It was raining when I woke up and met the others for breakfast. The plan was for us all to head down to Karimabad using our various modes of transport and meet for Dinner at the Old Hunza Inn.
While I'd had a great night's sleep, I still wasn't feeling that great and my breathing had worsened in the night – not much – but noticeable to everyone else. Denis started asking me some questions about how I was feeling, and all his questions diagnosed exactly what was going on - in detail.
I already knew from the conversations we'd had that Denis has 20 years experience in acupuncture, and had been in China for a few months learning more advanced techniques. After perfectly diagnosing everything that was going on he offered to do some acupuncture to see if it would help at all.
He was very clear that sometimes it works and sometimes it doesn't – and unlike some other complementary health approaches I've tried, Denis never promised anything – only that it was worth trying – and if it didn't work then there were other things that might.
And after his very clear diagnosis of my symptoms I decided to give it a try. Now those of you who know me know that I have an aversion to having needles stuck in me. So after asking five or six times if it was going to hurt (much to the amusement of everyone else) I decided to go for it.
I'd have to say – it was nothing like I expected and was really amazed by the experience.
Firstly – the needles aren't that big – and as Denis put the first one in I felt hardly anything. He then moved it until I could feel what I could only describe as a not unpleasant burning sensation, at which point he stopped and went onto the next one.
After having three needles in my back it felt like there was energy flowing between my shoulders – it was a really amazing sensation.
Next Denis put a needle into each of my wrists, and these caused what I can only describe as a very mild electric shock.
But it was the next two - in my chest - that had the biggest effect. I had this amazing warm sensation radiating out from the needles, and what felt like pressure – as if someone was pushing my chest gently with their palm.
The final two needles went into my lower legs and again I had the most amazing feeling of energy flowing through my body.
After ten minutes, Denis moved the needles slightly to recreate the affect, and this time it was much stronger than before. It left me feeling incredibly awake and alive. While my breathing symptoms remained – I felt really amazing. And as the morning progressed I started to cough up the fluid that asthmatics get in their lungs as part of the symptoms.
Another ten minutes later the needles were out and I felt great.
Not at all what I'd expected when I'd woken that morning – and another experience to add to my now very long list :-)
Having packed our things Denis, Hugo, and myself went out to stand by the side of the road and wait for some transport to arrive, while Alex and Alison waited for the weather to clear before setting off using their own transport.
And we waited...
And waited...
And waited.
At lunch time Alex suggested we have pasta and tomato sauce for lunch – so we bought some things form the store and made lunch.
And then we waited...
And waited...
And waited.
When it rains here, the chance of rock slides increases and we thing this was why there was very little traffic on the road. But as the day wore on the weather improved, and so at 3pm Alex fired up his BMW GS and headed out onto the road.
Alison was also planning to make a move, but a flat tire and a ruptured tire cement tube meant she was going to have to stay in Passu until the electric came back on and someone could heat weld her bicycle tire.
Luckily for us, at 4pm someone came along who agreed to give us a list for 150 rupees - so we bundled our things into the tiny minibus and set off.
Needless to say – the scenery was amazing and was somehow enhanced by the rain and clouds. As we passed down the valley, we could see tiny villages clinging to the mountain side, while the river wound it's course through the valley bottom.
The rocky landscape on the road to Karimabad:
At one point the scenrary changed into sheer granite cliff faces, with huge boulder piles – it was a climber's dream – and though austere maintained it's own unique beauty.
After almost an hour we spotted Alex ahead talking to some locals, and I was able to get these shots of him as he quickly over took us.
The scenery on the way into Karimabad:
Small villages clinging to the mountainside:
The Hunza Valley – and Rakaposhi just coming into view:
And finally we arrived at Karimabad.
And Karimabad meant one thing for us all: Internet access – and the chance to contact people from home. Ten days without any Internet access – probably the longest period of time in the last five years I've not been on-line.
And after our on line fix, we headed to the Hunza Inn and had a great dinner of dhal, veg curry, rice, and salad.
Another perfect day on the road – amazing people, amazing scenery – and unexpected experiences.
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