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You can lose everything, but nobody will take away what you saw and what you experienced...
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Oct 16, 2006 02:00 PM Riders in the old bazar...
I am in Yazd - Iran. UNESCO qualified Yazd as one of the oldest cities in the world. It has very special atmosphere - there is labirynth of narrow streets, arches and corridors - made of mud bricks, brown color... It is easy to be lost in the streets of the old town. And that's fantastic. But it is hard to accept local guys riding tis narrow streets and also the bazars on moto bikes. They make a lot of noise and pollution... 21st century... The highlight of Yazd is Friday Moosque - beautifully decorated in and outside... There are Towers of Silence of zoroastrians just on the outskirts of the town. I saw also their temple with eternal flame...
I stay in the little Amir Chaqmagh hostel - they charge 50000 rials for single room with shared bath. Abbas - the manager speaks English and the staff is very friendly. But the advantage of this hostel is its location - just near the high towers of old Amir Chaqmagh complex. I see the glazed coupola and the minarets of the mosque through my window. Yes, and I hear the calls for pray several times during the day and night. Well - it could be additional attraction...
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Oct 15, 2006 02:00 PM Iran: all ladies in black!
This a shock... All ladies wear black scarves!. But they do not cover their faces - so you can still see how pretty they are...
People in Iran are nice but they do not return the smiles, here they are not as open as in Pakistan - I feel the change after crossing the border... And the knowledge of basic English is very poor...
I am in the town of Kerman - it has interesting, old bazaar - worth to explore. I stay in Omid Inn - double room with shared bath cost 50000 rials. Just on arrival my neighbour invited me for the tea and the smoke... Do you know what I mean? -Thank you - I do not smoke!
Currency problem appears: Count in toman - pay in rials! People in Iran use strange currency unait to count and explain the prices: toman.
1 toman is worth 10 rials. So if they tell you: 3000 tomans for the bus ticket to Yazd it means you must pay 30 000 rials. All bank notes are in rials!
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Oct 14, 2006 02:00 PM Pot of the tea at 3 am...
It is the baren desert so it is good idea to travel Quetta-Taftan segment at night. The road is all paved with some sand on the road and the pavement is narrow so if you will meet another vehicle it is a problem... Dust in the cabin... At 3 am we had a "refreshment" stop at chaikhana in the middle of nowhere...
-Why don't you drink the tea?- ask me Pakistani man. -I spent already all my rupees! No problem! He brought me a pot of strong tea. The cost is 20 US cents - this is not the value. But what a gesture! - thats what they are the Pakistanis! Thank you Friends!
We reached dusty border city Taftan at sunrise. Do not trust the taxi drivers - it is only 1 km from the bus terminal to the immigration post. They open border at 9am. All formalities took 20 minutes. And now?
There is a fence and locked entrance to the Iran. Why they do not open? We were waiting on the only border crossing Pakisatn-Iran about 1,5 hour. Then I crossed the fence with my dirty backpack... Stamp to the passsport... Share taxi to Zahedan cost 160 000 rials per vehicle... 1 USD is worth 9170 rials. Bus Zahedan-Kerman cost 40000 rials. Hot, strong sun and desert around. Welcome to Iran!
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Oct 13, 2006 02:00 PM The last day in Pakistan?
It is the laundry day... I want to look smart before I will cross the border to the next country. My jeans and shirts are drying on the roof of te hotel. I already bught a ticket to the border town of Taftan - the cost is 400 Rp. It is 12-hours night drive throuth the desert - close to the Afghan border - not very safe because the bands and rebels. I hope I'll survive.
Quetta is crowded, noisy capital o the Belochistan Province. Elderly people do not want do be photographed. The main street - Jinnah Road has traffic jams and a lot of pollution. I found the only working internet cafe - they charge 20 Rp for an hour of the very slow connection. But as you see - it works. There is not much to see in the town. I am getting ready for the evening departure. The next message (I hope) I'll send from Iran. Keep your fingers crossed, please!
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Oct 12, 2006 02:00 PM Second day on the train to Quetta...
Horrible night!... Maybe it was better topay twice more and to travel in the highest. a/c class? I do not like a/c... Most of the time I travel alone in my bare compartment. The policemen - alwas on the train - visited me from time to time. On the station platforms nothing to buy - it is Ramadan so trere is no reason to sell food or fruits - nobody will buy them anyway. They do not know that there is the lonely hungry tourist on the train!... Change in the landscape: deserted mountains. Still 6 hours to the destination, Tunnels, stops in the middle of nowhere. Quetta! Tents of the nomads on the outskirts of the town. Station... 5 pm... I will take you to the hotel for 50 Rp! No thank you! - it is not so hot now so I'll put my dirty pack on my back and walk to the Fabs's Hotel - it is only 1 km!
Dirty, sweaty, covered by havy dust I landed in the hotel. Room with a bath, please! 250 Rp... Bugs on the walls but the only thing I think about is the shower. Wow! The great rail journey is over...
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Oct 11, 2006 02:00 PM By "First class sleeper" through Pakistan
They said that the train journey from Peshawar to Quetta will take 34 hours so I dedided to spent 1275 Rp /1USD is close to 60 Rp/ to buy first class sleeper ticket. They are computerized - I got outprinted paper: car: 11 comp: F berth: 1 lower, depart: 7 am.
When I arrived in the early morning to the station they showed me my car and berth: dusty cell with the bars in the little windows and plastic coverage of my berth...
Bells, whistles... We are going... "Quetta Experess" was very slow - stopping at almost every station... Great opportunity to see the landscape... And the heat of te metal box you travel in... More and more dust insude - you cannot lock the windows - there are gaps in them...
I expected they will bring to the 1st class at least one pillow and one blanket for the night - nothing like this... So if you plan to travel by 1st class bring all stuff with you and be prepared for the worst... What a night ahead!
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Oct 10, 2006 02:00 PM C 130 to Peshawar
It took me to much time to reach beautiful Chitral Valley in Hindukush so I decided now to fly out the mountains to Peshawar... If the weather is good there is daily flight from Chitral to Peshawar. The cost is not high - like 50 USD, but it is still twice more that the fare for locals. I was excited when they said that the flight is operated by the military C 130 aircraft because the hard terrain conditions... It was my first time in such a plane... They can take 80 passengers into the giant body... Impressive! The only disadvantage were very little and dirty windows so I had limited possibility to take the pictures of the mountains during the flight.
In the afternoon I was wandering again - after 31 years -around the famous Peshawar bazar... I found a lot of changes: no gun-sellers, much more noise and the pollution. After 3 hours walk in the smoke generated by auto-rikshaws and cars I has already the headache... Tomorrow I want to escape - by train...
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Oct 09, 2006 02:00 PM Chitral - the outback of Pakistan.
I was sleeping too long... When I came to the Mastuj bazaar - where all transport starts they said that all jeeps to Chitral town have already gone. - You can rent a private jeep! For 2000 Rp! I know that the price for the locals is 1500 but they also know that my choice is limited. In front of me I saw the white glaciers of Tirich Mir Peak - more then 7700 m high and I was thinking what to do... There were only one person - lovely Sandy from China to share the cost of the jeep. We decided to pay 1000 each...
The road up to Buni is horrible - only for the short and strong 4WD vehicles. We slowly passed through the swinging bridge and climbed picturesque, multi-colored slopes of the mountains. From Buni there were paved road with some bumps and landslides to pass but it was nothhing in comarison to the previous, hard day.
We reached Chitral township after 4 hours. I left my dirty pack in The Chinnar Inn - worth to recommend since it is located in the garden - far from the noice of the main street. I was wondering back streets of the little bazaar. The main attraction is the nice mosque. Close you will find the fort - now under restoration, but still impressive. Sorry, limited supply of the fruits and vegies - the transport is difficult. It is like frontier town - the border of Afghanistan is very close... I was waiting till 6.20 pm when the local eateries open (Ramadan restrictions) to buy something to eat...
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Oct 08, 2006 02:00 PM Hindukush - Shandur Pass - 3810 m
In the early morning I said Goodbye to Habib - the friendly manager of Madina Hotel in Gilgit. Remember this name - it is in my opinion the friendliest and nicest backpackers place in Pakistan!
From the dirty bus yard at the western oustkirts of the Gilgit town at 8 am we started our trip ti Chitral Valley one of the remotest in Pakistanis Hindukush. There are only two passes to go into the valley and both of them are blocked in the winter. 7 hours our roaring bus was climbing mountain road to the Shandur Pass with many nice views on the way. After Phandur it is stoney, tarmac road only... Then there was bumpy and breath-takin descent to the little village of Mastuj. We reached Mastuj at 6 pm - after 10 hours drive through the mountains. This daily bus Gilgit-Mastuj is not mentioned in the guide books - it cost only 300 Rp. But you need second day to proceed to Chitral town... In mastuj I can recommend "Tourist Gaden GH" - they charge 150 Rp per dorm bed and 80 for dinner...
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Oct 07, 2006 02:00 PM It is the Ramadan - do you know?
Yes, I am in the Moslem country, so from 3.30 am I hear competing calls from the different mosques... It is normal.
But in addition it is the holy month of Ramadan (some people say: Ramadan) - the locals do not eat whole day and in the evening they are so hungry that nothing is more important for them then to go to the table... I understand... Yesterday I tried to send few e-mails from the only internet cafe in Skardu. The computer was slow, so was the connection and I (the only client) worked really hard when the owner said - sorry - I must close and go now. You can come in the morning! In the morning there were no power... So it is not easy to comunicate with the world from Pakistan...
I took a public bus back to Gilgit. Public transport is dirty cheap in Pakistan (e.g. 4 USD per 7 hours drive) but the toyota microbuses they use take (hard to believe) -18 legal passengers plus the driver. When I was buying the ticket they suggested that for my comfort I should buy two places... Sorry!
The best places in the front are almost always occupied by ladies and officials. What you should do? In the back the little better is the seat no.10 - at the door. It will give you a chance to stretch your left leg - better then nothing for 7 hours drive in the heat! - That's what I do!
Tomorrow I plan to take the outback road through the mountains from Gilgit west to Chitral - probably it will take me 2 days to get there. I hope I'll get no. 10 seat again!
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