Mellowtonin
Old Enough to Know Better
Day 11
With no guarantees that Babusar Pass, which had been closed for days due to heavy snow fall - would be open in time to let us thru, we set off early from Astore.
Regrouping at the intersection between Astore Rd. and the by now familiar Karakoram Highway, our guide Moin gave an impromptu demonstration on how to make sweet donuts on a motorcycle.
Then we rode across the desert section of the KKH at race speed to Chilas, by now we were all well versed in dealing with local highway traffic, the riding was a bit reckless that day... :laughing
We stopped at the outskirts of for snacks and Fuel, I'd became a huge fan of Lay's Masala flavored potato chips and the Red Chili Jhatka Kurkure's by this point. If any of the readers know of a Bay Area Pakistani supermarket that carries these, please PM me!
Moin had to make some phone calls but in the end his connects got us thru the Chilas checkpoint. The local police station/magistrate came out to inspect the two Alex's with the American passports, he wasn't exactly friendly...barked at Alex#1 to "clean his nose" and gave me a quick lecture on how the Pakistani people are just as accomplished as the Chinese. :dunno
The villages below Babusar Top showed obvious signs of damage from the heavy snowstorm just days before, every villager was outside lending a hand on the rebuilding effort. I was finally successful reciprocating the high fives as I rode past a couple kids standing on the road side, might've slapped too hard though!
Expecting very cold temperatures, we made a brief pit stop to layer up.
The sound of our motors and the obvious "foreigners on an adventure ride vibe" attracted curious villagers from the surrounding, steep hill sides. Especially the little kids (grade school to kindergarten age) who were working the fields.
That is one thing which I could never get used to, child labor that is rampant in developing countries. From 10 year-olds peddling boiled eggs and coconut strips along roadside stops, to the toddler carrying bails of produce in the remote countryside. However, knowing that a portion of our trip with Moin goes to funding schools for impoverished girls, definitely made me feel like I was doing something to help.
In any event, as luck would have it I took my favorite photograph of the trip during this stop, I hope the girls in red were able to enjoy the Kirkland granola bar I'd offered in exchange!
By the time we climbed to the top of the Pass there was snow and ice everywhere, temperature had dropped to below zero. Here's a comparison between then and the first time we'd crossed:
Exhausted from Deosai the day before, we decided to blast our way straight back to Naran (where we stayed the first night after Islamabad).
With no time to dillydally, there weren’t anymore photos from the afternoon. But here are some pictures taken during our first time thru Babusar pass when it was nice and :cool.
With no guarantees that Babusar Pass, which had been closed for days due to heavy snow fall - would be open in time to let us thru, we set off early from Astore.
Regrouping at the intersection between Astore Rd. and the by now familiar Karakoram Highway, our guide Moin gave an impromptu demonstration on how to make sweet donuts on a motorcycle.
Then we rode across the desert section of the KKH at race speed to Chilas, by now we were all well versed in dealing with local highway traffic, the riding was a bit reckless that day... :laughing
We stopped at the outskirts of for snacks and Fuel, I'd became a huge fan of Lay's Masala flavored potato chips and the Red Chili Jhatka Kurkure's by this point. If any of the readers know of a Bay Area Pakistani supermarket that carries these, please PM me!
Moin had to make some phone calls but in the end his connects got us thru the Chilas checkpoint. The local police station/magistrate came out to inspect the two Alex's with the American passports, he wasn't exactly friendly...barked at Alex#1 to "clean his nose" and gave me a quick lecture on how the Pakistani people are just as accomplished as the Chinese. :dunno
The villages below Babusar Top showed obvious signs of damage from the heavy snowstorm just days before, every villager was outside lending a hand on the rebuilding effort. I was finally successful reciprocating the high fives as I rode past a couple kids standing on the road side, might've slapped too hard though!
Expecting very cold temperatures, we made a brief pit stop to layer up.
The sound of our motors and the obvious "foreigners on an adventure ride vibe" attracted curious villagers from the surrounding, steep hill sides. Especially the little kids (grade school to kindergarten age) who were working the fields.
That is one thing which I could never get used to, child labor that is rampant in developing countries. From 10 year-olds peddling boiled eggs and coconut strips along roadside stops, to the toddler carrying bails of produce in the remote countryside. However, knowing that a portion of our trip with Moin goes to funding schools for impoverished girls, definitely made me feel like I was doing something to help.
In any event, as luck would have it I took my favorite photograph of the trip during this stop, I hope the girls in red were able to enjoy the Kirkland granola bar I'd offered in exchange!
By the time we climbed to the top of the Pass there was snow and ice everywhere, temperature had dropped to below zero. Here's a comparison between then and the first time we'd crossed:
Exhausted from Deosai the day before, we decided to blast our way straight back to Naran (where we stayed the first night after Islamabad).
With no time to dillydally, there weren’t anymore photos from the afternoon. But here are some pictures taken during our first time thru Babusar pass when it was nice and :cool.
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:laughing