Fat Guy On a Little Bike - Riding Bikes in Northern Pakistan

I wanted to do the five week trip last year, but getting five weeks off work was an impossibility. I implored Moin to do a shorter trip in 2014, as did numerous other people. He listened, and scheduled two trips of just over two weeks each. No more excuses. Even my amazing wife told me that I "had to go!" This thread is my account of the second tour.

I will be writing in installments, as the full report would be TL;DR. I am, however, reserving a bunch of posts so that the story is semi-coherent and is not interrupted by comments. That said, please feel free to ask questions and I will answer them as best as I can. In short: this trip was nothing short of incredible!

I should start out by introducing you all to the cast of characters. I have left out the two Americans who joined me on the tour (Jeanette and Sam).

Moin: My friend and our host/leader on this trip. I was first introduced to him through BARF during his ride from San Francisco to Lahore a number of years ago. Since then, I have had the pleasure of spending a fair amount of time with him during his visits to the Bay Area. He has always had a full head of hair, but this trip his hair seemed even more majestic than I remembered.


Zeeshan: The driver of our support vehicle. He is a big man with an even bigger heart. His friendly smile and an impressive moustache added to the fatherly vibe that he brought to the trip. In many ways, he was our adult supervision. If you ever need to get a big vehicle through a tight squeeze with an insane dropoff on one side, Zeeshan is your guy.


Nouman (aka Sunny): A friend of Moin’s who would joined us on the motorcycles. Sunny had a serious demeanor. Not far underneath, however, was a great sense of humor and a sharp sarcastic wit. Like Moin, Sunny is a skilled rider who is still very in touch with his inner child.


Mohy: Moin’s older brother. He is one of the nicest, most sincere people I’ve met in a long time. He has a great sense of humor, like the rest of his family, but seems considerably more grounded than Moin. The two brothers are very much yin and yang in many respects, but both are amazing people.


Usman: Moin’s cousin, was our photographer for the trip. An extremely interesting character, Usman’s creativity is equaled only by his quirky personality. I didn’t know what to make of him initially, but grew to really like and respect him as the trip unfolded.


Younas: Mechanic extraordinaire. This guy used a wide range of tools (including rocks on several occasions) to keep our little Ravi Piaggio 125s alive during the trip. Given the number of crashes and encounters with rocks, he was a busy guy. Younas’ English was limited, but his sense of humor still came across loud and clear.


Altaf: The fixer. Moin’s right hand, who handled a lot of the planning and logistics of the trip. When things didn’t go according to plan, and we needed someone to fix the situation, Altaf was there, working in the background. I have no doubt that the trip would have been MUCH less organized were it not for his presence. I don't seem to have any pics of Altaf at the moment. Likely because he was always running around in the background, fixing situations and making things smooth for us.


Mahmood: The Prince of Hunza. We were introduced to Mahmood during our first stay in Karimabad. At first, he seemed like a slightly insane Pakistani leprechaun. Tall and skinny, with curly light brown hair and eyes full of mischief, he would appear and disappear seemingly at will. As we would find out in the days to follow, he was an invaluable resource and has many important connections in the Hunza valley and beyond.


Jimmy and the gang. A few of Moin’s friends from Lahore accompanied us on the first 5 days of the trip. Among them was Jimmy, who is an absolutely amazing singer. Soft spoken but confident, Jimmy is incredibly intelligent, kind and warm. I wish I had more time to chat with him, as I thoroughly enjoyed our conversations. With him were three girls and one guy. I’m terrible with names and, regretfully, I never really got to know any of them very well. They all seemed like very fun folks, though. Being Moin’s friends, this came as no surprise.


Thomas and Agatha: These are two of Moin's friends. Fascinating folks, these two Italians have been traveling for the last 3+ years, picking up odd jobs along the way to keep the trip going. These two have lived for short periods in all sorts of countries and happened to be passing through Pakistan while we were there. I had so much fun chatting with both of them!


Now, on to the story....

Part 1: Anticipation Becomes Reality

In spite of the months of preparation and planning it didn’t really hit me until I was on the plane, heading towards Abu Dhabi.
“Holy cow,” I thought to myself. “I’m going to Pakistan. To RIDE MOTORCYCLES!”

I knew that I should get as much sleep as possible on the plane, but the excitement of the situation got the best of me and I barely slept during the long 15 hour flight. Before I knew it, I was hustling through the Abu Dhabi airport, not wanting to miss my connection to Islamabad. A few short hours later I was on the ground in Islamabad, checked bags in hand. It was almost 4am, but the hot, humid air hit me like a hammer. I was most definitely not in California anymore. Moin had sent his brother Mohy to collect me from the airport. During the short drive to his grandparents’ house in town, Mohy informed me that we would need to depart at around 6am in order to meet up with the rest of the group. This left just enough time to shuffle around my luggage, put on my riding gear and hit the road.

Shortly after 6am the three of us left Islamabad; I was on one bike and Mohy and Younas were on another. The 90 minute ride to Murree was quite pleasant, with many interesting sights and smells along the way. There was a bit of light rain to keep us cool as the Sun slowly rose above the hills to the east. Once in Murree, we met up with the other two Americans (Jeanette and Sam), as well as the rest of the crew. I was absolutely buzzing with excitement and had no idea just how long this day would prove to be….

Moin says, "Let's roll out!"

Day 1: The Day that Wouldn't End

The first day was exceedingly difficult for me. After traveling for almost 30 hours (with only a tiny bit of sleep on the plane) to get to Pakistan, I was ready for some sleep. Unfortunately, there was no time for such things. The trip from Murree to Naran should have been reasonably short. Unfortunately, this was right after the end of Eid, so half of the country was on vacation. As Murree and Naran are both tourist destinations, the roads were completely jammed. We weren't yet in the mountains and the heat was fairly intense, as well. AFter fighting the traffic for what seemed like an eternity, we stopped for lunch. Not hungry, I decided to try to get a bit of sleep.

(pic courtesy of Sunny)

I was unable to get more than a wink or two of rest before giving up. I think I was simply too tired to sleep. It was now about 5pm and I reluctantly decided that it would be safer if I were to ride in the support truck for the rest of the day. There were two weeks of riding ahead and I was simply too wiped-out to feel safe riding in the dense traffic.

Progress in the support truck was considerably slower than on the motorcycles. We inched our way along for hours and eventually arrived at a tent city which had sprung up outside of Naran. One of the crew waved us over and we parked. After poking around a bit, we found the "tent" that Moin had rented for the night. By this time, it was well after midnight. I curled up on the ground and tried to catch a little sleep. It was a chilly night and I was sleeping directly on the ground with no blanket. Exhausted, I donned my motorcycle jacket and pants, still wet with sweat from the day's riding, and caught a few hours of precious sleep. I took very few pics and no video this first day.

Day 2: Pakistan's Beauty Begins to Unfold

As a natural morning person, I woke up early and went outside to have a look around. Dawn was breaking and people were starting to stir. Slowly, the tent city was coming alive. Several tall mountains loomed nearby, towering over the valley below. This promised to be a magical day.


A decision was made to hit the road early in an attempt to get through Naran and on our way towards Hunza before the traffic got bad. This was definitely a good decision. Once past Naran, we began climbing slowly, winding around the hills. As with most of the places we visited, there were streams and rivers everywhere. Around mid-morning, we stopped to eat breakfast at a beautiful little spot in the middle of nowhere. This was my first real taste of the beauty that Pakistan had to offer, and I was hungry for more. Sorry about the pic quality. I forgot to clean my lense before shooting.


Jeanette and Sunny, trying their best to show how little fun they were having.


With full bellies, we hit the road again. On our way to Babusar Pass, we stopped for a few photo opportunities. The scenery here was absolutely amazing, and my pictures don't come close to doing it justice.



Another recurring theme for this trip is the attention that we drew from the locals. Almost everywhere we went, people would ask to have their picture taken with us. Jeanette, of course, was exceedingly popular. These guys stopped to chat us up and take some pics. Such a friendly, lively bunch!



The climb to Babusar Pass was challenging, as the bikes we were on have a claimed max power of 11 horsepower (at sea level), and we were nearing 14,000 feet. I am not a small fellow, which certainly didn't help. Regardless, we made it to the top. There was plenty of time to enjoy the view while we waited for the rest of the motorcyclists and the support truck. And what a view it was.



Once again, we found ourselves in an impromptu photo session with some local folks.


During the descent down the back side of the pass, my bike started making some odd noises and the rear brake seemed to stop working. Once we reached level ground, we stopped to take a look. Odd, everything looks fine to me.



The rest of the ride was incredibly scenic, but my lack of sleep was still taking its toll on me. We arrived in the Hunza Valley after dark, and settled into a little hotel in the town of Karimabad. I don't remember much more about that evening, as I crashed out hard. Finally, a good night's sleep!

Hunza: Friends, Fuel Shortages, and Fantastic Views

Up early, as usual, I had some time to stroll around the grounds of the hotel. The view from the roof was spectacular, with the Hunza River valley stretching out below:



After a short while, Sam, Sunny and Zeeshan were up and about. The four of us went up to one of the twin forts in the area, followed by breakfast at Cafe de Hunza in town. What a great way to start the day.
The walk up through town, on the way to the fort:


The guard at the fort, and his glorious moustache:


A rare change of pace for breakfast. This is the pancake with spinach and cheese at Cafe de Hunza. Tasty stuff!


Upon returning to the hotel, we were informed that there was a fuel shortage and that we would likely not be able to get gasoline that day. There was diesel available for the support truck, but no petrol for the bikes. No matter, as this was a rest day anyway. We spent the day bopping around Karimabad, looking at the local wares (some of which were a bit odd).

Interesting rugs



Strange, Mongolian-inspired headgear:


It must be after noon, as Moin has now arrived. Nice pants, Moin!


Some local kids were playing soccer. Moin and his friends quickly joined the game and it became a visitor vs home kids affair shortly thereafter. I played, but didn't contribute a lot.


At one point, we put our secret weapon, Zeeshan, in goal. He was a force to be reckoned with!


After some rest at the hotel, we all went up to Eagles Nest, where we enjoyed the view as the Sun slowly set over the mountains. It was here that Thomas and Agatha, as well as the rest of Moin's friends from Lahore, joined us.









The evening was capped-off with a "next level" barbecue on the roof of the hotel. A few of us stayed up until well after 1am, singing, laughing, and having a great time. What a magical day! Still no fuel for the bikes, but the idea of being stuck here another day didn't bother me in the least.

Surely, there will be fuel in Passu. Right? Right?

<Note: I can't access photobucket from work, but really wanted to add a bit more to this thread today. Pics for this section will be added tonight>

Once again, I was up bright and early, poking around the hotel grounds a bit. Once some of the other folks were awake, we decided to head up to Café de Hunza for breakfast. Thomas, Agatha, Jeanette, Sunny, Sam and I headed up the hill where we enjoyed a leisurely breakfast before returning to the hotel. Moin and his crew were starting to stir and we go the word that the bikes were re-fuelled, thanks to Altaf and Mahmood's efforts. Apparently, they had waited at the gas station for about 10 hours, until Mahmood's fuel guy finally arrived. They got enough fuel to fill up our 5 little bikes, but were unable to get anything more than that. There was promise of fuel near our next location, as it is near the Chinese border and there were sure to be people smuggling fuel across the border. With that news, we saddled-up and headed out.

It felt good to be back on the bike again, fully rested and eager to explore. The ride from Karimabad to Attabad Lake was fairly interesting, as we followed the river for most of the route. Attabad Lake is a fascinating place. It was formed in 2010 after a landslide blocked the river, and the town of Attabad was buried beneath the opaque azure water. Construction of a road around the lake is underway, but requires a considerable amount of rock blasting and tunnel creation. In the meantime, the only way across is by boat. Loading the bikes onto the boat was a piece of cake. The heavy support vehicle, however, proved a bit more difficult. After some tense moments, we were loaded up and ready to go.








From where we disembarked, the ride to Passu was one of the most enjoyable sections of the trip. There were some very large water crossings, with fairly deep water and an unpredictable rocky bed. I have some fun video that will be posted when I get it edited. One of the more enjoyable moments was when Moin stalled out in the second large crossing only about 5 minutes after hooting, hollering and doing victory donuts in celebration of making it through the first.

<vid to be posted later.

The rest of the ride to Passu was smooth and scenic. We stopped outside town at the vista point for a photo op. It's odd that the sign on the hills only has one "s" in Passu, but everywhere else it is spelled with two. As we rolled into the village, we were greeted by one of the most amazing sights of the entire trip: the Passu Cones. Our hotel was practically right across the street from these jagged, steep mountains. The pictures don't begin to do them justice.






We spent some time chatting and enjoyed a good dinner before going to sleep. Tomorrow, we would try to make it to the Chinese border, which is something that the tour earlier in the year was unable to do. With any luck, we would be allowed to pass.

Woke up bright and early in anticipation of a fun and scenic day. As nobody else was stirring, I took the opportunity to make some coffee and watch the sunrise over the mountains. The beauty of this place absolutely floored me. I have honestly never seen anywhere with quite so much natural beauty and wonder as this little valley. My pictures do not begin to do it justice.

















The owner of the inn came out and I made him a cup of coffee. We chatted for a bit before he scurried off to make chai and breakfast for the other guests. Meanwhile, our crew began to stir. We got word that the fuel we were hoping to find in Sost (a town between Passu and the Chinese border) was not available. Still wanting to see the Khyber Pass and the Chinese border, we crammed into the support truck and headed off.

As Zeeshan took us higher and higher up the pass, the already rugged surroundings transformed into an almost lunar landscape in some places. Pale, jagged rocks jutted out of the earth at all sorts of random angles. There was still flowing water, seemingly ever-present in Pakistan, but certainly less of it at this altitude. Here are a few pics I snapped as we made our way towards the Chinese border.















This was a fairly interesting sign.


This was odd. The water was just shooting out of the side of the mountain. Very neat.




How's this for a fun looking road? Wish we had the bikes.


There were two key checkpoints to clear in order to make it to the border. It should also be noted that Americans are not allowed at this particular border. Fortunately, Moin had a plan: Jeanette, Sam and I were German tourists. Never mind that none of us speaks German. No plan is perfect, right? At the first checkpoint, as the guard approached the vehicle, I made it a point to speak some terribly broken German to Jeanette, nice and loud. Moin had a chat with the guard and we were soon on our way. The second checkpoint was a different approach. As soon as we stopped, Moin was already strutting over to the guards, rather than having them approach us. Brilliant! A few minutes later he hopped back into the truck and we were on our way. When we asked how he got us through, he told us that the guard had asked him if there were any foreigners with him. His reply? "They are all my people." It worked, though. We were now officially on our way to the border!!!!!

Almost there. The Chinese border is just ahead. 16,500 feet, surrounded by magnificient peaks. What an incredible experience!







Sam and I standing just on the Chinese side








Passing back through one of the national parks on the way down, we had to pay our park fees. $8 US for foreigners and $0.40 US for Pakistanis.


When we got back to the hotel, we were greeted by a bike that we saw on our way up. It turned out to be ridden by Austrian motorcycle journalist Joe Pichler. He and his wife were on their way from Austria to the southern tip of India on this gorgeous machine (provided by the factory, by the way). He stayed up and chatted with us well into the evening. Good luck in your travels, Joe!









Yet another amazing day in this incredible trip. Thank you, Moin!!!!!!

One more, just for good measure.

Maybe just one more....

Mas? Si, si! Mas!

More reserved space

Just a bit more reserved space, perhaps....

subscribed!!!!

Dammit Aaron, you got me hooked

SRAD600 said:

Click to expand...

Me too!

opcorn

Oh hell yes!

Moar!

Days 1 and 2 have been added. More to come

Thanks for following along!