks quite happy, probably because he isn’t under siege from dried apricots. The four wheel drive got stuck, so the driver gave up and parked it on the side of the road and walked up too.



Finding the road covered in ice and snow, I left it to Matty and Rahim and returned “home” – I was feeling pretty grim and didn’t feel like sharing the hearty celebration of a reverse omelette with vanilla bits in the snow with everybody. Matt and Rahim didn’t get much further, and so, decided to walk all the way up to Naltar instead.






This local kid was having a ball hitting the downhills on his empty drum. Great idea for an easy toboggan ride!



That evening the boys brought back reports of their findings – air force run ski slopes, where Matty managed to get a free run down the slopes, which was due to the kindness of air force engineer.

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## Ultima Thule

JungleBook said:


> Off topic : Pakistan should launch a cruise service from Karachi to Oman. Many people will love to spend some hrs in the sea.


 Stay on topic bro



Imad.Khan said:


> Also following cruise services
> 
> 1. Karachi - Gwadar
> 2. Karachi/Gwadar to Dubai
> 3. Karachi/Gwadar to Mumbai ( hopefully in the future )
> 4. Karachi/Gwadar to Bandar Abbas (Iran)


 Stay on topic bro


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## ghazi52

Convincing myself that I was totally ok, Matty and I went up to Naltar on the KKH a second time. Deciding to hitch a ride from the first outpost, we spent the first hour and a half with the local police in their tent, and waited for a jeep that never came. So, taking the initiative, we rode as far up as possible on Matty’s 150, only to find a few extra feet of snow than the day before, more ice and lots of mist. Time for a leisurely two hour walk!






A local gets amongst it on the way up to Naltar.



Two pairs of wet feet later, we stopped by a local’s house in Naltar and drank numerous cups of tea, dunking the sourdough styled local bread in the hot sugary goodness. Heading up the last leg of the mountain through a few feet of snow in our very ‘non-waterproof’ boots, we made it to the ski slopes, where the sun had finally woken up. Wow, the views were absolute killer, well worth the freezing hike up.




A small group of Yak going for an afternoon stroll



Even though we had come all the way up, the day was already late, having lost time on a non existent hitch. So instead of skiing, we took off wet boots and wet socks, wrapped feet in down jackets and enjoyed the view while eating a late lunch. Dagger like mountains failed to reprimand a darkening sky as white clouds floated dreamily around the razor-like tops.






Gorgeous mountaintops at Naltar, and finally some BLUE SKY!!!



Before long the sun had dropped and the night enveloped us. Matty and I ended up walking back down through Naltar in the moonlight. The sky cleared, giving us nothing but a beautiful blanket of stars – and alot of “woah… almost fell on me arse” moments. We sniggered like schoolboys all the way down the snow crusted road, as we lamented the integrity of our shitty boots, and considered the odds of a snow leopard encounter.






The blanket of stars was beaut to gaze at on our walk back down the mountain

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## Sipahi

Peshwa said:


> Enough Kumbaya...back to the PDF war



I guess you are watching pathman senathirajah


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## Peshwa

Sipahi said:


> I guess you are watching pathman senathirajah



No idea who that is, should I know him?


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## Sipahi

Peshwa said:


> No idea who that is, should I know him?



My friend was working for a direct selling company in UAE, he told me about this man and he always use the word kumbaya  that's why I think you know him

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## Peshwa

Sipahi said:


> My friend was working for a direct selling company in UAE, he told me about this man and he always use the word kumbaya  that's why I think you know him



Oh lol!
Kumbaya is a word from a song sung to celebrate peace and harmony. Actually don't quote me on that. I know the reference of kumbaya more than the meaning or value of the song.


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## VCheng

Peshwa said:


> Oh lol!
> Kumbaya is a word from a song sung to celebrate peace and harmony. Actually don't quote me on that. I know the reference of kumbaya more than the meaning or value of the song.



It is a spiritual song from the 1920 made popular in the 60s.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kumbaya

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