Karimabad

I really fell in love with Passu. And I thought when we left that I'd seen the best of what the Hunza valley had to offer. But having arrived in Karimabad – it's every bit as amazing.

All of the people who'd stayed at the Passu Inn had agreed to meet at the Hunza Inn in Karimabad, and one of the great things about the Hunza Inn is that they have communal dinners at 8:30 each night – and the food is pretty good.

The next day I needed to try and find some replacement shoes – because mine have started to leak in. So I headed to Aliabad with Denis and Hugo to have a look around and hopefully get a replacement pair.

I ended up chatting with a teacher, Selena, at one of the local schools, and he invited me to his school for tea. It's the school holidays at the moment, but the Principal and some of the other teachers were there, so I had tea with them, and we chatted for a while.

Hunza is really a remarkable place. All the people here see education as being pivotal to the progress and development of the area – and contrary to what were often told in the western media – education is seen as being improtant for both girls and boys. In the Hunza valley both are offered equal opporuntities.

And in common with Passu, Selena was able to tell me of the many pupils who had gone on to further education and top flight jobs. It was a fasincatring insight into the local community and the culture of the Hunza valley.

After lunch, and having no luck on the shoe front, we headed back to Karimabad and I decided to try some of the shops there.

One of the shop owners was a fully qualified mountain guide, and after telling me that he might have some shoes that would do the job, invited me in for tea. It was another interesting hour of chatting about the mountains, and many glacier crossings that can be made in the area. HIS NAME had been on a number of treks along the Baltoro Glaicer, and the more we talked, the more I relaised that I need to return here and spend more time exploring the area.

After an hour, I tried on the shoes – which sadly didn't fit. But he did tell me of a guy who repaired shoes.

It's incredinble how people repair things here that we would simply throw away, and with little more than a sharp awl, and a piece of heavy duty string, the guy stitched the parts of the shoe that were leaking. While I'll need to replace them in the next few weeks – they'll get me through to Islamabad.

And then it was back to the Hunza Inn for diner.

Denis and Hugo playing chess at the Old Hunza Inn: