Fay
Sunday, 31 August 2014
Arrive in Islamabad
Sat 30th Aug
After an uneventful flight, we arrive in Islamabad in the early hours of the morning. Karim, Jahangir (the guides) and a driver are there to meet us. The guesthouse they take us to is way more than we were expecting. After tea (which is much nicer than the Turkish Chy, though different to ours) we go to bed, not expecting to sleep but before we know it it is 11.30am.
The first of our travel companions has arrived, Chris from China. The next arrival is delayed, not getting here till late afternoon. Whilst he rests Karim takes us to the nearby shops where we change money; despite what we had been led to believe the money changers do not want dollars, their value is too low. Not a problem as we have enough pounds with us. We stop at a cafe for somasas and coke.
There are two more travellers yet to arrive, the first is due tomorrow morning, the other not till next week. Our trek proper will begin tomorrow afternoon. Karim arranges with the chef that our meal tonight will have reduced oil and spice, "you are not used to it yet" he says.
Sent from my iPad
After an uneventful flight, we arrive in Islamabad in the early hours of the morning. Karim, Jahangir (the guides) and a driver are there to meet us. The guesthouse they take us to is way more than we were expecting. After tea (which is much nicer than the Turkish Chy, though different to ours) we go to bed, not expecting to sleep but before we know it it is 11.30am.
The first of our travel companions has arrived, Chris from China. The next arrival is delayed, not getting here till late afternoon. Whilst he rests Karim takes us to the nearby shops where we change money; despite what we had been led to believe the money changers do not want dollars, their value is too low. Not a problem as we have enough pounds with us. We stop at a cafe for somasas and coke.
There are two more travellers yet to arrive, the first is due tomorrow morning, the other not till next week. Our trek proper will begin tomorrow afternoon. Karim arranges with the chef that our meal tonight will have reduced oil and spice, "you are not used to it yet" he says.
Sent from my iPad
Saturday, 30 August 2014
Friday, 29 August 2014
Istanbul
We leave Fay to enjoy her beach holiday, whilst we head off into the unknown. Firstly by bus, then a two hour ferry crossing and after a good deal of haggling a taxi to a very nice hotel in old Istanbul. A bit of luxury before, who knows what!
Istanbul is a wonderful city; colours are everywhere. The pottery, the clothes, fountains. Rich blues, sparkles and twinkles mix with the aromas of spices, cooking and sweetness.
Since we are in the mood for treating ourselves, we dine a good fish restaurant where we enjoy good Turkish food accompanied by three musicians.
We wander around the city, this is a good time to see some of the attractions when there are not so many people about. If it isn't there already, Istanbul is one to put on the "must see" list.
Fri 29th Aug (am)
This afternoon we fly to Pakistan, we feel a mixture of excitement and anticipation. We have read our forthcoming jeep tour itinerary so many times but whether we really know what to expect remains to be seen.
Thursday, 28 August 2014
Restful days at CampingAnt
A very very lazy day. We walked a whole 100 meters to the bread shop!
Neil, the cyclist left to catch the ferry to Istanbul, we bid him farewell and continued lazing away the day. A few hours later, we see Neil cycling back in?? "Did you get lost?" No the ferry was cancelled due to too much wind, also tomorrow's is cancelled!
We check the forecast for Friday, high winds. This decides us that we should leave here a day earlier. We can spend the time looking round Istanbul, we cannot risk missing the plane! The bus route alternative to the ferry takes 5 hours!
Tues 26th Aug
Another lazy day. I cannot remember the last time we have have just chilled this much, I'm not sure we have? Today we walked a bit further and went to the general store then later to Hadrian's temple. It was a place recommended by Ahmed and wow what a discovery. It is better than Troy! Yet virtually undiscovered, it lies up a dirt track. A small amount to excavation has been done but there are such treasures here. Why isn't this a UNESCO site? Why aren't universities worldwide working here? It is reportedly this largest site of its kind in the world.
Wed 27th Aug
A quiet day, enjoying the sun and applying layer after layer of "anti itch" cream. If we thought the Romanian biters liked us, the Turkish ones love us! I tried counting my bites but gave up after 70! Even Richard, who never gets bitten, has been fair game to these little beasties.
We check our flight bags for Pakistan and make arrangements to stay in Istanbul tomorrow night. Ahmed suggests that as so many of us will be leaving here tomorrow, that we all eat together tonight. The nationalities around the table are: Turkish, German, Greek,Tunisian, French, Spanish, Russian, Dutch and us. All are travellers and adventurers, some motor biking, some cycling and some like us in camper and. All have their tales to tell, our "little trip" seems quite tame by comparison.
Tuesday, 26 August 2014
Gallipoli and Troy
Sun 24th Aug
We wake early and watch a beautiful sunrise.
Today was a very thought provoking day. We went to Gallipoli, passed some of the very well kept cemeteries and then onto the the harbour. The statues, memorials and reconstructions are very emotive.
After spending time there we caught the ferry and crossed over the water on our way to Troy. Also thought provoking but for different reasons. How did they build what they did, when they did?
We reach our predetermined campsite late in the evening. It is dark, so can't see much of it but Ahmet makes us very welcome and invites us to join him and some other campers as they BBQ the fish they caught earlier.
A good evening, with Germans, Greek, Tunisian, An Irish lad who's cycled here and two Turkish chaps. The beer and the schnapps flowed!
Sent from my iPad
We wake early and watch a beautiful sunrise.
Today was a very thought provoking day. We went to Gallipoli, passed some of the very well kept cemeteries and then onto the the harbour. The statues, memorials and reconstructions are very emotive.
After spending time there we caught the ferry and crossed over the water on our way to Troy. Also thought provoking but for different reasons. How did they build what they did, when they did?
We reach our predetermined campsite late in the evening. It is dark, so can't see much of it but Ahmet makes us very welcome and invites us to join him and some other campers as they BBQ the fish they caught earlier.
A good evening, with Germans, Greek, Tunisian, An Irish lad who's cycled here and two Turkish chaps. The beer and the schnapps flowed!
Sent from my iPad
More Romania part 1
Wed 20th Aug
Well we didn't reach Bulgaria today; nothing to do with my map reading, we were just enjoying Romania. Taking the smaller roads, we meandered along country lanes that could even show our roads at home a thing or two about pot holes. This would be an even slower route than we thought but we were enjoying the difference of Romania; the colourful houses, some pristine, some half built and some on the point of dereliction but still lived in!
We lunched in a field, whilst the local folk worked with their hand tools and horse drawn carts. There are dogs everywhere, young and old, dead and alive! Every bitch we see is lactating. I know people try to do good by rescuing Romanian strays but honestly even if you shipped them by the hundred, it would not touch the surface. Maybe a mass neutering project would be more effective?
Our route towards the Bulgarian border is dogged by roadworks and diversions, not always clear. We spot an alternative truck route marked, so decide to take that rather than following the diversion through the middle of a big town. How this is a truck route I have no idea! Unmade roads,though the roughest parts of town and then bizarrely there in the middle of this "ghetto" is an English Ice Cream van! Still fully sign written and operating! No, we did not stop and buy one! How did Mr Whippy get here? We learn that red lights are merely a suggestion to stop, a a truck overtook us on a red light, through the roadworks. Either that or he too wanted out of this "shanty town"
Well we didn't reach Bulgaria today; nothing to do with my map reading, we were just enjoying Romania. Taking the smaller roads, we meandered along country lanes that could even show our roads at home a thing or two about pot holes. This would be an even slower route than we thought but we were enjoying the difference of Romania; the colourful houses, some pristine, some half built and some on the point of dereliction but still lived in!
We lunched in a field, whilst the local folk worked with their hand tools and horse drawn carts. There are dogs everywhere, young and old, dead and alive! Every bitch we see is lactating. I know people try to do good by rescuing Romanian strays but honestly even if you shipped them by the hundred, it would not touch the surface. Maybe a mass neutering project would be more effective?
Our route towards the Bulgarian border is dogged by roadworks and diversions, not always clear. We spot an alternative truck route marked, so decide to take that rather than following the diversion through the middle of a big town. How this is a truck route I have no idea! Unmade roads,though the roughest parts of town and then bizarrely there in the middle of this "ghetto" is an English Ice Cream van! Still fully sign written and operating! No, we did not stop and buy one! How did Mr Whippy get here? We learn that red lights are merely a suggestion to stop, a a truck overtook us on a red light, through the roadworks. Either that or he too wanted out of this "shanty town"
Our home for tonight is up one of our famous dead ends! We take a turn up a dirt track, it is very bumpy. So much so that I have to hang on to Fay's dashboard to stop it rattling. Don't want her dentures shooting out!! We go through a very real Roma village, I am not sure there have ever been tourists here before?? At the end someone is building a posh pension, so another place that will change. Our destination is a lake I saw on the map, my map reading skills are improving enough for me to tell Richard with confidence, that yes I really did want to go down this road, as he filled with doubt and uncertainty about the area I was directing him through.
The lake was a twitchers paradise. There were not just one or two storks but a whole flock, along with herons, egrets and various unfamiliar gulls. Not only were there birds but also huge frogs and numerous fish. We unwittingly parked near a family of shrews, they enjoyed the apple we fed them. There were though, the obligatory Romanian flies and rubbish. Still it was a pretty spot. The weather is now sultry and nearing 30 degrees.
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