The Road To Islamabad

After the beautiful 5.5 kilometer walk down to Jhel, I stayed at the Fairy Point hotel – owned by Mohammed Jan – one of Khaliq's relatives. I was the only person there and they really looked after me, cooking a great meal of dhal and chappati, and a breakfast of Paratha and fried eggs.

Mohammed Jan with his friends making dinner (they killed, de-feathered, and cut up a chicken - but I passed after still not feeling that great):



Enjoying tea after dinner:



I must admit, I felt a little down when I woke in the morning, and said goodbye to them. The day was grey and although the views were impressive – I felt like I was walking in the wrong direction.

Getting ready to leave - a final photo with Mohammed:



Views on the way down:





When I finally pulled into Raikot Bridge three and a half hours later a cheer went up from the men at the small tea shop – they all knew I'd walked up and down the jeep track – and I sat and enjoyed a cup of tea with them while I waited for the bus to Islamabad.

And finally – four hours later – the bus appeared and I hoped on...

...for what was the second worst bus journey of my trip – second only to the trip from Oruro to Uyuni.

The road is in pretty bad shape and we were shaken about the entire time. I got on at 4pm, and got off again at 8:30am the next morning after having had hardly any sleep. I was sat at the back, and I'm pretty sure the suspension was on it's way out as every time we hit a deep pothole (of which there were many) there was a banging sound as the shocks bottomed out.

One other thing about this section of road is that the Foreign Office are advising against taking the bus because of banditry in the area – although no one I spoke to could understand why. The only other option is to fly - but it's so expensive and so prone to cancellation that the bus is the only real option, and all the locals take the bus.

It was a real shock to arrive at Rawalpindi's bus station after the quiet villages and peace of the last few weeks - the roar of the city was a real contrast.